Social media isn't going anywhere. It's not a fad or a flash in the pan like "teen pregnancy" or "unconditional love." It's here to stay. And how do we know? Because Google is starting to index your tweets on Twitter, and your status updates on Facebook. That's like hearing it from the Almighty, and by "Almighty", we of course mean Rachel Maddow. If social media is here to stay, may as well put it to use, right? Here are a few some simple tips on making Twitter an effective marketing tool.
1. Grow Your Following. The way you to this is to tweet relevant and interesting content about your business. For example, if you are a Reiki healer, try to consistently tweet web content about Reiki and MAKE SURE TO HASHTAG (putting a # in front a topic word) YOUR TWEETS. Hashtags help people interested in certain topics find your tweets. If they like your tweets, then they are likely to follow you. Here is a good sample tweet:
Healing with your hands: #Reiki for Newbies! http://ow.ly/P1gr #spiritualism #bodywork
Anyone searching Twitter or even Googling for content about Reiki, spiritualism, and bodywork will find this tweet and can click on the link to find a web FAQ on Reiki from The International Center for Reiki Training. You could be perceived as authoritative and worth following. Gradually, your following will grow and so does the number of potential new clients. This is really the basis of effective marketing through Twitter.
2. Tweet Your Reviews. Anyone potentially interested in hiring you is naturally inclined to get some kind of recommendation. Whether the reviews are links to a specific massage advertising site like Manworks.com where you have a profile or to your personal site or blog, make sure to tweet them so potential new clients can read what it is about your handy work that makes you worth the expense. But again, don't tweet a link. Pull a great little quote from the review to intro the link, or some other bit of text to get someone to click the link. For example:
"I learned what he meant by the 'Hands of Zen.'" http://ow.ly/P2u5 #gay #masseur #massage
3. Tweet Your Availability. Free for the day? Or for the next 8 hours? Did a client cancel and now you have a spot open? Keep your clientele in the loop so that you can book appointments now that they know you can see them. A slow day can easily become a busy and profitable one.
4. Tweet Your Personality but Leave a Little Mystery. You don’t have to tweet info all the time. Interesting anecdotal tweets show who you are and people are inevitably drawn to approachable and likeable types. Who you are is part of your marketing arsenal, but don’t lay it all out on the table with your dirty laundry. Unsavory characteristics like being overly whiny or a habitual complainer, unreliable, a gossip, etc. are things you don’t want to come off as in your tweets. Those are turn offs for current and would-be clients. So practice discretion over how much of yourself you reveal. It doesn’t pay to have everyone know how much of bitch you think your mom is.