BUSINESS ESSENTIALS

Twitter Marketing

A GUIDE TO GROWING YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS

462 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10018 localvox.com Phone: (844) 654-6169 gethelp@localvox.com

TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is Twitter?
Page 3

Twitter Terminology
Pages 5 9

Getting Set Up
Pages 10 12

Phase 1: Listening
Pages 13 21

Find people to follow

Pages 15 18

Monitor conversations
Page 19

Analyze what youve heard

Pages 20 21

Phase 2: Engaging
Pages 22 30

The perfect retweetable tweet

Page 24

Tweeting for engagement

Pages 25 30

Phase 3: Advanced Tactics

Pages 31 36

Increase your followers

Page 33

Encourage people to follow

Page 34

INTRODUCTION

Twitter has come a long way since Jack

Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and
Noah Glass created the platform in
March 2006.
Today, Twitter stock is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange (TWTR) and has 302 million active users.
It is one of the top 10 most-visited websites and is an
extremely valuable tool for businesses of all types
from small mom-and-pop restaurants to multi-location
franchises that cross continents.
Businesses use Twitter to:
Increase brand awareness
Build customer relationships
Generate and nurture leads
Provide real-time customer service
As someone who manages a local business, youre
probably thinking, Twitter sounds great, but I dont
have time to manage another marketing activity. I
have a business to run!
We get it and were here to help. This ebook will give
you all the info (and insider tips) you need to become
a Twitter expert so you can efficiently manage the
network and use it to grow your business.

Conclusion

If you have any questions along the way, you can

always tweet at us @localvox or, if your question is
longer than 140 characters, email us at gethelp@
localvox.com.

About

Lets get started!

The LocalVox Marketing Team

Performance analysis
Pages 35 36
Page 37

Pages 38 39

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WHAT EXACTLY IS TWITTER?

Twitter is often compared to a fast-paced, 24/7 real-time global networking

event where people and businesses converse in 140-character messages.

And thats only the tip of the iceberg.

To give you a sense of Twitters potential, consider these stats:
316 million+ active daily users (Source: Twitter)
500 million+ tweets are created every day (Source: Twitter)
74% of people who follow small and medium sized businesses (SMBs)
follow to get updates on future products (Source: Twitter)
84% of people who follow or interact with SMBs mention a business to
share a positive experience (Source: Twitter)
Savvy small business owners use Twitter to find new customers, build
relationships and drive revenue by:
Promoting and sharing content (from a blog or social network, such as
Instagram)
Engaging with customers in real-time (promotions, geo-targeted events,
contests, customer service, etc.)
Generating and nurturing leads
Researching their audience and competition
Twitter Marketing

Page 3

LETS GET STARTED!

Whether you are a huge, national
company or a small, local
business, Twitter is a powerful
marketing tool.
Keep reading to jumpstart your
marketing strategy with Twitter.

Twitter Marketing

Page 4

Twitter Terminology

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

TWITTER TERMINOLOGY

Before we get into the details of tweeting, lets go over a few basic terms:

HANDLE

Your Twitter handle is your Twitter user name. It

appears on your tweets and is also part of your
Twitter URL (e.g., twitter.com/Twitter handle).
Your handle is how people find you on Twitter and
identify your tweets in their time line.
In example A, the Twitter handle is circled in pink
(@cathyschutten).

Example A

FOLLOWERS

On Twitter, you follow people whose tweets you want to see in your time line. Your followers
are people who want to see your tweets in their time line. If you unfollow someone, you will
no longer see that persons tweets in your time line.
Following and being followed are how
you connect with people and start to
build relationships.
To view all your followers, click on
Followers on your profile (circled in
pink in Example B).

Example B

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

TIME LINE

Like Facebooks News

Feed, your Twitter time line
is a real-time feed of tweets
from the Twitter users you
follow.
Your time line will give
you a quick look at who is
tweeting and what theyre
tweeting.
When you are on your
homepage, your time line
is located next to the bio
and trends column. The
time line is highlighted in
Example C.
Example C

TWEETS

Messages posted on Twitter are called tweets.Tweet is also often used as a verb (i.e.: I will
tweet this). A tweet can be up to 140 characters long and include text, links and images (see
Example D).
Tweets will appear on your profile page and Home time line, in addition to anyone who follows
you. It will never appear on anyone elses profile page, unless they retweeted the message or
you mentioned them.

Example D
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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

MENTION

A tweet containing another users Twitter user name, preceded by the @ symbol. An
example of a mention is, Hello, @LocalVox. We love using Twitter! Anyone on Twitter who is
following the sender of a mention will see the tweet in their Home time line.
Mentions you make about other users will appear on your profile of public tweets. If you are
the recipient of a mention, it is only accessible to you (not all your followers). Additionally,
mentions will appear in the recipients Home time line view (not on their profile) if they are
following the sender.
Most people and businesses monitor mentions, so its a good strategy to use if you want to
get someones attention quickly. As you can see in Example E (below), @BerryMeansBiz was
mentioned in the tweet.

Example E

REPLIES

A tweet that begins with another users @user name and is in response to one of their tweets
is a reply. An example of a reply is below (Example F).
When you respond to another persons tweet by hitting Reply, it addresses your tweet to the
other person by creating a tweet that begins with the other partys Twitter handle. Replies are
often how the best Twitter conversations start.
Friendly
reminder:
replies are
public.

Example F
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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

RETWEET (RT)

Sharing someone elses tweet with your followers is called a retweet.

Retweeting is a great way to show your appreciation and support for someone elses tweet.
You can see an example of retweeting in Example G (below - arrows circled in pink).

FAVORITE

Example G

Save tweets you particularly like by favoriting them. Example G (above - star circled in
green) also shows an example of favoriting a tweet. Favorited tweets are archived for future
reference and accessible via a link on your Twitter profile page.

HASHTAGS

Add a hashtag to your tweet by adding a # sign in front of a keyword. Example G (above
- #LocalVoxWebinar circled in purple) demonstrates the use of a hashtag. Twitter uses
hashtags to categorize tweets so that users can search for a specific keyword.

DIRECT MESSAGES

Private messages on Twitter are called direct messages or DMs. Create a DM by adding
DM or D at the beginning of your tweet, just in front of the recipients Twitter handle.
Direct messages let you take a conversation offline without leaving Twitter. (Note: You can
only DM users who follow you.)

TWITTER CHAT

A Twitter chat is a real-time, moderated conversation between a group of Twitter users.

These conversations typically take place at a regular time and have their own hashtag so
participants can follow the conversation.
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Getting Set Up

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

WELCOME TO TWITTER!
NOW WHAT?

Getting started on Twitter is easy. All you need is:

Your name
A valid email address
A password
Go to twitter.com and find the sign-up box.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you set up your Twitter account:

HANDLE NAME
Choose your name carefully. Though you can change your Twitter handle later, its
better if you dont have to. Its not as permanent as a tattoo, but changing it can
confuse people.
Choose a handle that can be easily related to your business so people can find you
quickly.
Keep it short. Just because your Twitter handle can be up to 15 characters doesnt
mean it should be. The shorter your handle, the more space youll have for your
tweets.

BIO
Be brief (and grab viewers attention). You want to
cover the basics about your business (what you do,
whom you serve, and the benefit of working with you)
as clearly and concisely as you can.
If you have multiple people tweeting on behalf of your
business, include their Twitter handles.
Include a link to your website.
You can view an example of a bio in Example H (right).
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Example H
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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

PROFILE IMAGES

Your Twitter profile includes two images:

1. Avatar: This is the small, square image that will appear with your tweets in the time line.
The avatar icon is 500x500 (Example J - purple box), which is pretty small (especially on
mobile devices). Make sure the image you choose is clear and easy to read. Avoid lots of
detail and busy backgrounds.
2. Header image: The optimal image size is 1500x500 pixels, so a landscape image will
work best. The green box in Example J shows you where your header image will display.

Example J

PINNED TWEET

A pinned tweet remains at the top of your profile page and is another way for you to help
people get a sense of what youre all about. You can change your pinned tweet any time.
Choose a tweet that links to a great piece of content or maybe an event landing page.
Example K is an example of a pinned tweet.

Example K

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PHASE 1

Listen

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

PHASE 1: LISTEN

Quickly learn by watching twitter in action.

The best way to learn a new skill quickly is to dive right in and start observing.
After you have setup your Twitter account, login and locate the Twitter accounts of some
thought-leaders in your industry and other businesses.

YOULL DISCOVER
What works and what doesnt.

Who is having conversations on topics that are relevant to

your business.

How your competitors are using Twitter to reach customers.

The different ways that people develop dialogues.

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

STEP 1: FIND PEOPLE FOLLOW

Its not what you know, its who you know

Following the right people and youll start seeing significant return on investment with your
Twitter efforts.

THE FOUR TYPES OF PEOPLE YOU SHOULD FOLLOW:

1. Customers: Nurture existing relationships
2. Prospects: Connect with future customers
3. Competitors: Stay up-to-date on their strategies
4. Experts and press: A great source for content and staying informed on industry
happenings
By following these four types of people on Twitter, your time line will be populated with
highly-relevant tweets. However, if you dont follow anyone, your Twitter Time line will be like
the office on a Friday at 5 pm really quiet.
Following people is the easiest way to get people to follow you. Very often, if you follow
someone, they will follow you back automatically. Its a simple first step to building your
Twitter following.

TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

HOW TO FIND PEOPLE ON TWITTER

DIRECTORIES

Twitters Who to Follow Tool in Discovery

Review Twitters suggestions for who to follow. These are based on the people you already
follow and the accounts they follow. You can also browse popular Twitter accounts and
search your email address book to find people you already know.
Third-party Directories
Search for people based on keywords that refer to expertise, profession, interests, etc. on
directories like Twellow and WeFollow.
Information Sources
When you read a great article, check out the byline for the authors Twitter handle.

TWITTER NETWORK

Twitter Lists
A Twitter List is a curated group of Twitter users. You can create your own lists, subscribe to
other peoples lists or simply scan and cherry pick the users you want to follow. Explore a
users lists by clicking on the More item on the users profile page and then click Lists.
From there you can select a list and view a list of its members.
Retweets + Mentions
Review who has mentioned or retweeted you by clicking Notifications in Twitters header
menu. These people may be potential customers, partners, or industry journalists. They
were nice enough to take an interest in your tweet; you should definitely follow them.
Hashtags
Use hashtags to do keyword searches and find people who are tweeting about topics that
are relevant to your business.
Tweet Chats
Search a hashtag related to a Tweetchat. Pay special attention to who is moderating, who
is featured and who is actively participating and/or retweeting the chat. These people are
creating conversations; they are worth following.

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

EXAMPLE: FITNESS STUDIO

This example will walk through how the

owner of a fitness studio would go about
finding users to follow on Twitter.

DIRECTORIES

Twitters Who to Follow Tool in

Discovery
After following a few industry leaders
(Jillian Michaels, Denise Austin,
Equinox, Planet Fitness), check Twitters
recommendations for you and also crossreference with your current contacts.
Third-party Directories
Browse the users listed under category
headings such as fitness, health,
well being, and weight. Search on
additional keywords that are pertinent to
your business such as Pilates or weight
training.

PERSONAL NETWORK

Customers
Give your customers the option to provide their Twitter handle. One way to encourage
sharing is to run a giveaway (perhaps a month free at your studio).
Partners
Do you work with independent trainers, nutritionists, or other healthcare and fitness
providers? What about the companies who provide your equipment, healthy snacks, or
workout gear?
Information Sources
Follow the online and print publications you read. Take a closer look at the articles and
posts that interest you most and follow the authors of those pieces.

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

TWITTER NETWORK

Twitter Lists
Follow an industry expert, such as a nationally known
fitness coach, and then explore her curated lists for
other people to follow.
Retweets + Mentions
Review the Twitter bios of the people who have
mentioned or retweeted you and follow anyone whose
profession or interests are a good fit
Hashtags
Search Twitter using the same keywords you used on
the third-party directories.
Twitterchats
Search the web for Twitterchats Fitness and then
review the results to find the chats that are most
relevant to your business. Tune in by searching the
chats hashtag and follow moderators, guests and
active participants.

TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

STEP 2: MONITOR CONVERSATIONS

Once youve found some people to follow, youre ready to start listening in. There are
two ways to listen.

1. SEARCHES

Use searches to take a closer look at a particular aspect of the Twitter conversation.
You can search based on a keyword or hashtag and then refine your search based on:
The type of content you want to see
(e.g., people, photos, videos, or news)
Whether you want to search only the
tweets of people you follow, or all of
Twitter
Whether you want to see tweets from
anywhere, or only those from users who
are near you

2. TIME LINE

Begin with your time line. Similar to Facebooks News Feed, your Twitter time line is a
real-time feed of all the tweets from people you follow. Scan it to get a general sense of
who is talking and what they are talking about.
Some examples of searches you may want to run include:
Keywords related to your business
Your business name
Your product category
Your competitors
Your town or city name
Events (virtual or real world)

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STEP 3: ANALYZE WHAT YOUVE HEARD

Listening carefully on Twitter will provide important insights into how you can use Twitter for
your business. As you scan your time line and review searches, keep the following in mind.

CUSTOMERS + PROSPECTS
Do they tweet about your business or industry? If so, in what context? (Tip: If you search
your business or industry name in combination with the word love or hate, youll likely
find some interesting tweets.)
What other topics interest them?
What kinds of content do they retweet articles, quotes, images, etc?
Do they ask questions that relate to your industry? What kinds of questions? Who is
answering them?

COMPETITORS
Which of your competitors are tweeting?
What kinds of content are they tweeting articles, quotes, images, sales, specials, questions,
industry news, etc.?
How frequently are they tweeting?
Are they interacting with customers? In what way?
Do they appear to be handling any customer service issues
on Twitter?

INDUSTRY EXPERTS + PRESS

What kinds of content are they tweeting articles, quotes,
images, reviews, questions, news, etc.?
Do they engage with businesses like yours? In what way?
Do they engage with your target audience? In what way?
Do they cover events related to your business? Which ones?

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TWITTER MARKETING
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LISTEN AND LEARN

Remember what your mother said: Think before

you speak.
Listening before you tweet will keep you from
jumping into the Twitter scene with only a half-baked
idea of what to do there.
Spending even a little time listening in and getting
the lay of the land will make it easier to get started
on the right foot.

REMEMBER THESE THREE STEPS:

1. Find and follow the right people
2. Monitor the topics, conversations and thought-leaders
3. Analyze what youve heard to discover your best Twitter
opportunities
To use the social-media-as-party metaphor, take a minute to
sit back and survey the scene. Be cool.
Mingle quietly for a bit. It wont take you long to start
figuring out who youd like to talk to.
And then, when youre ready, youll be better equipped to
make a great first impression.

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PHASE 2

Engage

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TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

PHASE 2: ENGAGE

Conversation is the heart of Twitter.

Businesses that use Twitter purely as a publishing and promotion platform are missing the
point. Twitter gives you a pretty amazing opportunity to converse directly and in real time
with the people who matter most to your business customers, prospects, partners, and
media.

DONT MISS THE CHANCE TO CONNECT!

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THE PERFECT,
RETWEETABLE TWEET
One of the best ways to grow your
Twitter network is to get people to
retweet your tweets to their followers.

Here are 5 tips that will increase the chances of a retweet:

1. Keep your tweets 100 115
characters
Tweets this length are 34% more
likely to be retweeted because there
are characters leftover for the other
persons handle to be included in the
retweet.
2. Include links
Tweets that include links are 86%
more likely to be retweeted.
3. Images increase engagement
Tweets that include a link to an image
get 2x the engagement of tweets
without images.

Twitter Marketing

4. Include 1 2 hashtags
Tweets that hit this sweet spot have a
21% higher engagement vs. those with
3+.
5. Go ahead and ask
Tweets that include a request for a
retweet (pls RT) are 12x more likely to be
retweeted vs. those that do not. Tweets
that spell out retweet (pls retweet) are
23x more likely to be retweeted.

BONUS TIP
When you tweet someone elses content
mention the author (by including his or her
Twitter handle) and include a compliment.
The mention will help get your tweet seen
and the compliment will encourage a
retweet.
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WHAT SHOULD YOU TWEET?

THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF TWEETS:
1. Share original content
Sharing content that youve created is a great way to show what
your business is all about. Not sure what type of materials to
create?
Below is a list to get the wheels turning.
Serial (blog posts, articles, newsletters, podcasts)
Ad hoc (ebooks, infographics, manifestos, SlideShares)
Visual (photos and images from Flickr, Instagram or another
photo-sharing network)
Videos (Vine and YouTube)
Announcements (events, webinars, sales and promotions, press
releases)
Native tweets (content such as quotes that exists only on
Twitter vs. existing elsewhere and being accessed via a link)

TIP

Dont be shy about tweeting your content

multiple times.
Twitters Time line moves quickly, so only
some of your followers will see your tweet

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TWITTER MARKETING
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2. Share curated content
Sharing other peoples content is a great way to diversify
your content mix and potentially connect with the authors.
The list below contains a few places where you can find
relevant content.
Blogs (Use a reader like Feedly for efficiency)
Curation sites (Alltop, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Flipboard,
etc.)
Podcasts (Use discovery apps like Stitcher and Swell to
find new stories)
Twitter Search or Time line
Google News

HINT

Whenever possible, include a

mention of the authors Twitter
handle and a comment.
If you have to choose between
attributing to a site (e.g.
Huffington Post) and an
individual author, always
choose the author, as they are
more likely to reply, retweet,
and/or follow you.

BUSINESS ESSENTIALS

THE POWER OF VISUALS

Research shows that content
that includes images or videos
gets 94% more views vs. content
without images.
75% of the people who view
a video will visit the business
website.
80% of your visitors will watch a
video, while only 20% of them will
read a piece of content end-to-end.

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TWITTER MARKETING
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3. Have a conversation
While content may be king, conversation is what brings Twitter
to life. To make sure you dont miss any opportunities to engage,
monitor Twitter (via mentions of your Twitter handle and Twitter
searches on relevant hashtags and keywords) for tweets that
could be an opening to start a dialog.
Once you get rolling, your conversations will develop organically. In
the meantime, here are a few ways to started:

REPLIES

When people retweet you, thank them. If people mention your

business, thank them. If people pose questions about your
industry, answer them. Good manners and being genuinely helpful
go a long way towards building your Twitter credibility.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Responding to customer questions and complaints via Twitter is

an often overlooked opportunity. Its also a place where small
businesses can beat out the big guys. Respond to these kinds
of tweets as quickly as possible, but dont hesitate to take the
conversation offline (to email or some other communication
venue) if its too complicated to resolve in 140-character
exchanges.

EVENT INTERACTION

Twitter is a great place to participate in both virtual and real world

events. Tweetchats are moderated group conversations that
typically take place at a regular time and have their own hashtag
so participants can follow the conversation. You can also tweet
from a live event using the events hashtag to catch the eye of
other participants and event organizers.

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TWITTER MARKETING
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LEAD GENERATION

Use Twitter to identify potential customers based on interests (keywords), interaction

(retweets and replies), and location (geographic search). Reach out with helpful advice or
information (not a sales pitch) or to make a personal connection (maybe you root for the
same sports team or share the same opinion about the necessity of good coffee in the
workplace). Be human. Think about what you might say if the conversation were taking
place in the line at the grocery store.

QUESTIONS

If your followers are engaged enough, experiment with posting open-ended questions about
your industry and your audiences interests. If people have strong enough opinions, they will
share them. You can then retweet their answers for extra mileage.

CURRENT EVENTS COMMENTARY

Whether youre commenting on a global news event or sharing your picks for the Oscars,
tweeting about current events can be a very effective tactic (especially on Twitter where
news travels fast). Use the relevant hashtag to ensure that your tweet shows up in eventrelated searches.

TIP

Treat Twitter
conversations the
same way you would
treat a one-oneone conversation
in the real world.
Think about your
communication in
terms of personto-person, not
business-to-person.

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CONCLUSION
As you start tweeting, remember what you
learned while you were observing. How does
your audience use Twitter? Are they having live
conversations, sharing informational articles,
passing memes around, or something else? How
can you become part of the conversation?
Most importantly, how can you add value and be
helpful? Find the answer to that question, and
youll know exactly what to tweet.

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WHEN SHOULD YOU TWEET?

Though the best day and time to tweet will vary by

industry, audience and other factors, there are some rules
of thumb that apply to most businesses.
Twitter is typically most active between noon and 6PM
with peak tweeting between 1PM and 3PM
Engagement increases by 17% on Saturday and Sunday
Wednesday is the best day for tweeting business content
either B2C or B2B
Monday is a particularly effective day for tweeting B2C
content

DIRECT MESSAGING (DM)

Exercise restraint when it comes to private messages.

While it is acceptable to send a short thank you message
(including additional contact information if you like) to new
followers, people often perceive DMs as spam. To avoid
that nasty label, use DMs sparingly and only when you
have a genuine purpose in making direct contact, such as
addressing a customer service inquiry.
Optimally, most of your DMs will be to offer something rather
than to ask for something.

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FOR THE BEST ENGAGEMENT

Your content should be:
1. INFORMATIVE

2. EDUCATIONAL

3. ENTERTAINING

v. s
A

Use the functionality of

Twitter to make your tweets
even more engaging.

Use A/B tests to learn more

about what resonates with
your followers.

You dont have to be the next

Jerry Seinfeld, but your tweets
should have personality.

4. RESPONSIVE

5. HELPFUL

6. PERSONAL

Always be relevant and

responsive on Twitter, even
with your competitors. If
someone compliments your
restaurant on your awesome
hamburgers, suggest that
they try your French fries
when they visit next.

Twitter is a great platform

to boost your customer
service level. Search for
any airline on Twitter and
youll see that they have
dedicated managers
handling customer service
questions 24/7.

People turn to Twitter

because they want to
engage with businesses
on a deeper level. Get
personal with your followers
to build that stronger
relationship they are
seeking.

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PHASE 3

Advanced Strategies + Tactics

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PHASE 3: ADVANCED STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

GET MORE FOLLOWERS

Building your Twitter following is best done a little bit at a time.

Resist the temptation to buy followers (a disreputable practice). Think quality, not
quantity. You want to build a following of people who have a legitimate interest in your
business. A massive number of followers wont do you any good if they dont give a hoot
about what you do.
Though its easy to be impressed by a large follower number (especially if its your
competitor flaunting the number), dont be fooled. Most of those numbers are falsely
inflated and dont really have any value above being a big number.
Instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses, focus on connecting with your true
audience in an honest and authentic way.

TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

6 TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR FOLLOWERS

Use these ideas to find and follow relevant users. Most users will
reciprocate by following you in return.

1 2 3

Increase the quality

of your content to
increase the frequency
of retweets.
Each time someone
shares your tweet, it
gains exposure with a
new audience.

Include your Twitter

handle on all business
collateral (email
signature, business
cards, brochures,
storefronts, ads).

You can even include it

on your receipts.

Extend a special
invitation to existing
customers via email.
Thank them for
being customers
and invite them to
follow you on Twitter.

4 5 6

Announce your arrival

on Twitter via your blog
and newsletter.

Add a Twitter button to

your website and invite
people to follow you.

Youll reach customers

you already know like
your business, making it
easy for them to follow
you on Twitter, too.

Even if they dont click

on it when theyre on
your site, it increases
awareness of your
Twitter page.

Add a Twitter
sharing button to
your blog posts
so its easier for
people to tweet
your content
directly from your
site.

As you start tweeting, remember what you learned while you were observing. How does your
audience use Twitter? Are they having live conversations, sharing informational articles,
passing memes around, or something else? How can you become part of the conversation?
Most importantly, how can you add value and be helpful? Find the answer to that question, and
youll know exactly what to tweet.
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ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO FOLLOW YOU

Use these 7 tips to create a Twitter page that fosters a sense of

community and encourages new people to follow you.

1 2 3
4 5 6
7

Be positive.

Proofread your tweets.

Polly Positive always

trumps Negative Nelly.

Well-written and errorfree tweets make you a

more credible source.

Use hashtags in
moderation. 1 2
hashtags is a good
number. Any more
and you run the risk of
sounding spammy.

Focus on your topic.

Variety may be the

spice of life, but being
known as a reliable
source for specific
information is Twitter
gold.

Tweet informational
content.
Be helpful, not selfindulgent. Very few
people care what you
had for breakfast.

Retweet others and

youll increase your
social footprint.
Increase the quality
of your content to
increase the frequency
of retweets.

Increase the quality of your content to get more retweets.

High-quality content is more-likely to go viral than more basic information.

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ANALYZE PERFORMANCE

After youve been tweeting for a while, take a moment to look more closely at whats
working and whats not.
Some questions to consider:
Which topics get the most/least engagement?
What kinds of content seem most appealing to your
audience (how-tos, humor, visual, video, etc.)?
What days and times of day seem most active for your
audience?
Where are you able to outshine the competition?
Who are the influencers in your network? How can you
engage them more deeply?

REFINE CONTENT + EXPLORE NEW TACTICS

Based on the growth of your audience and your
performance analysis, hone your content both created
and curated to best suit the needs of your followers.

If images are performing especially well, think about how

to incorporate images into more of your content and even
create purely visual content.
If quotes are a hit with your followers, source a new batch
and/or craft some original ones.
If your followers respond well when you tweet a question,
get more strategic with your questions in order to gain
insights into your audiences needs.

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In addition to optimizing your content, you may want to explore other
Twitter-based activities:

CONTESTS

Whether youre holding a random drawing or asking your followers to

come up with a photo caption, Twitter contests are a proven way to
get your audience dialed in and actively engaging with your business.
Everyone loves a prize.

#TWIXCLUSIVES

42% of Twitter users follow brands in order to learn about their products
and services. 25% follow businesses in order to learn about special deals.
Use the #Twixclusive hashtag when tweeting about promotions you are
running exclusively for Twitter followers.

FLOCK-TO-UNLOCK

This Twitter feature will incentivize followers to retweet you in exchange for
access to exclusive content.

TWITTERCHAT

Start your own moderated chat and use it as a way to connect with not
only your customers and prospects, but also with your colleagues and
partners who may make guest appearances.

PROMOTED TWEETS

This premium feature puts your tweet in front of more people by

showcasing it in the public Time line and/or on search results.

PROMOTED ACCOUNT

Another premium feature, a promoted account is highlighted via the Who

to Follow box on the Twitter profile page of users who seem to be a good
fit for your business based on your existing followers.
Which of these marketing tactics is right for you?
It depends on the nature of your business and your audience. Experiment with different
tools, but always stay compliant with Twitters terms of service, rules and privacy policy.
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YOURE READY.

Go forth and tweet!

Though Twitter can be a little overwhelming at first, at its core its really about two basic
skills: listening and being helpful. These are things you already do as a small business.
Twitter simply gives you a new way to listen and to help your customers and prospects.
Though brands of all sizes use Twitter, small businesses often have an advantage over
larger brands because Twitter helps smaller businesses do what they do best interact on a
personal level with their customers.
One final note, although Twitter may look like a numbers game where the business with
the most followers wins, its actually less about having the most followers and more about
having the right followers. For the best results, focus on growing a small but dedicated
audience by engaging in real conversations that are helpful and human.
Every relationship starts with a conversation. On Twitter, it all starts with one tweet.
Good luck and happy tweeting!
The LocalVox Marketing Team

P.S.: Now that youre a pro, sign up for our

newsletter and stay in-the-know about all the
latest Twitter news and updates that relate to local
businesses.
You wouldnt want to miss out on an opportunity to
get new customers, right?

TWITTER MARKETING
A Guide to Growing Your Local Business

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

CATHERINE SCHUTTEN, CONTENT + BRAND STRATEGY
Catherine oversees content and brand strategy at LocalVox. Youre
probably most familiar with her voice, as she regularly co-hosts
LocalVoxs webinars. Prior to joining LocalVox, Catherine worked in the
publishing industry, handling marketing for publications of all types, from
Crains New York Business to Prevention.
When she isnt writing, designing and analyzing (while drinking a good cup of coffee), you
can find her walking her two Dachshunds around Inwood.

CAMI BIRD, CONTENT AND PARTNERSHIPS

Cami is the Content and Partner Marketing Manager at LocalVox,

the online marketing platform for local businesses. Cami did her
undergraduate work at St. Francis College in New York, NY and went on
to get her Masters Degree at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
She is an expert in social media engagement, inbound marketing and loves Welsh Corgis.

JOSH MELZER, VP OF MARKETING & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Josh leads the marketing department at LocalVox and works with the
team to ensure daily activities fit into larger strategic initiatives. Prior to
joining LocalVox, Josh spent 15 years at American Express where he led
many different types of marketing teams, from travel to social media.
When Josh isnt working, he can be found attending Broadway plays in NYC or walking his
French Bulldog, Duke.

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ABOUT LOCALVOX

LocalVox is a simple, effective and affordable online marketing platform that helps local
businesses be found by new customers.
From deals, mobile, social media, maps, syndication, search, reviews, article writing, email
and websites, LocalVox drives more leads to businesses of all types and sizes (single
location shops to multi-location franchises) all with the touch of one button.
In 2015, LocalVox became part of The Berry Company family and we can now offer local
businesses access to a complete suite of marketing products. The Berry Company has been
providing marketing products and services to small and medium-sized businesses across
the U.S. for 100+ years, from cutting-edge digital solutions, such as websites, search engine
marketing, video and more, to print directories.
Our mission is to help you grow your business, whether that is with our easy-to-use and
affordable self-service LocalVox technology or a custom marketing campaign that we
create, implement and monitor for you. With either option, you have a dedicated Account
Coordinator available to help answer questions, guide your campaign and oversee your
custom program. Our turn-key solutions let our customers get back to running their
business while we work behind the scenes to get them results.
LocalVox has won numerous awards for the innovative solutions we provide. Our greatest
pride comes from our customers, their successes and the long-term partnerships we build
with them.
For more information, please visit our website at localvox.com.

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