Increase Traffic with Twitter

Update for a More Comptrehensive Look at Twitter – you might want to check out the Twitter Handbook!

Well, I hesitate to say a great deal about twitter.  Twitter is probably (at least over the last six months) one of the fastest growing social networks I have ever seen.  Because of this there is a great deal of information out there already.  The fact is, they grew so fast they started having all sorts of server problems.  These days, the site is much more predictable and enjoyable.  My frustration and their problems have both decreased.  So score one for twitter right there.

Also, I have talked plenty about twitter, (make sure you read this post) not to mention the slew of other marketers who are all smarter than me, but in keeping with the spirit of a Social Networking Series, I must add my own voice to the cloud of witnesses.

I am writing for new users. It is my hope that this series will reside here for as long as it helps new users to learn the landscape of Social networking, and most importantly, learn how they can use these respective social networks to increase the traffic, thus their profitability.

So on to the point!  How can I use twitter to increase my Traffic?

1. Sign up

It should go without saying, but the numbers of people I recommend it to who never sign up blows me away.  Twitter won’t help you if you don’t have an account!  See my twitter page and sign up from there.

2. Build your profile

You only get a brief snippet to say something about yourself, add a picture and a link.  It is pretty simple, and it will always appear near the top right of your “twitter stream” – the page that shows what you are saying right now, and most recently.  Tell us a bit about yourself, and please make sure you place a link to your website.  This will be where you get some of your twitter traffic.

3. Tweet

Go ahead and say what you are doing!  If your first tweet reads “learning about twitter” then you will be in a large crowd of people (probably including myself).  Let’s face it.  New users to twitter struggle more than any other network to figure out just what the heck this is all about.

This will help you catch on fast. Look around the network and “follow” some people you find interesting.

For current twitterers, please add your twitter link in the comments section to make finding you easier.

Then reply to some of them.  You reply by adding the @ symbol immediately prior to their user name (to reply to me you can say @jaredmlee) or if you are using the web interface there is a small arrow icon beside each tweet which is a reply option.  This will get you interacting with the community and finding your voice.

Sometimes I interact, other times I send out random things.  For instance the other day I sent out a string of 1’s and 0’s.  It actually meant something in binary, and several people replied to me.  One even replied in binary.  So it’s a place to have fun, but each of those people who replied to me is now a contact.  They all had the opportunity to visit my webpage, and many of them did.

The more active you are here the more traffic you will receive.   There have been times I have allowed my involvement at twitter to wane, and my stats reflect that.

4. Use twitter feed

Twitterfeed is a service that will automatically send tweets with a link whenever you update your blog.  My twitter followers will get a message as soon as I post this.

5. Explore easier options for managing your twitter stream

There are numerous softwares and addons for seeing yours and your friends tweets in real time while you work.  Some of the best are twhirl, and twitterfox (a FireFox addon).

There are others.  If you use something else and want to evangelize for it, feel free to do so in the comments.

6. Don’t be Selfish

I realize I am starting to sound like a broken record.  But this rule is the most universal truth of all social marketing.  Be helpful and contribute value to the community.  Help people, laugh with people, connect people.  The results will blow you away!  If you participate, ask sincere questions, get to know people.  You will see the payoffs with traffic to your site.

If you consistently ignore others, if you constantly plug yourself and your page. You will get very little traffic.

7. Keep Learning

As always, I cannot possibly say everything that needs to be said about twitter.  There are things you can do, like change your background, and use pictures, and use twitter to update your facebook page, and the list goes on and on.  Interestingly, as I wrote this, a friend’s feed came into my reader telling you how to change your background!   Justin has also written a great deal about twitter, so I recommend you take a look at his blog as well.

If you have resources or other things that might be helpful, I would love to hear from you below.

More on this topic

• Social Networking 101 – Why Should I twitter
• Is the New Facebook the Future of Social Networking?
• Increase Traffic with StumbleUpon
• Using Metatags to Drive Better Traffic
• A Quick Twitter Tip

Comments

Leave a comment