By now, you probably already realize the vast marketing potential that exists within the Twitter landscape. With 231.7 million active users and 100 million people logging in every single day, there’s a huge attentive audience on Twitter that’s ripe for the marketing picking. And with a new report showing that promoted Tweets boost offline sales by 29 percent, it’s clear that if you take the right approach with your Twitter marketing, you can get some seriously impressive results.
Of course, the first step to getting your Twitter marketing campaign off the ground is to build an audience of targeted followers. The internet is flooded with articles that will tell you how to do increase your Twitter following, but you’ll notice that almost all of these articles focus on online tactics, such as using a Twitter management tool such as Hootsuite, promoting your Twitter profile in your email signature, getting followers from your blog, and so on. But what many people overlook is that you can go offline to build your Twitter following too.
Here are some of the most effective offline tactics you can use to get more Twitter followers.
- Add your Twitter info to your business card—You still have business cards, right? Despite everything going digital, business cards are still an important marketing tool, and you need to have professionally designed business cards that make a good first impression for your business. However, in this new age, it’s not enough to have the typical old business card with your name, job title and phone number. Your print business cards need to reflect the times we live in, and that means promoting your online social media presence on them. Put your Twitter info on your business card with a call to action to follow your profile.
- Put your Twitter link on all your print marketing materials—Your Twitter information should be on all of your marketing materials. That means it needs to be in your brochures, advertisements, flyers…everything. You can either put the entire Twitter url on there (e.g. www.Twitter.com/yourusername) or just your username (@yourusername).
- Give in store customers a special offer for following and interacting with you—One of the most often overlooked ways to promote your social media presence offline is in your storefront. Your customers should see information about your Twitter presence throughout your store. For instance, you could have a sign at your checkout stand encouraging customers to follow your brand on Twitter and offering them a special offer for doing so, like 10 percent off their purchase. Or if you run a restaurant or café, you could have little signs at each table promoting your Twitter page.
- Integrate Twitter into your direct-mail marketing—Think direct-mail marketing is dead? You’re wrong. When done properly, direct-mail marketing can generate a return on investment that exceeds nearly every other type of marketing. Now, integrating direct-mail marketing with your social media marketing can help increase your results. When sending out any direct mail, make sure to include your Twitter info and push any current social media promotions you might be running. With effective cross-promotion across channels, you can get better outcomes and a better return on your investment.
- Use QR Codes to direct people to your Twitter profile—QR Code marketing has become very popular over the past couple of years. Typically, companies use QR Codes to drive their audience to their website or a specific landing page with an offer, but you can also use QR Codes to promote your social media profiles. For example, you could have a marketing piece with a QR Code that says something like “Scan this QR Code to Follow Us on Twitter!”
- Promote your profile at networking events—If you attend networking events to build your business, these provide you with a great avenue for building your Twitter following. People go to networking events to connect with others, so meeting people and exchanging Twitter information is a natural fit. Ask for follows at the end of your conversations. This lets you keep the relationship going more easily.
With these six tactics, you’ll be building your Twitter following even when you’re not online. The key, of course, is consistency. It takes time to build a quality Twitter following. And remember, it’s not all about numbers. It’s about quality. Make sure you’re focusing your efforts on attracting targeted followers who will actually be interested in building a relationship with your company.