by Tony Vidler       

“How should I use Twitter” is the question which follows the decision to embrace it.  In other words, how do you get Twitter attention and then get traction with a following?

There has been a paradigm shift in recent years as more and more information is available, and on more and more channels, and it IS a struggle to cut through the market noise and just get attention to begin with.

In the past there was usually an event which occurred which got customers attention and made them go looking for information.  In our professional context, that was perhaps a change in circumstances in their life that made them go looking for a solution, or they were approached by an adviser directly, or some advertising or marketing caught their attention and triggered a response.  Something got the customers attention and made them want further information.

Now however customers willingly immerse themselves in information streams as a form of entertainment.  As a result they have become accustomed to screening information out, rather than seeking to include it in their thinking.there is so much change, happening at a rapidly increasing pace, that many customers have become inured to it.

“Change” itself is not necessarily a catalyst to act for many customers today.

Simply getting attention usually requires a longer lead-in period and a gradual building up of credibility and trust.  It is about continual presence and consistency of message.

Building up that credibility and trust works differently on different social media networks for two key reasons:

1. the audience for different networks have different expectations and ways of using the networks.

2. the type of information or data which is posted, or shared, has an impact on customers capacity to absorb it and engage with you.

For example; Pinterest is image based, and it is very easy for people to grasp a point swiftly, and get to the core of the message.  The bright colours and strong imagery facilitate swift understanding.  Twitter on the other hand is predominantly very succinct messages with weblinks to more detailed data.  And it is racing past you….fast…..

Engagement is more difficult and takes longer on a network such as Twitter therefore as there are higher barriers to participation.  Or, to put it plainly, a network like Pinterest presents the interesting data which is understood in full in seconds whereas a network like Twitter generates attention first, and perhaps intrigue, but requires a higher level of participation by the customer to get meaningful or useful data from it.

In order to get the best out of Twitter, and to generate traction with your desired audience requires patience, persistence and clarity.

It will take quite some months (usually) for people to pay attention to you.  It helps if you are clear about who your desired audience is and what position of credibility you are trying to establish with them.  The more clarity you have in this respect, the more attention you will get from your target market.

On Twitter however, there must be interaction if you want any traction.

It is not sufficient (generally speaking) to merely re-post good content. Nor is it sufficient to merely post advertorials of your own, or even just high quality informative content of your own.

A good rule of thumb for getting traction on Twitter is the “Rough Rule of Thirds”.

One Third of what you post should be content that you produce for your audience. The more informative and high calibre, the better the level of attention and engagement.

One Third of what you post should be other people’s quality content that is ideal for your audience. Find the good stuff that your audience are interested in and spread it around – you become a more trusted source of quality content by sharing others great content.

One Third should be engaging one-to-one with the people who are following you.  Have conversations, show some personality, get to know each other a little better.

(Note: this a very rough “Rule”….an approximation in reality).

For professional services especially, customers do business with people they get to know to the point where they feel they like them and can trust them. Getting attention and traction with Twitter requires you to be present, be patient, share good stuff and be prepared to engage with people.

Achieve that balance, and it will become a very effective part of the marketing strategy for your business.

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