Is Twitter Making You Money Yet?

The question of the day for all business owners:  “Is Twitter making you money yet?”  

I can’t tell you how many businesses with Twitter profiles that I have come across where it takes me approximately 2 minutes to determine they have absolutely no idea how to leverage their Twitter account to make them money.  

In fact, when it comes to checking out their business, I’m actually turned off simply because I’m irritated they haven’t taken the time to learn Twitter and use it appropriately.  

Whether or not you have an online business or a local restaurant, Twitter can be used to increase your revenue, and if it’s not, you’re probably not using it right.  

Here are three easy tips to get you started using it correctly.  And, I think chances are good that once you start to see the difference, you’re going to take it and run.

Who to Follow & Why

For start up Twitterers, the biggest problem I see is in the followers.  It takes time to build up a large following, that’s a given. 

However, following thousands of random people will do you little to no good.  Likewise, if you’re a coffee shop, running searches and following every person who tweeted “#coffee” this morning is not going to get you the following that you need. 

Now, for the sake of this article, let’s say you are a coffee shop and we’ll run with that for this post.  You are a local coffee shop in San Diego.  Now, since you’re not going to follow everyone in the world who loves coffee but who has zero chance of actually visiting your coffee shop given that they live in Houston, you need to follow the people of San Diego, and more than that, the right people in San Diego.

You need to search out the coffee gurus.  The foodie and restaurant aficionados.  Bottom line, you need to follow the people who have massive followings and who hold clout with the people of San Diego, especially when it comes to coffee.  Follow the premier Yelpers, YelpSanDiego, for example. 

Follow the local “calendar” Twitter accounts, the local deal accounts, and follow the prominent mommy-blogger Twitterers, these guys are dominating right now.  The underlying goal is followers, followers who will turn into dollars.  The followers that follow you because someone reputable followed you are the right ones.

Interactions, How?

Now, assuming you’ve done your research and you’ve found and followed the right people, you have to start interacting.  They sure aren’t going to follow some random coffee shop for no reason, let alone make mention of you. 

This is where you really have to do some legwork.  I suggest you go places that these people suggest.  Did they recommend a new restaurant?  Go check it out.  And then Tweet it: “@YelpSD recommended @Paul’s sandwiches, checked it out, they were right! #bestsandwhichSD.” 

Do multiples of those, Tweet YelpSD and ask them a question, what do they recommend for ________?  And, finally, once you’ve gotten a conversation flowing with them, then (not before they know you!) invite them in to your shop. 

Take it a step farther and offer them a free meal.  You’ve got to make it worth their effort to come in.  I’d also go for asking them to let you know when they come in, and then you can personally meet them and ensure that their experience is fantastic. 

This is how you’ll get Re-Tweets from influential accounts when you post your 10% off day and your #freecupofcoffeeday.

Branding, Twitter Style

If you aren’t following @PopChips yet, go follow them today and start studying how they brand themselves.  The more of a name, and beyond that “brand” you can create for yourself on Twitter, the more drastically you will see your sales increase, guaranteed. 

This means being active in the community.  You don’t even have to promote your product whatsoever.  All you’re promoting (subtly) is your business name.  Go volunteer with some big race and Tweet it, you’re almost guaranteed somebody will mention you being there. 

Donate coffee cups to a big soup kitchen and Tweet it.  Chances are pretty high the kitchen will Tweet a thank you back, and instant name.  Take your employees out of the store and have them run a 5K.  The more your name starts popping up as trendy and hip, the more people are going to come see you and the more your profits will rise. 

Encourage your employees to Tweet while at work: “just whipped up the most awesome caramel Twix frappuccino yet, #dangI’mgood!”  Hip, cool, come hither, sexy Tweets.  Those are the ones that will get people to recognize your name, and start to look for your witty tweets on a daily basis just to see what you’re up to, and eventually they’ll come.

Don’t Miss Your Shot

The options for monetizing with Twitter are endless, and if you’re looking to make money on Twitter without even owning a business, you can easily do that too. 

Look into sponsored Tweets and promotional Tweets.  Twitter is here to stay and has proven itself to be much more than a passing fad, so get yourself involved and start capitalizing on the opportunity.  What have you got to lose?  Except income, that is.

About The Author

Jocelyn is a Twitter fanatic and passionately helps start up businesses grow their name and sales with just a Twitter account.  At the moment she’s working with an online company selling portable heaters and helping them grow via Twitter.

Tags: make money with twitter, making money with twitter, twitter