One Thing: Tweet Smart

Welcome to our new series called One Thing.  What is one thing can you do today to help run your business in a better way?  This one thing should be quick and fairly easy to accomplish.

Our first suggestion is to Tweet Smart.  Twitter is a great business tool when used in a way that highlights the positive aspects of your business, and just as importantly, the positive way you conduct business.  In general, there is an 80/20 rule for tweeting.  The rule is that 80% of your tweets should be about helping your community and/or your target audience, and 20% should be about promoting yourself.

One way to think about the 80/20 rule and what you're tweeting is to think of every tweet as your turn in a conversation.  You want to engage your followers to listen. "Hey, I've got this great new piece of jewelry that I designed!"  While you might talk about that necklace for a bit, you probably wouldn't talk about your nine other pieces without first listening to the other side of the exchange.  Tweeting link after link of your own work, or retweeting a ton of posts unrelated to you, is a sure way to lose your listeners.  (Ditto for auto-tweeting all the things you pin on Pinterest.  Unlink those accounts!)

One Thing to do today is to think about using Twitter as a way to engage your community of followers with what interests them.  And, of course, you and your work interests them!  Just remember the idea that it is a conversation and a great way to reach out to a vibrant and valuable group.  Respond to them and give them an opportunity to talk back.

For more information on using Twitter for business, check out our post here.

Cyn Thomas is the illustrator, designer and pattern maker of RiverDog Prints. Her paper goods and gifts are guided by earth, animals, function, food and cocktails. You can also find Cyn canning in her kitchen, walking her dog, being outnumbered by her boys and husband or reading herself to sleep.