2 Things You’re Not Doing on Twitter, But Should Be

June 17, 2014 | Krista Heilman | Social Media, Successful Exhibiting

Twitter is a noisy, cluttered party, and you’re just one in millions trying to be heard. So how, and why, and again – how? It boils down to having a Twitter strategy. Tweeting random content irregularly is not going to earn you any listeners.

1. Have a Twitter Strategy

You should actively be tweeting before, during and after your trade show. This can be a time-consuming chore, especially if you’re also manning your trade show booth! Use a tool like Hootsuite to pre-schedule your tweets ahead of time, and voila, they will go out without you. You need to determine the end-goal of tweeting for you and your company. Are you looking to build followers? If so, go to your competitor’s or expo pages and like some of their fans. In turn, some of these people should begin to follow you if your bio is a match for who they are looking to connect with. After two weeks, unfollow anyone you followed to keep your following list controlled. You can use Manageflitter for this. Maybe your goal is to advertise the fact that you’re going to be at this show. Connect with others by using the show’s hashtag and start talking to other exhibitors and attendees. Encourage your clients to connect with you on Twitter so they can see what you’re up to. Maybe your goal is to drive people back to your website. Tweet interesting things/news/new blog posts from your website and always use a link to get them back to your website for more. Tweeting is great, and easy, but doing it without knowing the end-goal behind why you want to use it isn’t the way to get your tweets “heard”. So, build a sound strategy and then dive in!

2. Stop Using Twitter as a One-Way Self-Promotion Channel

Tweeting into the universe as a means of a hard-sell is not the answer. In fact, a lot of followers will un-follow and/or block your spammy tweets if they are entirely “buy my product, check out my product, review my product, etc”. Look for relevant trending topics to jump into, and engage in those. Some popular ones to help get into the conversation are #Tradeshows #Tradeshowtips #Eventprof. Share other people’s blog posts and articles. Look up your upcoming show’s hashtag (most conferences and shows will use one) and start talking to other exhibitors and attendees on the show’s feed. Sure, you can send a promotional tweet occasionally, and especially if someone asks you about your products and services or if someone has a question and you have a solution – tweet away! Just follow the 3-1 rule. For every three engagement tweets, you can tweet one promotional thing. If you need more ideas on how to tweet while at the show, Trace Cohen recently shared 14 Things You Can Tweet About When Attending or Exhibiting at a Trade Show.

Social media can definitely help boost your trade show success when used effectively as a part of your overall marketing plan. The above tips are intended to help you on Twitter, but make sure you’re exploring other channels as well: Facebook, Linkedin, Google+. We mentioned hashtags a lot, and you might want to visit our previous blog post: Using Twitter Hashtags (#) During Your Trade Show. Happy tweeting!