Lehmans guide to Twitter. How to use it & adopt it into your marketing plan.

1. A Guide to using Social Media – Part 1: Twitter
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a social network. People use social networks to share thoughts and information over the Internet
via PC or mobile phone. On Twitter, you only read and write one (140 characters) at a time. This is why users
call Twitter a micro-blog. Each time you visit the site you answer the same question: "What's happening?" In
the language of Twitter, your answer is a tweet.
Other popular social networks are Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube. We have guides to using these sites
available too.
What does Twitter do for businesses?
As a business, you can use Twitter to quickly share information, gather market intelligence and insights, and
build relationships with people who care about your company. Often, there is already a conversation about
your type of business happening on Twitter.
From a business marketing perspective it is a great way to promote and build your brand. Followers can get a
snapshot insight into what your business is currently doing, key areas you work in (great for service based
industries), asking your followers questions that can help with market research. All of which enable you to
drive traffic to your website. The key mistake businesses make when using Twitter is over selling. While it is a
great tool for pushing product and offers to your audience, be mindful not to solely use it in this way.
As a marketing consultant I generally advise clients to work on building there brand and engage with there
followers. So for example, much like generic advertising, if you are seen on a regular basis, you will begin to be
recognized and trusted by your audience. So make sure you tell your followers what you are doing/working
on, give them information that may help them (I often post marketing tips or links to articles that may be
helpful), and most important show some personality to your company. Much like with networking, people
respond best to people. So while you need a professional corporate image, you also need to show you are
approachable and friendly. This may be done in a tweet such as “Been a busy week, so looking forward to the
weekend. Seeing “x” in concert, can’t wait!” That personal touch can really make all the difference.
If we got all the BoB Club Members on Twitter…..
Through BoB Clubs we meet great people and businesses from a variety of industries and locations. We help
support and promote each other through our contact base. If we were all on twitter following and supporting
each other, imagine the reach we would have! It will enable us to learn more about each others businesses
and provide an extra resource when recommending to our contact base. “Oh I know a really good Mortgage
Broker. They specialize in …..their website and details are….and you can follow them on Twitter to get a real

2. feel for what they are about.” While you are recommending a fellow club member, you are also allowing the
contact to get more information on their business. This way when they both get in touch with each other,
there is a real friendly feel to the conversation. The way we engage with people in business is a key factor, and
if you already feel like you know each other straight away can only help moving forward.
I would urge all BoB club members to connect with each other through Twitter and social media sites. It is not
something that has to take a lot of time. You can use it as much or as little as you need too. For some they will
become serial tweeters. Others will post a few a week – that’s all fine. The main thing is that you access this
powerful free marketing tool and use it. The next generation of business people are already using social media
as a key networking tool. It will soon become part of every day business life. Learn to use it now as soon you
will be expected to have a Twitter account. Much in the same way you are now all expected to have a
website, where many businesses 5 years ago could get away without having one.
Best Practices
Build your following, reputation, and customer's trust with these simple practices:
1. Share. Share photos and behind the scenes info about your business. Even better, give a glimpse of developing
projects and events. Users come to Twitter to get and share the latest, so give it to them!
2. Listen. Regularly monitor the comments about your company, brand, and products.
3. Ask. Ask questions of your followers to glean valuable insights and show that you are listening.
4. Respond. Respond to compliments and feedback in real time
5. Reward. Tweet updates about special offers, discounts and time-sensitive deals.
6. Demonstrate wider leadership and know-how. Reference articles and links about the bigger picture as it relates to
your business.
7. Champion your stakeholders. Retweet and reply publicly to great tweets posted by your followers and customers.
8. Establish the right voice. Twitter users tend to prefer a direct, genuine, and of course, a likable tone from your
business, but think about your voice as you Tweet. How do you want your business to appear to the Twitter
community?
How do I join Twitter?
1. Go to www.twitter.com.
2. Click on: Join or Sign up
3. Follow the steps to create a free
Twitter account.
4. Choose your own username (ours is
zorbasolutions).
5. Choose your own password. You
must type 6 letters or numbers.

3. 6. Type in your email address.
7. Prove you are a human (type the letters you see in the word verification box).
8. Accept the terms (Twitter users must be at least 13 years old). That's it!
Create a profile
Now that you are a member, it's time to personalize your Twitter page.
1. Log in at www.twitter.com (enter your username and password).
2. Click on Settings.
3. Add a picture (700K maximum) of yourself (or a character or logo). Click on browse and choose a
photo from your computer.
4. Fill out the information in the boxes. If you don't have a website, you can use EnglishClub.com or
another favourite.
5. In the bio section add one or two lines about yourself. You can write in point form.
Example bio:
Your complete marketing consultancy with the personal touch. Helping businesses run successful marketing
campaigns in all areas of media marketing
Start tweeting
Log in at www.twitter.com and type your first tweet. Remember, the question is always: "What's
happening?". Write one or two short sentences. If you write too much you will have to delete part of your
message. You will see a number decreasing as you write. This will show how many letters you can still type.
When you see "-1", that means you wrote too much.
Example tweets:
 I'm looking for BoB Club members on twitter.
 For financial service advice, please go to www……..com
 Seen a great article on energy prices that might be of interest. Click on this link….
 Thinking about what to eat for dinner...any good recipes to share?

4. FOLLOW people
Now you need to make some Twitter friends. Start by FOLLOWING @bobclubs. When you find BoBClubs, click
FOLLOW underneath the logo. BobClubs will get a message that you are FOLLOWING them. Soon you will start
seeing their updates (tweets) on your page.
Look for others to FOLLOW. Do any of your Bob Club members use Twitter? What about family members or
people you work with? If not, send them an email and invite them to join.
On your Twitter homepage you will see a sidebar on the right hand side. You will see the words following and
followers. Under each there will be a number. Each time you go to a person's Twitter page and click FOLLOW
your following number will increase. Each time a person FOLLOWS you, your followers number will increase.
Search Twitter
Use the Search button at the bottom of your twitter page to follow more people. Look for people you want to
network with. Type anything you want in the search box.
Example searches:
 marketing
 finance
 accountants
 (a certain location i.e. County or Town)
 cosmetics
Reply and Retweets
When you see an interesting tweet reply to it. When you click reply you will see @username (@bobclubs) in
the text box. Type your reply after this.
People will reply to you too. Each time you log in, click on @replies in your sidebar to view your messages. To
reply back put your mouse over the tweet until you see the curving arrow. You will see the words "reply".
Click here and start your reply. Beside the word "reply" you will see the word "retweet". When you "retweet"
something that means you like it. Your "retweet" will be sent as a status update from your account. Anyone
who follows you will see it.
Share a link
Use Twitter to share links, such as your website or links to relevant or interesting articles. We use Twitter to
update our followers about new marketing techniques and tips. You can shorten a link at tinyurl.com. If you
don't shorten it, Twitter will shorten it for you. (Don't be surprised when your link looks different.)

5. Send a Direct Message
To send a private reply or message, use the Direct Message function. Only you and the recipient will see these
messages. Direct Messages will also go to the recipient's email address.
Hashtags #
When you put a hashtag # in front of a word it means this is your key word in the tweet. It will then be picked
up by any searches made but other users. So for example I may use #marketing in my tweets. This means
anyone who types in marketing in the search box my tweet will appear. Do not use anymore than 3 # per
tweet.
Personalize your Settings
You can change the look of your Twitter page. You can use your own picture or favourite background.
1. Log in to Twitter.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click on Designs.
4. Choose a twitter background or upload your own.
And Finally….
For more information on social media and how it can benefit your business, please contact us as below.
We also have additional guides on Linkedin, Youtube and Facebook, as well as other marketing methods
and techniques.
Zorba Solutions Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1795 857623
3 Addington Road Fax: +44 (0) 1795 500285
Sittingbourne
Kent ME10 1HT
United Kingdom
askzorba@zorba-solutions.co.uk Twitter@zorbasolutions
www.zorba-solutions.co.uk Linkedin/zorbasolutions