Are you working Twitter

Judging by the feedback I get from many Fitpros building your brand on Twitter is still a bit of a mystery. What shall I tweet? Who do I follow? Is this going to take hours of my day? How do I get people to follow me? etc, etc and as Twitter now is pretty much my favorite form of social media I think its time to revisit the basics and have a look at what you are doing and how you can make the best of Twitter for your fitness business.

Twitter and Facebook are constantly evolving and changing. New features are coming up thick and fast and its important to be aware of what is going on.

Being totally honest with you I am in love with Twitter! I have  lists of different groups of people I love to follow from the fitness industry, business people I admire, celebrities, internet marketers, Youtube gurus, friends and athletes.  If I am researching any type of information I can search for it on Twitter and find out what people are saying about a product, a brand, a person, or a news item, its such a useful tool to me and Choreographytogo.

So, if Twitter is still a mystery to you or you don’t feel you are getting the most out of Twitter here are my Twitter Basics 🙂

Why are you on Twitter? Most people fall into the 3 categories below

A. To talk to friends

B. Professional networking: Whether you are a fitness business owner, just starting a fitness career or are well into your fitness business Twitter allows you to build connections with interesting and relevant people around the world who are working and talking about topics related to your interests.

C. Building your personal brand and engaging with your audience: You are tweeting and commenting interesting statements about you and your business…….or are you???

Twitter Basics

1. Make your profile public: You want to connect with people so keep your account open.

2. Choose a Twitter name that is your entire name or at least your first name and last initial or a variation of your name. Be sure your real name is somewhere on your public profile or if you are promoting your business then use your business name. You want people to be able to find you easily and quickly.

3. Fill in your location – this is super important if you are trying to connect with people in your local area, if you are looking for new clients and class members including your location is key.

4. Work on your bio- It should be specific to who you are and the services you offer You’ve got 160 characters – choose them wisely.

5. Choose a good head and shoulder shot as your avatar photo. You want people to recognise you and your profile.

6. Start following local businesses in your area, people you would like to network and engage with, industry presenters. See what they tweet, do you find them interesting? What do you like about their tweets.

7. Pay attention to others’ tweets: You will learn a lot by just “listening.” When the time is right (you see something you want to comment on or you want to thank someone for sharing something send them an “@” message. These tweets are the beginnings of real conversations with people who may one day become part of your professional network.

10. Retweet judiciously: When you read something that really means something to you or you think some of your followers might appreciate retweet (RT) it. If there is room add a comment explain why you like it.

11.Tweet interesting and relevant content

Ideas for Tweeting

11.Any article you write recycle key points as tweets through the day.

12.Have a daily or weekly theme.

13.Use your phone and take Twitpics through the day to create interest and fun.

14.Ask questions, get feedback and opinion

15.Answer as many of your messages as you can even if its just a quick “thanks”

16.Tweet special offers, deals, compertitions relevant to your classes and seervices

Be your self on Twitter, think about the online  image you are trying to create and how your tweets are perceived. Building another strong network using Twitter will only strengthen your brand and in time your business

I have tons more Tricks and Tips to building your Twitter brand and I hope you can join me tomorrow on the webinar. If you haven’t registered.

This weeks Webinar Thursday 2nd June 2011

Have a great week