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For many entrepreneurs, Twitter has proven to be a useful social tool they can use to make the most of their business. But sadly, most small business owners still have no idea about how to use the micro-blogging service effectively. The following are a few tips for entrepreneurs to make their tweets more engaging and to get their followers to stick around.

1. Let Your Customers Know That Your Business Is on Twitter

After setting up a Twitter account for your business, the first thing you want to do as an up-and-coming entrepreneur is inform your customers and persuade them to follow you. You can advertise your company’s Twitter Account on your website using a social media plug-in with a call-to-action line like “Follow us on Twitter for special discounts.” Adding a Twitter plug-in to your website will direct traffic from website visitors to your Twitter account and vice versa.

2. Use Hashtags

If you use hashtags that contain valuable keywords specific to your business or include your slogan in a hashtag at the end of a tweet, your followers are more likely to remember your business for your products/services.  The rule of thumb when using hashtags is that they should always be short, simple, and catchy.

3. Remember That Twitter Is A Social Media Tool

There is a reason that Twitter is a ‘social media‘ tool, and the keyword is ‘social‘.

Twitter is an amazing tool to interact with your customers. It gives you real-time conversation with them, but if you don’t interact and answer questions people have, it’s a complete turn-off. Don’t constantly shove information down their throats. Be social and see what your customers want or need.

4. Provide Value

One of the goals you should have when using Twitter to market to customers is to deliver relevant valuable content. Post tips, advice and guidance that your potential customers will find useful.

5. Join The Conversation

Pay attention to any trending topics that are relevant to your business, and when you found one, join the conversation and use the opportunity to offer related products or limited deals. Since Google indexes tweets, actively participating in trending topics will help increase your search engine exposure over time.

6. Give Your Followers Incentives

While building and maintaining a follower base, give the supporters of your business a reason to remain your followers. For example, you can offer special deals or do seasonal contests and raffles.

7. Auto-Responder Is The Kiss of Death

Automatic responder is the #1 people’s pet peeve on Twitter. Many (if not all) people on Twitter don’t appreciate an auto-DM. They want to follow brands that are sincere and transparent, and an auto-responder serves as an easy warning that the motive behind the tweets and interactions is to sell  only, not to engage.

8. Tweet Often, But Not Too Often

Make sure you are providing a steady stream of tweets, but do not overwhelm your followers with tweets. You should at least tweet once a day, but it’s recommended to do it 3 times a day to cover the various times when people are checking their Twitter account the most; in the morning, during lunch, and in the evening.