Twitter remains one of the most popular social media platforms, now boasting 330 million users, and is an important part of marketing strategy for anybody looking to grow their business. If you are like most brands on Twitter, you are using it to:
- Increase brand awareness
- Reach new customers
- Engage with your tribe
It is common knowledge that the global network provided by Twitter helps companies take part in conversations happening all over the world and connect with potential customers that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. What is often overlooked, however, is how Twitter’s “Lists” feature can be used to take these marketing opportunities even further and maximise your impressions, reach and engagement.
WHAT ARE TWITTER LISTS?
A list on Twitter is a curated group of Twitter accounts. You can make your own list or subscribe to one that somebody else has made, and you will then be able to view a timeline of tweets only from accounts in that list.
Lists can be public or private, so when making your own you choose whether other people can see the accounts you are grouping together or not. Your lists can have names up to 25 characters long as well as a short description. It’s worth noting that users are notified when they are added to a public list, which you can use to your advantage. If you name your list “Top London Restaurants” or “Our Favourite Customers”, the users who have been added are much more likely to feel valued by the gesture and check out your profile – maybe even start following you.
You can read more about creating, subscribing and being a member of Twitter lists here.
HOW CAN TWITTER LISTS HELP YOU?
Lists can be used to easily organise your followers, accounts that you are following and any other accounts that you want to keep an eye on. But they can also do so much more for your marketing strategy, giving you a way to easily scroll through relevant tweets and target your content more directly to the right people.
Here are 5 ways you can use Twitter lists as part of your social media marketing strategy.
- CONNECT WITH LEADERS IN YOUR NICHE
Building relationships with leaders in your industry and being a part of communities relevant to your niche is a great way to increase brand awareness, demonstrate your expertise and create beneficial partnership opportunities. Make a list of those in your field of business who are popular with your audience, or those who you admire, and engage with them on a regular basis. Retweet their content, join in any discussions on their threads and give them mentions in shout outs. They may even return the favor and introduce you to their followers.
Another benefit of grouping together industry leaders is that you are making a valuable list for other people to use too. Share it with your followers as a resource that can help them stay in the loop too if they subscribe.
- MAKE EVENT LISTS
If you’re hosting an event, creating a public list of the speakers, guests and invitees is a great way to market the occasion as well as to help you organise who is attending. Creating anticipation for your event with countdowns, updates and sneak peeks is a great way to get people excited and talking about your brand, even sharing it with their own followers. An event list makes it easier to target this content at users who are interested and give the right mentions to the relevant people.
Bringing everyone together on Twitter also allows them to connect with each other before the event takes place and still gives those who can’t attend an opportunity to build relationships with other invitees and follow the event in real time through your feed activity.
- KEEP ON TOP OF TRENDS
While Twitter is of course a social media channel, it is actually listed in the App Store as a news app. It’s a place where people go to find out what is happening all around the world and see what everyone online is talking about. Staying on top of breaking news in your industry – whether it’s business updates, competitor announcements or customer trends – is key to keeping your brand up to date and your content relevant, and list timelines are a great way to keep all this news in one place without having to filter out any distracting tweets. Add websites, publications and users who consistently share the latest happenings. This is also an opportunity to respond to any news that affects your brand, join in discussions around trending topics and show off your ability to be a leader in your industry.Â
- REWARD YOUR SUPPORTERS
Building a loyal fanbase and keeping them engaged takes effort. Providing them with regular, valuable content is a large part of this, but it’s not everything. Your customers want to feel special and important to your brand, particularly if they have shown that they like you, and Twitter lists can help you go the extra mile to achieve that. Create a group of people who have shown that they are your biggest fans – perhaps they have tweeted that they are delighted with one of your products, mentioned you in a recommendation to one of their friends or retweeted your content – and reach out to engage with them on a personal level. This list is also a fantastic resource for marketing events or carrying out customer research.
- MONITOR YOUR COMPETITORS
It’s always a sound idea to watch what your competitors are up to, especially on social media. Monitoring the tweets of other brands in your industry can help you keep track of product launches, promotions, events and any creative content ideas which might affect your business or inspire your marketing strategy. If you see that lots of stores are giving 50% off on Black Friday, for example, you might want to plan a more generous offer or change your deal to something that will make you stand out in the crowd. Similarly, it’s worth knowing if your rival restaurant company is planning to open a new site on the same street as yours, and Twitter is one of the first places they’ll be making these announcements. For obvious reasons, this is a good list to keep private.
