How to Grow Your Business With Twitter and Instagram

Have you been struggling with generating engagement and growing your followers on Twitter or Instagram?! Have you started a Twitter account and the avatar is still an egg?! Don't know what content to post?! Don't know how to get started?!  I want to help!

Social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram are  AMAZING tools for growing your brand.  You can connect with your customers instantly! Recently I wrote about my top 3 ways to increase engagement and followers. You can read the post here.  

If you find yourself spending time on social media and not getting results or totally ignoring it because it frustrates you, you're losing potential customers and throwing money down the drain.

I am a mom and wife from Chicago now living in Toronto.  I have also lived in Brooklyn, NY,  Cambridge, England and Vancouver, Canada. I have a BA in Psychology.  Most of my working career before children (BC) was spent as a social worker.  My degree and work experience have taught me how to communicate with anyone. 

I know what makes people tick.  I have a certificate in Social Media Management from Social Media Manager School and I have taken courses in social media marketing, PR and content writing.


I really enjoy working with brands/small companies promoting their products with my blog. My favorite social media platforms are Twitter and Instagram. 

I have evolved from just blogging to social media marketing. I find joy in creating a marketing strategy and implementing it on social media.  For me social media marketing isn't work, it's art. It's my creative outlet.  

I would love to help any brand or small business to increase their presence on Twitter and Instagram to get the customers they want.   I invite you to check out my Twitter and Instagram accounts  @dancingvalentin  and @kellym7609 to see what I do every day.  

I am offering a FREE Twitter and/or Instagram consultation and monitoring for one week.  After one week you can sign up for my Social Media Consultation Package, so that we can continue to work together. I will continue to help you manage your account and help your business to grow even more!

Let me show you the basics for Twitter and Instagram. I will help you to start growing your brand on social media.

• Curating Content
• Engagement (Connecting with Followers) on Twitter and Instagram
• Writing Effective Content
• What to Post on Instagram 
• What Hashtags to Use
• Using Canva to Create Simple Graphics

Why am I doing this?! I know what it is like to struggle with social media! I have found out what works and also, I love what I do! Please email me at scckelly@gmail.com or use the easy signup box at the top right corner of the this blog to get started today!

Stop Avoiding Twitter! How to Increase Engagement and Followers

I have been talking to some small business owners who have told me that Twitter is the one social media platform they avoid.  Some of them don't know if they should be on Twitter or feel they have hit a brick wall trying to gain followers. Can you relate?! Is this you?!

Last week I talked about having success on Twitter and I mentioned two articles.  I pulled from those articles the 3 things I thought were most important in launching your Twitter success. My top 3 were to be consistent, be creative and be present. Let's expand on those 3 things.

Being consistent

Focus on your brand and tweet out consistent material.  Your message to your followers and potential customers should be brand related and sincere.  People can see through the insincerity.  Also be consistent on how often you tweet.  I usually tweet in the morning about trending topics or current events, I might throw a few tweets out in the afternoon and then I'm on Twitter in the evening engaging or live tweeting an event or TV show.

Be Creative

Photos and videos with your tweets.  If you are on Instagram you can create a recipe from IFTTT (If This Then That) that actually posts a picture from Instagram, instead of a link. Photos and images can give you more clicks and retweets. It also helps others see exactly what you are posting on your Instagram account and makes them more likely to follow you there.

#latergram One of my favorite #paintings at the #AGO. #twitter #insta365 #instaart #SilkeO… https://t.co/VR4CssBVXl pic.twitter.com/M4vAWhVmEY

— My Kind Of Mom-Kelly (@dancingvalentin) February 6, 2016

Being present is my number one thing to being successful on Twitter.  

You can't expect to tweet a couple of times a day to build a following. My favorite thing about Twitter is that it's fast paced and now.  Your Twitter followers are similar to your email list, you have to nurture them. It's people talking or tweeting live.  I enjoy interacting with people during live tweeting movies or tv shows.

The thing I love about Twitter is that the interaction is immediate.  

It's not like Facebook where interaction is sometimes like pulling teeth.  I sometimes go to Facebook and tap the screen like a mic and say "Is this thing on?"  Interact with your followers and follow people in your field.

I am shocked at the amount of followers I have now. Most of my followers are purely organic, I  follow you, you follow me.  Some of my followers are from me asking folks to follow me when I have a giveaway, but 90% of my followers are purely organic and I try to interact with them as much as possible.  Even if it's just a like on their post.
 

Recently I have been experimenting with CoPromote. 

CoPromote is another way to increase followers and your brand.  With CoPromote you can promote someone's post on your Twitter timeline and you can get yours promoted as well.  I tried it out with one of my post and only received four retweets, but I did gain some followers.  I am going to keep trying CoPromote and write a review in a couple of weeks.

These are my most important tips to being successful on Twitter.  They are very basic and not gimmicky. Follow these tips every day and you will definitely feel more comfortable with Twitter.  Soon they will become second nature to you.

What is your biggest struggle with Twitter?! Please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at @dancingvalentin!  

P.S. I know as a small business owner you don't have a lot of money for social media marketing.  I understand that more than you know.  If you are struggling with social media or don't have the time or even know where to get started, I can help.  Check out my plans on Fiverr.

Small Business: 3 Things You Must Do To Be Successful On Twitter

As a small business owner, are you struggling to increase your followers on Twitter?!  It's difficult to know how to get started and if Twitter is even right for you.  As a social media strategist, I have been on Twitter for several years and have been researching the best ways to be successful on Twitter.

5 Tips To Make Your Startup’s Twitter Account Stand Out by Leo Widrich Co-Founder of Buffer was written in 2011, but the tips listed are still relevant today.  In the article he states that retweets are a great way to share information and to get noticed. You must also have a regular presence online and to use scheduling tools like Buffer to schedule your tweets when you can't be online. When engaging you should be consistent with your brand and focused.  If you are all over the place, it can confuse your followers.  Tweet about products related to your brand. Be creative with your tweets.  Turn a quote that you like into a headline.  Twitter is fast paced, so always remember to respond to your customers in a timely manner. 

Here you can see my Twitter analytics. I haven't been tweeting as much as usual, so that could be the reason for the decrease in mentions. 

In the second article 6 Ways to Market Your Business on Twitter by Hicks Crawford of Social Media Today, he echos some of the tips mentioned in the first article.   Mr. Hicks starts with an excellent bio.  The bio is the first thing someone sees when they are considering following you.  You should find people in your industry, follow and interact with them.  Tweeting on a regular basis, making sure to engage and retweet.  Offer incentives to your followers like rewards.  And using images and video instead of plain text tweet.  This will increase your clicks and retweets by 3 to 4 times.

Here are my top 3 things you must do to be successful on Twitter:

Be Consistent- Focus on your brand and tweet information related to your business.

Be Present- Tweet on a regular basis and engage with industry leaders and followers. 

Be Creative- Use images and videos with your tweets to get more notice, clicks and retweets. 

Being successful on Twitter isn't going to happen overnight.  It takes being consistent, present, and creative.  Have a message and a focus.  Share relevant and meaningful information that relates to your brand.  

Please feel free to connect with me on Twitter @dancingvalentin!

6 Ways to Market Your Business on Twitter

6 Ways to Market Your Business on Twitter

6 Ways to Market Your Business on Twitter