Promote your Website with Twitter in 8 steps

BeatnikDude's 8 crazy tricks to promote your website with Twitter.

Twitter is the popular social media micro-blogging site. Its a free promotional channel for you, but you need to work at it. Grow your audience by tweeting, retweeting, following, using #hashtags and the @symbol daily. 

1. Create a Twitter account with an engaging description of your site and service/content as a bio with an appropriate a picture or icon.

2. Use this Twitter account an behalf of your site and service/content it provides. Presence is essential on Twitter because it is an ongoing broadcast channel available to you. Be online posting, following, retweeting and messaging least a couple times a day.

3. Follow people on Twitter. People get updates about who follows them on Twitter. Each person who you follow may in turn choose to follow you and receive your updates. Follow people with your target audience in mind, you want your target audience as the people who will expose you to more of your target audience.

4. Create tweets (Content is King!) including promoting your site, service/contents and audience. Always create content with your audience in mind, give them what they want. Create tweets about your site, service/contents, related events and announcements. Retweet from your Twitter feed appropriate tweets for your audience, from your audience.

   Don't SPAM, no one will pay attention to your account.

5. Retweet from users you follow, giving a shout out to others will gain you the same in many cases. Spread the good news, spread the love.

6. Use the "#," or hashtag symbol to post and follow topics on the Twitter. For example, "#EdTech" is a "hashtag" and it would be used to tag a tweet as related to "education technology". Many people follow particular hashtag topics and or trending hashtags.

   Pay attention to trending topics and their hashtags on on Twitter. Use a trending hashtag when it applies to your site and service/content it provides. It will show up to people who are searching or following that hashtag. Use appropriate hashtags before, during and after specific events that are trending (ie. sport games, etc.).

   If done consistently and effectively, a hashtag promotion will widen your broadcast and engage other people in promoting your work.

   Twitter relies on users labeling their tweets with hashtags, don't forget to include appropriate hashtags when you are Tweeting.

7. Use the "@" symbol to directly message and engage other users. Create and continue conversations between users to promote retweets, follows and get people to follow links.

8. Always promote your Twitter account. Include your Twitter link everywhere; your website, emails, other social account including other Twitter accounts, all printed material, etc. Make an appeal thru existing channels for people to follow your on Twitter.