Historically, Twitter has been a dynamite platform for driving traffic to websites, building awareness, and generating demand. However, recent algorithmic changes altered that so, if your Channel Partners are experiencing significantly diminished engagement metrics, there’s good reason and they’re not alone. We’re all suffering.
We covered the changes in-depth here and also how it impacts Vendor’s through-Partner social media syndication services here.
In short, the changes ensure users actually engage on Twitter rather than schedule posts and treat it as a set-it-and-forget-it amplification platform. Therefore, users who aren’t actively engaging no longer gain optimal exposure. From Twitter’s perspective the changes make sense; without engagement, their benefit as a B2B social media platform dwindles. For Vendors and Partners, it causes problems especially since one of the main barriers to Partners consistently using Twitter for demand generation is the time it takes to write and schedule posts, and engage.
Outbound engagement is simple. Find and connect with thought leaders, prospects, and current customers and interact with their posts. Inbound engagement from others is more difficult to garner and begins with choosing the right type of articles and writing posts that elicit interaction from followers.
Use these tips to help Channel Partners generate demand on Twitter:
Understanding your audience is the starting point for any marketing initiative. We recommend creating buyers personas, which are simple, concise descriptions of the traits your buyers share. It’s not an exact science but it gives you a good idea of what their pains are immediately and ongoing. Armed with this information, it’s easier to ensure your content meets their needs.
Drive More Demand. The New Seller’s Journey will help you personify and define your audience.
Once you understand who you’re marketing to, sharing relevant articles is one of the best ways to ensure you’re posting engaging content on Twitter. Most likely you already have a list of sources, but if not or you want to find more, start by searching for a chosen keyword and select the "news" tab.
For example:
Here’s where it gets a little trickier.
When you read the article, what did you like about it, what will your audience resonate with and how can you share the main points in 140 characters?
Here’s an example, using our recent blog post, “Why Communications to your Channel Really Matters“:
Another strategy is to use a text snippet directly from the article. Direct quotes and statistics work well for this type of post. Are there any sentences or phrases that pop out, or summarize the main point really well? If so, copy it. Sometimes the article will be in a list format in which case it’s simple to take one or two of the items and incorporate them into your tweet to give a sneak-peek of the article.
Users search Twitter by hashtags. Tweets with hashtags get 2x more engagement than posts without, so using a strategy will help you cast a wider net and find more people interested in your products and services. Keep your hashtags short and on-topic, but don’t be afraid to get creative. Again, think about your audience. What are they searching for? #3DPrinting, #ContentMarketing, or something else?
There are different types of Tweets. Some are simply an image like a quote card and others are your thoughts such as “Enjoying lunch with @XYZ.” When writing article-based Tweets, be sure to @Mention the source, for instance, @Inc or @NYTimes. Doing so notifies them which increases the chances of them engaging by liking or retweeting. Trusted sources also legitimize your posts making it easier for a user to decide to click through to the article. Finally, @Mentions can also be used to start conversations with other users such as:
“@HeatherMargolis, thought you might like this post on #ChannelMarketing best practices [insert link]”
Consistency is the tough part for Partners, especially when they need to post regularly and often for demand generation. Most companies plan their tweets in advance and use a scheduling platform like Buffer or Hootsuite to easily write, load, and schedule a bank of tweets. This technique will save time for Partners so they can focus on other things! Partners can also use their Vendor’s social media syndication services to auto-post pre-made and approved Tweets.
Posting is only half the battle now that Twitter algorithms have changed. Writing engaging posts will entice others to engage with you, but it’s important to reciprocate and initiate engagement of your own. Download the Twitter app on your phone and take 10 to 15 minutes each day to like and retweet relevant posts from others. In addition, it’s important to thank users when they share your content and respond to tweets with your own thoughts on the topics.
By following these strategies, your Partners can overcome the time crunch of social media, create better posts, and drive the engagement and demand generation alongside Twitter’s new algorithms.
Learn more about how to help your Partners social media marketing? Download our Social Selling Pocket Guide.