Interact with your audience for maximum impact

This is another entry in our ongoing series on effective use of Twitter.

Target audience: Nonprofits, NGOs, cause organizations, social enterprises, businesses, brands, bloggers, marketers, social media managers, individuals.

Guest post by Valerie J. Wilson

Tweets are a fantastic way to draw kindness and attention to a cause that matters. The key is to engage with your audience and to get them to respond. The more followers you have, the stronger your brand and awareness will be. The goal is for your followers to collect their posse and join efforts to create an even bigger impact.

Read on to learn about the most effective tips that will gain fellowship and followers.

Establish your objective

1Once you know what your objective is, you’ll be able to cater your Twitter account to accomplish the task at hand. There are lots of different types of accounts, but the two most common for organizations are for a) fundraising and b) information and awareness. Once your goal is clear to your team, you’ll be able to clarify that objective to followers.

Make it personal

2Post pictures, personal details of you, your workers, your volunteers, and your followers. Logos are good; pictures of people are far, far better.

Follow people and organizations that are important to your cause

3Success on Twitter is not defined by the number of followers an account has. This is probably the most common mistake people make. Reach out to people and organizations that can (and probably will) get behind your ideas and objectives — that is far more important than the number of followers posted on your account status.

Keep it loose

4This is Twitter! Drop your insecurities about your high school English grade at the door. Keep it loose, fun, and just let it all hang out. Of course, consider your targeted demographic and cater your language and tone to that group. But loose and easy should be the vibe you’re going for.

Share your success

5Draw attention to upcoming benefits or awards that have been achieved by providing links to inspiring photos that help to tell your story. This will lend credibility to your cause, and this is a great way to increase the momentum of potential number of both donors and volunteers.

Ask them to join you

6Create a buzz by sharing the dates, times, and details of an upcoming Twitter chat, fundraiser, or an event for which they can volunteer. Make the process of getting involved easy.

Here’s the truth: So many people want to help, but they just don’t know how to get started. Your tweets need to make it easy to understand that any and all are welcome to do small, medium or large tasks.

Play the game

7We all do it, don’t we? We all turn to our social media to “take a work break.” For some, that means 10 minutes of “me time” after a long day. For others, it’s a little time away from the cubicle – while we’re sitting in the cubicle! Grab their attention by asking them to join the fun of a quick click of a trivia question. Dust off that old game of Trivial Pursuit, and have some fun.

Make it personal

8If you’re raising funds in support of a school event for your kids, ask your followers who their all-time favorite teacher was – and why. If it’s for an animal rescue establishment, ask what the name of their first pet was. The goal is to get them personally connected and to care about your mission. Once you make it matter to your reader – just watch the quality and impact of your followers escalate!

Build relationships

9Anyone in sales will tell you that the number one facet to being successful in sales – or almost any partnership or job – is building meaningful, trusting relationships.

Yes, you can do this through Twitter, as well. Reach out and connect with other like-minded people and organizations. Support causes that complement yours, and encourage the favor in return. People love the real deal; present yourself in the most authentic way possible. You’ll be entirely pleased with the results.

Many points of entry

10The more the better. Let people access your Twitter feed through your websites, signatures in your emails, your blog. Add as many ways to click into your feed as possible.

There is so much info out there to help you create the best Tweets possible. Claire Diaz-Ortiz has written one of my favorite books on creating a solid, successful Twitter following; in Twitter for Good, she gears a lot of her information toward the nonprofit sector, and it’s packed with user-friendly tidbits. Claire did a good job of getting her name and message out there – and it worked! Kudos to her – and to you!

Good luck! Go make the world a better place, and have fun Tweeting!

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