Don't Make This ONE Twitter Mistake

Most people love to tweet. I have a Twitter account. It's a mix between just me being me (including my personal opinions) and sending out helpful information about SEO, business, writing, or something I found to be a very interesting read. I don't have thousands of followers...and that's okay to me. I don't need to be Twitter famous. I don't do the whole "follow back" thing simply because then my timeline would be filled with stuff I don't want to read. That's not the mistake I'm referencing.

If you use Twitter for business, there's one huge mistake that you could be making that can and will drive your potential customers and prospects away. They could mute you....or even unfollow you. It's something that I've recently noticed several of my small business tweeple doing recently...and it even annoyed me.

This is the worst mistake you can make on Twitter with your small business: sending the same message and link over and over and over and over and over.

There are only two exceptions to this rule. If you are looking for the best time to tweet that specific message then it's at least understandable why you're sending out the exact same message three or four times per day. We all want to tweet at the time that most of our followers are online. The other exception is for A / B testing. Certain words have more power than others. So, if you are trying different versions of your ad or message then that is a good reason to send the same message.

If you send the same tweet multiple times per day, your engagement will decrease in two ways. First, you will lose followers. No one wants to see the same message 52145 times per day in their timeline from you. It doesn't matter how awesome your product or service is....your followers don't want you to overwhelm them with ads. They will mute you which means they won't see ANY of your tweets. It's like unfollowing without actually unfollowing someone. It's like they want to break up with you, but they don't want to hurt your feelings...so they'll tell you that your relationship must be a secret. Then again, they may just unfollow and block you. Congratulations - you annoyed someone and drove them away.

If you want your followers to interact with you, click your links, and stick around then you need to do more than sell on Twitter. I know, I know. We are all in business to make a profit, but guess what? People like to buy...they do NOT like to be sold.

• Offer content of value. Yes, I know you think your product or service is the most valuable thing out there, but it isn't to all of your followers. They have no idea how it can solve their problems. You need to provide content they want to read.
• Reword your tweets. There are lots of guides out there about how to write a tweet that converts. Remember, conversion on Twitter is getting them to click your link. "Buy my super awesome book that will change your life by visiting this website!" isn't going to get many clicks or retweets. It's not offering any value. I recently wrote a tweet for a client about her natural supplement that has shown some promise in treating ADHD. So, what I wrote was something similar to "What if you had a more natural treatment to manage your ADHD symptoms?" Of course, I included the link. I hope you see and understand the difference.
• Interact with people on Twitter. Respond to tweets from your followers. Get involved in conversations. Come up with good search terms and go talk to people. It's a great way to organically grow your followers and learn about the needs of people that you want to provide a service or product to. 
• Follow industry leaders. They won't necessarily follow you back, but you can find great content and ideas to create your own content to share with your followers. 

Why You're Losing Sales

I have a lot of Facebook friends. Okay, so granted most of them are business people and I don't have as many friends as some other people on Facebook...but I do have a lot of Facebook friends. Since I add a lot of people who are starting a business, I get this message quite a bit:

How would an extra $750 a month change your life?

The short answer is...who doesn't want extra money, right? However, you shouldn't fall for hype. You shouldn't use it as a marketing tool, either. You lose sales with this type of technique.

First, you aren't properly qualifying your prospects. If any one who sent me this message had taken even 30 seconds to look at my profile, they would know that I'm not a network marketer. I don't need "multiple revenue streams." I have those in my business because my business offers a lot of different services. I stay on the leading edge of what is needed and what is wanted. Then, I make it happen. So, I'm not even a qualified prospect for the people who send me this message. You want qualified prospects. I know that a big downline or more business sounds amazing to you. You're thinking more people equals more money...because since you're super dedicated, surely everyone is super dedicated. Wrong. Most people that you sign up want easy money. When they figure out that there's work involved, they come with excuses on why they can't do it...and then they will blame you or the business for failing. Do you want 100 people who ultimately quit or ten dedicated people who produce consistent results? 

Second, don't talk about benefits until you know about the problems of your prospect. If you really want to make sales and sign people up you need to spend time talking and building a relationship. You can learn a lot about a person by reading their timeline or saying hi to them once in a while...without mentioning your business unless they ask what you do. Once you've established a relationship and you start hearing about their problems, you respond with empathy. Then you can say something about how something similar happened to you (be truthful) and how you were glad to have the extra money that your small business provides. Just keep the comment simple. If nothing else, it plants a seed. 

Finally, if someone says no don't send them a follow up message about how they are making a mistake because:

You're missing out on residual income.

You don't know this person from Adam. For all you know, they are a devout Dave Ramsey listener and they are totally debt free and have money invested in mutual funds and retirement accounts. They don't need your claim of residual income. You're going on hype again...and using a psychological tactic of trying to scare someone into thinking they're missing out on something. Don't do that. Don't play mind games.

You lose sales when you bombard people. You lose sales because you don't look for qualified prospects. You lose sales because you care more about money than people. You lose sales because you play mind games. Put people first. Your business will grow in an organic way that offers more long term results (more money, more sign ups) because you took the time to put people first.