How to Stay Professional on Twitter

Millions upon millions of people use some sort of social media on a daily basis. This means that your company needs to establish a presence on at least one of the more popular social media sites, such as Twitter, in order to take advantage of the fact that you can more easily engage with your target audience through social media than any other outlet. However, many people still look at social media as a way to vent their anger and frustrations using the anonymity of the Internet. This is certainly not true, especially for a business. Maintaining a sense of professionalism while using social media is of utmost importance to your reputation, both amongst your customer base and your competition. You don’t want to seem amateurish in your presentation or your attitude. The following are a few tips to help you stay professional while on Twitter:

Don’t release controversial tweets

You should avoid controversial subjects and stick to tweets that are relevant to your brand and your consumers. Creating controversy may draw attention, but it will most likely be unwanted attention that could divide your customer base. Remember, this isn’t your private Twitter account – the tweets your release represent your company.

Don’t get into heated arguments

There are a lot of Twitter users out there who might tweet negative things to you, whether they are simply voicing a negative opinion about your brand or simply insulting you. Take the high road and always act like a professional. Treat the individual tweeting you the same way you would treat someone that comes into your store’s physical location in order to complain – with patience and respect. If it’s obvious they are just trying to incite some kind of reaction, have their posts removed. The way you engage with people like this reflects on your professionalism. Remember, everyone can see how you respond – and even if you quickly delete a tweet that you regretted sending out, someone, somewhere, has proof that you did in fact release it.

Don’t ask for too many favors

It’s okay to ask your followers to re-tweet your messages and content every once in a while. This is a great way to increase your brand awareness and to spread your message. Many followers will be more than happy to help you out – as long as you don’t keep asking. If you keep asking to be re-tweeted, it’s going to start sounding like you’re nagging real quick, which is a real turn off to followers and very unprofessional.

Regulate your tweets

Tweeting regularly is important since you don’t want to lose the interest of your followers. However, you also need to be wary about how much you tweet. If you keep tweeting new messages and content every hour, your tweets are going to begin to feel like spam. The last thing you want is for followers to think that you are spamming them. Tweeting between once and three times a day is more than enough – just keep your messages clear, concise and simple.

Ask followers for their opinion

A great way to show what kind of business you run is by asking followers for their opinions on your products or services every once in a while. This shows that you care about the feedback of your customers and that you are looking to improve your products or services based on your customers’ feedback. This kind of engagement is sure to help build your reputation amongst followers, especially if you respond to their answers – thereby actually engaging in a conversation about your brand.

Help other businesses

Don’t just tweet about your brand, help other small businesses that you support by re-tweeting their tweets. This is considered a professional courtesy, which will often be returned.

Keep these tips in mind in order to maintain a professional presence on Twitter.