3 Simple Steps: Creating a Twitter Account for Your Small Business

This post is written by Emma Shannon, a member of Vistaprint’s Social Media team.

We know you’ve seen it – that mysterious little blue bird floating on every website you’ve been to. But has your small business used Twitter as an advocate? We’d like to walk you through setting up your Twitter account to advocate for your business. (And if you’re sitting on the other side of this post trying to figure out if you’re even sure what Twitter is, get a little bit of background here.)

Before sending your first 140 character chirp into the Twittersphere, there are a few things worth considering:

1) Look around.
You didn’t swim without watching someone else first, did you? So don’t try to fly without watching the pros either.  Start by thinking of your industry. Grab a pen and jot down the answers to the following questions:

• Who are your competitors? Google them and take a look at their Twitter accounts.
• What are they tweeting?
• How do they interact with their customers?
• How are their customers responding?
• What’s working for them?
• What, if anything, would you do differently?

Gaining perspective by looking at what’s already out there allows you to avoid making the same mistakes your competitors have, and gives you insight on what’s working for them. Use this to your advantage!

2) Pick a username.
Our advice for this decision is simple: Go with something basic. If your business is “Too Good To Be True Cupcakes,” do you think your customers will more easily find “2gud2Btrucakes” or “TooGoodCupcakes?” Put yourself in their shoes at this step. You want to facilitate a conversation, make yourself available and approachable, and creating a username that you can’t even remember will not make that happen.

3) Find your voice.
Now that you’ve surveyed your fellow “tweeters” and picked a great name, think about how you want to differentiate yourself from the crowd. What will be your voice? Again, consider your industry – would a casual tone be more effective? Or do you want to convey a more serious voice with your customers? No matter your business, remember that Twitter is for people, so don’t stress! Just find your voice, and get people excited about your business!

Hint: Create a new email for your Social Media accounts! This way, you’ll avoid flooding your inbox with notifications that aren’t super urgent.

(To learn even more about Twitter, check this page out.)