If you or your business is active on the social web, you should always look for ways to become more transparent on the social media channels you are using. In particular Twitter. Twitter is really a great platform because of its real time nature where you can engage with real people. To be more transparent on the social web is not an easy task and it takes a lot of effort and time to get it right.
In our hectic digital lifestyles you only have so many hours in the day. With this, you also need to be very selective on the information you share so that it really makes a difference to the people you are connected to or trying to reach.
If you are struggling with this, ask yourself the following question: Are you ready to tell your story to your target audience? If you are not, when will you ever be ready? It took me quite a while in the beginning when I started out with social media to really get comfortable with answering this question. It’s a big step I know, but if you really think about it, it can really take your company to a new level.
If you are interested in being more transparent on the social web to build your business exposure online, take the lead and become the thought leader in your niche. Here’s a couple of tips to become more transparent on Twitter personally and for your business. I will cover other social media channels on a follow-up post.
Personal Twitter transparency tips
- Be original and share original thought-provoking ideas. Don’t just constantly share other people’s work.
- Share your own content (blog posts) and direct people to a place where they can learn more about you if they are interested. Become more as simply “the guy on Twitter”.
- Don’t be scared in sharing some personal information. A couple of weeks ago I had problems with my bank account. Other industry players saw my tweet and ask me later if everything is ok. It’s nature that people like to connect and engage with real people.
- Acknowledge other people. Share a tweet or update and put the person’s name in the update.
Business Twitter transparency tips
- Share information from your latest blog posts and website. I don’t even have to say this, but you are not going to be a major player without a blog and a website.
- Talk and share real information about your company that others want to know about. Take care not to share information that might damage your business.
- Share rich media. Pictures and videos speak volumes.
- Answer any questions your target audience might have about your business and don’t take days to respond to any queries and mentions you receive.
This isn’t a comprehensive “Social media transparency checklist” and it cannot be covered in one blog post, but I’m sure the tips above can give you a start. If you have any experience in this field, feel free to comment below and I will update this post.
Anton,
Great tips on Personal transparency for Twitter. Twitter is not about pushing your content out to the masses in hopes they see it, it’s a platform that through use of natural and sincere engagement you start to build relationships with people and customers. By building relationships, rather than self-promoting yourself or your business all the time is essential in the process of being more transparent online.
So true Byron. It basically counts for all social media channels you are targeting.