Twitter Marketing: 12 Ways to Get More Leads with Organic Tweets

• Last updated May 14, 2020
• lead generation

The first in a series of planned posts on Twitter Marketing, to be spread over the next few months, this one focuses on getting more leads through the basic building block of Twitter: Tweets. Not paid Tweets either. Pure organic, run-of-the-mill (well, not quite) Tweets.

The latest stats show what you're up against to try and get noticed:

• 6,000 Tweets are sent every second. That equates to...
• 360,000 Tweets sent every minute.
• 518,400,000 Tweets per day.
• 189,216,000,000 Tweets per year.

Yes, that's a scary lot of Tweets. But don't let it put you off. Twitter has 330,000,000 monthly users to help soak them all up.

And only a small proportion of those are going to be interested in, and perhaps be looking for, content related to your niche.

This post shows you how to attract their attention, with twelve top tips to get more leads using organic Tweets.

1. Get a Business Account

First, make sure you're tweeting from the right place. Unless you're consciously trying to build a personal brand (which you can always do as well), your Tweets should come from an account you've set up specifically for your business.

That way, when people see your Tweets, they can click through to your profile, find out more about your business and potentially become leads.

So if you don't have one yet, create a separate account solely for your business, using a handle as close as possible to your business name.

2. Optimize Your Header Image

When people are clicking through to your profile, the first thing to make an impact is your header image. So use it wisely.

Incorporate text into the image so people instantly know what you stand for and the value you provide. Ideally, refer to your URL too so they know where to find you.

Here's the one we currently use:

3. Optimize Your Twitter Bio

Similarly, people will look at your profile text. State your mission so it's clear what you're about. Include a lead generating CTA.

Here's what Moz use:

As you can see it has a link straight to a page offering a free trial. Plus the link incorporates tracking info so they can identify just where those leads are coming from.

You'll also help attract followers (more on this in #10 below) by including relevant keywords and hashtags in your profile. This can give you visibility on the People tab in a Twitter search, for when users are looking for suitable accounts to follow relating to their interests.

4. Tweet Links to Lead Gen Content

With #1 to #3, you have the foundations in place. It's time to start tweeting.

For lead generation, number one on your list should be tweets linking back to published content containing one or more opportunities for visitors to opt in to your email list.

For this to work, you need a "cornerstone content platform". By that, I'm referring to a primary channel on which you regularly publish content, and from which all other content can be originated and disseminated from (including onto Twitter).

This primary channel would, most often, be your blog. But for some businesses it might just as easily be their YouTube channel or podcast.

Let's assume you're regularly publishing content onto a blog. Each blog post, while delivering valuable information, would be optimized to convert visitors into leads through one or more opt-in creatives.

For example, you may have:

• A signup form in the sidebar and/or at the end of the post.
• A Smartbar that floats top or bottom.
• A popup, such as when the visitor is about to leave or scrolls a certain way through the content.

These opt-in creatives would offer a useful resource to visitors as a Lead Magnet. That might be a free ebook, report, whitepaper, video course, free trial or something else.

Regularly tweet out links to your content, providing valuable information for your followers, and converting those who click through into leads.

Also send Tweets with links to other content you've published around the web which incorporate opt-in opportunities. This might include video, SlideShares, content on Medium, guest posts, and so on.

Recommended further reading:

• 7 Ways to Grow Your List Through YouTube
• How These Businesses Get Hundreds of Leads a Month Using SlideShare

However, you don't want every Tweet solely linking back to your own content. Mix it up by regularly tweeting different types of Tweet, adding interest and value for followers.

Include Tweets such as:

• Retweets of relevant content from other Twitter accounts.
• Images such as infographics and those showing a relevant quotation or soundbite.
• Tips and other info helpful for followers.
• News and updates related to your business.

In addition, post Tweets that...

5. Offer Free Resources

The above (#4) involves tweeting links to content where you've incorporated one or more Lead Magnet offers (LMOs).

This is where you take that LMO, and give it a life of its own, tweeting it out directly.

Remember that the Lead Magnet offered on your blog and elsewhere is going to be a useful free resource for followers in its own right.

So don't be shy about letting them know about it and giving them a chance to get it.

Jeff Bullas does exactly this with a pinned Tweet, and has attracted a ton of engagement:

So give your LMO its own landing page where the sole purpose of that page is to convert visitors into leads. The easiest way is to use a Landing Mat.

On reaching the page, the visitor has only two choices:

• Opt in, and claim the resource.
• Leave the page.

As such, you get super-high conversion rates, and one of the most effective ways to convert Twitter followers into leads.

Each time you create a new Lead Magnet, such as a content upgrade, add it into the mix of Tweets you're regularly sending out.

6. Tweet at Optimal Times

Because Twitter feeds are so fast moving, timing your Tweets is critical to maximize engagement.

Regardless of time zone, the most popular time to tweet is between 11am and 1pm locally.

But that's not the same as saying that's the best time for you to tweet!

In fact, because most people are engaged in sending out Tweets, you're less likely to get attention to your own.

Research shows peak times for Tweet engagement actually happens morning and evening, roughly correlating with "before work" and "after work".

The type of engagement differs too:

• Most clicks on Tweets, such as to your content, occurs in the morning.
• By the evening, Tweets are more likely to be retweeted or liked.

So what does this mean for you?

You need to experiment for your own account, such as by running tests and examining the results via Twitter Analytics, but in general:

• You'll attract more engagement by tweeting first thing in the morning, and in the evening.
• The morning will generally give you the best results—so use this for tweeting your own content, particularly new content.
• Use the evening to focus more on other people's content, but send your own out here too. Retweets and Likes help build your reach, generate clicks via other profiles, connect you with others, and give authority to your profile.

7. Use Twitter Card Tags

What are Twitter Card tags?

In brief, a Twitter Card tag is a special bit of code you add to a content page on your website. It tells Twitter to make Tweets linking back to that page more engaging.

The more engaging your Tweets are, the more clicks you'll attract, and the more leads you'll generate. So makes sense to use them, right?

This shows you the difference the Twitter Card tag can make. Here's a Tweet linking to a page that doesn't use them:

And here's one that does:

Which one you would more likely click on?

Click here to find out how to add Twitter Card tags to your website.

8. Tweet Video

Research has shown that by tweeting videos (using Twitter's native player) engagement levels shoot up. You get:

• 2.5 times more replies.
• 2.8 times more people retweeting it.
• 1.9 times more people liking the Tweet.

Twitter users are also video lovers and video-savvy:

• 82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter.
• 70% say they only or mostly watch videos discovered in their timeline.
• Well over a third of Twitter users want to see more videos from businesses.
• Twitter users are nearly twice as likely to have uploaded a video to somewhere online than average internet users.

So use video to engage with followers and drive more leads back to your business. Try the following:

• If you've created a video course Lead Magnet, be sure to offer it to followers directly (see #5)
• Whenever you publish video on YouTube, particularly for lead gen, tweet a link.
• Upload videos with lead gen CTAs directly to Twitter as well, to take advantage of the added engagement their native player gives you.
• Try using Twitter live video too.

9. Pin Lead Gen Tweets

You've seen an example of this already from Jeff Bullas (see #5 above).

When you've tweeted a Lead Magnet offer (LMO), pin that Tweet to your profile.

To do, simply click the down arrow on the top right of your Tweet, and click the Pin to your profile option.

Pinning a Tweet puts it at the very top of the feed on your profile. By doing so, it attracts more engagement.

When retweeting and liking other people's Tweets, they'll often visit your profile to reciprocate. The obvious choice is your pinned Tweet.

Even better, as more people retweet and like it, the social proof does both of the following:

• Encourages others to do the same.
• Increases the credibility and authority of your LMO.

So use this to your advantage.

10. Grow Followers

It goes without saying that the more followers you have on Twitter, the more visibility your lead generating Tweets get, and the more leads you attract.

So focusing on building your Twitter followers is a solid, worthwhile, long-term activity for the growth of your business.

It's tough at the beginning if starting at ground zero. But it gets easier as your followers build and your profile grows in authority and credibility.

Here are some quick DOs and DON'Ts to put you on the right path.

DON'Ts

• Don't buy followers. Ever. It's against Twitter's terms, can get your account suspended, and has a big impact on your authority, credibility and the levels of engagement you can attract for the long-term. Just don't do it.
• Don't go crazy following and unfollowing large numbers of users. This can also lead to account suspension issues. Realize it will take some time, and take it steady. Play the long game.

DOs

• Do follow other Twitter users (you can follow a few hundred a day). A proportion will follow you back. Follow those who look like they may have an interest in what you do. A useful strategy is to find popular Tweets of interest to your target market, and follow those who have retweeted and liked it. This are active Twitter users, they're in your market, and more likely to engage with your own Tweets.
• Do optimize your header image and profile info as per #2 and #3 above.
• Do Tweet regularly so you have an active profile that's of interest to potential followers.
• Do engage with other Twitter users regularly too—retweet and like their Tweets, add comments on Tweets and engage in conversations.
• Do follow back those who are following you. Once you reach a certain size and level of authority, you can stop doing this, but it's important while building your first several thousand followers.
• Do stop following those who haven't followed you after a while. It means regularly going into your Following list, going as far down to the bottom as you can, and clicking to unfollow those who don't have the Follows you marker. Ideally, you want to have more followers than people you're following, but to start with it may well be the other way around. Try to keep things in balance by unfollowing people where your follow of them isn't adding any value.
• Do use Twitter Ads to promote your profile and attract more followers.

11. Riding Hashtag Waves

Trending hashtags rise and fall. Relate your content to one of these and include the hashtag. You can ride on the back of the wave of additional engagement they attract, and potentially attract new leads in the process.

Trending hashtags are shown on the right-hand side of Twitter on desktop. They won't always be relevant or usable, but keep an eye on them, and look for opportunities where you can work one into your content.

Also try looking at tweeplers to show you the most popular hashtags for your country.

Use Hashtagify to get useful insights on specific hashtags, including related suggestions.

BrandMention's also has a useful Hashtag Tracker tool, where you can track usage of a hashtag within the past day, week or month, including by country and language.

12. Be Consistent

Finally, as with most lead generation strategies, be consistent. Work the system. Keep showing up.

With consistent, regular activity on Twitter, the bigger presence you'll build on the platform, and the more leads you'll attract over time.

Twitter followers will begin to recognize your content and engage with it more frequently. Consistency builds credibility and authority, helping you convert followers into leads you can then follow-up with directly.

Growing your presence on Twitter through consistent action also gives you social proof and authority that can be leveraged elsewhere for lead generation. This might include attracting opportunities to:

• Joint venture with other businesses.
• Be interviewed on popular podcasts.
• Contribute content on popular online and offline publications such as blogs and magazines.

To Conclude

Leverage Twitter properly as shown in this post, and you have a powerful lead generation tool at your disposal.

Even better, and something not yet mentioned, your activity on Twitter helps your site gain visibility on and attract new leads from search as well. "Social signals" are a key SEO indicator.

So put these 12 tips into action for your business. Just please don't give up early and stop taking consistent action because you're not getting big results. You won't at the beginning. Results take a while to materialize but then begin to snowball. Winners on Twitter play the long game.

steve shaw

Steve Shaw is the CEO of optinopoli™, next-generation lead capture and sales conversion technology—click here for more info.