Somewhere along the lines, the term Social Media became synonymous with Instagram. And sure, as Facebook’s protégé with a whopping 25 million Business Profiles and counting, it was love at first like for business owners and marketers alike.

But social media is so much more than just Instagram- and, believe it or not, your customer base lives and behaves differently on each platform that they use. As a social media marketer, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard phrases like ‘Isn’t Twitter Dead?’, and ‘Do people still go on Twitter?’- to which, my answers are always More alive than ever! and Yep- only the savviest of business owners.

In 2018, many business and brand owners are hesitant to add Twitter to their digital marketing strategies, usually citing uncertainty and inexperience with the platform. If you’re not utilizing Twitter for your brand in 2018, you should RUN (don’t walk) into the wings of the adorable blue bird—its capabilities are truly unparalleled, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Here are 5 ways to use Twitter for your Brand in 2018.

Use it like a search engine.

Unlike Instagram, where search capabilities are limited by hashtag, Twitter’s search bar is comparable to that of Google or Bing — and a goldmine when it comes to cultivating new leads for your business. Use it like an advanced search engine by searching for the exact problem that your business offers a solution for. For example, if you own a Lash Studio, you might type in phrases like Eyelash extensions. You can then filter results by Latest to order the results reverse chronologically, or use Search filters and Published Near Me on the left hand side to yield tweets from your neighborhood.

Ready to up the ante? Use quotation marks around full sentences, keywords, and key phrases to find leads. Your search for Eyelash extensions tweets might become "thinking of getting eyelash extensions".

From there, send a personalized reply — and get the conversation going.

Reputation Management

Gone are the days that displeased customers pick up the phone to give unfiltered feedback. It’s certainly no secret that Twitter has been moved as the unspoken home for customer service complaints, but dealing with it is a narrative of itself. The biggest PR mistake that a brand can make on Twitter is sitting in their notifications (or waiting on tags) to be notified of an upset customer. If you’re not conducting a daily search for your business name on Twitter, you could be missing timely customer service issues that have yet to be addressed. Many upset customers opt not to tag the brand in negative tweets, so it’s up to you to venture out of your notifications and take care of your customers. If you happen to stumble upon a tweet with a negative tone, respond to negative feedback promptly and publicly, without suggesting that the conversation be taken to DM’s. Other customers will see your commitment to rectifying the issue and appreciate your transparency.

Use Twitter Lists Like a Pro

Sure, you may have heard of (or even dabbled in) creating Twitter lists- but are you using them to their full potential? Many businesses use Twitter lists to organize existing customers in one place, or build customer loyalty by adding them to a list called, say, Lash Out Studio’s Clients of the Year.

Twitter lists are a great way to network professionally, especially in the realm of event planning. If you regularly attend trade shows, conferences, or events for your business or brand, it’s a good idea to create a public list of influencers, buyers, media personnel, and other users who plan on attending. Creating an event-related list will not only allow you to corral event-related news in one place, but view content shared by members of a particular list to stay in the know.

Another great way to utilize Twitter lists is to flatter influencers and notable voices in your space. If an expert in your field is added to a Public list titled Best Beauty Bloggers in San Diego, you can bet you’ll grasp their attention.

Tweet Unique Content

Sure, it’s easy (and tempting) to automate your social media channels to cross-post your content from another platform, but it’s not what your audience wants to see. Not only does another platform’s content not properly convert to a tweet (Umm hello, URL-in-the-place-of-my-perfect-Instagram-photo.com), but the Twitter customer doesn’t consume content the way that the aesthetically inclined Instagram customer does. Instead of relying on your perfect coffee shop shot to auto-post to your profile, take advantage of Twitter’s conversation starters, like running a poll for your customer base or tweeting out a question for your audience. And if you can, try to adhere to the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should be engaging with other users, while only 20% should be salesy content that’s catered to your brand.

Run Ads

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been disappointed by the results of a Facebook ad, only to throw in more ad dollars to expand your reach. News Flash: CTR’s (Click-thru rates) on Twitter are actually higher than Facebook’s, despite being short of Facebook of about 918 Million active users. (Not joking.) According to AdWeek, engagement rates on Twitter ads in 2018 are averaging between 1 and 3%, while Facebook’s CTR sits at about 0.119%. (Low followers? You can even run engagement ads that specifically garner Twitter followers for your brand!) Plus, running an ad on Twitter looks almost identical to Facebook’s interface, so navigating it is a piece of cake.

By: Jamie Halper

Jamie Halper is a Digital Content Creator, Social Media Manager, and Influencer Publicist for today's leading Beauty, Pet, and Wellness Brands.