An active Twitter community has the power to drive foot traffic and increase brand awareness for a local business. The first step is of course to get Twitter followers; the next step and equally important is to create a content calendar that will make it easy for you to Tweet to your community and stay on top of mind.
What is a content calendar: a content calendar is a schedule for when to post content and what to post about. A content calendar helps you keep organized and consistent when it comes to social media engagement. Remember, that which is scheduled gets done.
Who should read this post: a local business owner that just doesn’t have the time or energy to Tweet all day
What you will learn: how to create an effective content calendar that will make it easy to stay on schedule and send relevant Tweets to your community
What to post on Twitter
A business must spark a conversation to succeed on Twitter.
If you do not yet have followers on Twitter, read our post about how to get more Twitter followers for your business. It’s discouraging and lonely to Tweet to an empty adudience.
When you are a big brand, it’s easy to spend time on Twitter simply communicating with Twitter users that are talking about your product. Take a look at these examples:
As a local business, it’s harder because there are not hundreds upon thousands of people on Twitter talking about your business or product.
To succeed, focus on the following types of Tweets:
- Self promotion: talk about your product or service and why it’s special
- Conversation starter: ask a question to your community
- Restaurant example: what’s your favorite type of coffee in the morning?
- Retail store: what are you wearing today?
- Retweets: Retweet people that Tweet relevant messages about your product or brand
- Talk directly to relevant people: send an @reply to relevant people on Twitter
How to find relevant people on Twitter
Go to Twitter Advanced Search to find people.
For example, lets say that I’m an Pizza restaurant in Downtown Castro in Mountain View, CA. Here is how I would filter the Twitter Advanced Search:
- Any of these words: pizza
- Near this place: Mountain View, CA (within 10 miles)
I found these two users just now:
As a local pizzeria, I can now @reply them and spark a conversation.
@TiyaMaree hope you ate some yummy pizza rolls! Next time you have a craving, stop by @ExamplePizzaPlace. We promise you’ll love us!
Your Secret Weapon
Your mission is 4 Tweets per day, everyday.
Your secret weapon for this mission is Buffer, which allows you to easily schedule Tweets throughout the day.
Great analytics: When scheduling Tweets through Buffer, you can track your clicks and potential reach
Easy integration with browse, mobile, and twitter web: I also love Buffer because it easily integrates with Chrome (my preferred browser), the Twitter website, and my mobile. With a simple click of a button, I can schedule a Tweet for later in the day.
Content Calendar
Below is a sample content calendar that you can use for your business:
- Everyday
- Tweet about your product/food: try our fresh pepperoni pizza! (with image attached)
- @reply a Twitter user
- Ask a question: what do you think about this dress? (link image of celebrity wearing a dress)
- @reply a Twitter user
The goal is consistency.
That’s why Buffer is so important. Sometimes you’ll get on a roll and Tweet out 10 times at once. Instead of Tweeting it one after the other, automatically space out your tweets using Buffer. It will make up for the times when you just can’t post on Twitter.
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You win if you stay consistent. Keep pushing content and sparking conversations with Twitter users online. Once people starting mentioning you in Tweets, it becomes easier because then you can spend time on Twitter directly talking to followers.
