Twitter is an excellent social media platform for promoting an online store. If you are not using Twitter functionality on your Magento store, this post will walk you through how to utilize Twitter at its full potential and have customers spread the word about your company. When a customer completes a sale, they want to tweet about it! Twitter buttons and streams on your Magento website encourage interactivity. Handling customer service on Twitter is an essential business activity. And tweeting your latest promotion can get immediate results.
Tidy Up Your Twitter Account
Begin by researching your market on Twitter. Search on hashtags related to your industry. Find out what your direct competitors are doing. Make sure your company has an identifiable Twitter account with a complete profile. You will need to develop a strategy for getting new followers. Also write some notes about what types of material you plan to tweet, and how often. You will probably need to enlist a tool such as HootSuite or Sprout Social to manage, schedule and automate your tweets.
Install Magento Extensions for Twitter
Putting Twitter-related Magento extensions on your website cuts both ways – website visitors can see your latest tweets, and they can engage with you. Here are several types of extensions you can try:
Tweet This Product or Content
When a visitor feels inspired to tweet about your website content, make it easy for them. Provide a button that allows them to share the page on Twitter instantly. If your theme doesn’t already have this built in, use an extension. Some popular extensions are “AddThis” and Helios‘ “Social Follow Buttons.”
After a shopper finishes checking out, they are typically in a pretty good mood. Maybe they want to tell their Twitter followers about their awesome purchase. An extension such as Shopalize’s Post Purchase Social Sharing entices shoppers to post their purchase directly after they check out, and can offer a reward for taking the action. You can announce new sales automatically using Zapier’s “Tweet New Magento Sales“.
Check Out with a Twitter Account
Give customers the opportunity to check out using their Twitter account. They won’t have to create an account on your website, and this convenience can save the sale. Look on the Magento Connect website for “social login” extensions. Sixteen percent of American adults actively use Twitter and might appreciate logging in to your website with Twitter.
Make Your Own App
If the Magento extensions for Twitter do not suite your needs, you can create your own custom Twitter functionality. Connect to Twitter’s API from the back end and write your own code. Alternatively, Zapier simplifies integrating Twitter — and other platforms — with Magento.
Show Off Your Tweets
If you are tweeting at all, recycle your tweets by putting them on your website. Installing your Twitter feed attracts website visitors to your content and encourages them to start following you. If the Twitter feed isn’t built in to your template, generate the code from Twitter’s Resource page or try the “Creare Latest Tweets From Twitter” extension.
Offer Rewards
Make the right offer to the right people on Twitter, and your sales will spike. Sweet Tooth Loyalty & Reward Points is one of the better extensions for building a complete loyalty program. Encourage everyone in your rewards program to follow you on Twitter, where you regularly post special “members only” offers.
Another great Magento extension for Twitter is Amasty’s Facebook & Twitter Promo. This clever extension rewards website visitors after they take a social action such as following you or tweeting. Site visitors are motivated to take the action for even a small savings, and can use the coupon code you provide when they check out.
Measure Results
Find out what’s working on Twitter — and other social media — by measuring the results. Google analytics should provide significant insight if you set up goals and can detect where the sales originate. The AddShoppers Social Marketing Apps for eCommerce is a complete set of Magento social media tools that includes metrics, reports on who is sharing what (“influencers”), tracks how much “play” specific products are getting, and examines demographics; it also enables social login and is built to protect user privacy.
Tweet Customer Service
Train several employees to handle customer service on Twitter. Whether you invite customers to tweet their problems or not, inevitably there will be customer service issues posted on Twitter. Make sure these @yourcompanytwitterhandle tweets are answered immediately, even if a resolution isn’t immediate. Some prospects look at your latest tweets before deciding to do business with you. Twitter is an important component of public relations, because tweets are all in the public eye.
Twitter can be a great way to connect with customers and grow your revenue. Use the right Magento extension or service and stay on top of your tweets for best results.
Gentian, CSO and co-founder of Shero Commerce, guides the company and client digital strategies. He's an expert in technical SEO, Inbound Marketing, and eCommerce strategy.
