Last week I spoke about how to maximise the power of social media (in particular Twitter) at the FSB National Conference in Glasgow to the team of FSB Regional Development Managers and Connectors. I had the mission of encouraging the group to create as much buzz on the event hashtag (#FSBConf) as possible to get it trending  – which it did. Multiple times!

So how can you maximise the power of Twitter? With blog posts, ads, and just general content being thrown at as from all angles, both online and offline. Cutting through the ‘noise’ and getting your message heard is becoming harder and harder.

With 9000 tweets being sent every second, sending out non-communicative tweets hoping that they are going to stick with your followers or the Twitterverse isn’t going to cut it anymore.

So what’s the solution? To create a buzz. And by buzz I don’t mean we should all be aiming for global trends on a weekly basis. Whether it be a buzz amongst your customers or a buzz in your local area it’s about drawing some attention to your presence on Twitter and making lasting connections with people who matter.

4 tips to start creating a buzz on Twitter…

1.Continual Engagement. If you want to leave lasting impressions with people you need to be engaging with them (ideally on a continual basis).

For example let’s imagine you are a local business. Instead of just tweeting out information about your store hoping that one of your followers (who may not even live within your area) will see that tweet (which by the way only lasts approximately 21 seconds in someone’s newsfeed). Why not search Twitter for local businesses and media within your area reach out to them, connect with them and become Twitter friends with them. Share, engage with their content and most likely they will do the same with you.

Hit that reply button rather than the ‘Tweet’ button and you will find your engagement rate will go through the roof and you will be making meaningful connections with accounts and people within your area. It’s a great way to increase your Twitter reach and a great step towards getting some free PR through local journalists.

Takeaway: Create Twitter lists for local or industry  journalists, media and bloggers and engage with them on a regular basis.

2. Real-time conversation. The easiest way to create a buzz on Twitter is to get a group of people tweeting in real-time on a specific hashtag. This is where the power of hashtags comes into play and many small voices become 1 bigger voice.

Organising:

• Twitter Chats
• Twitter Battles
• Competitions
• Event Hashtags

Are all ways you can make this happen.

Remember it’s not just about tweeting on these hashtags but more about having back and forth conversations on them. It’s important you are engaging on them not just broadcasting on them. It’s ‘social’ media after all.

I love the buzz @MeantimeBrewing are creating in London offices with the #meantimedeliveryguy battles. Two companies battle it out on Twitter weekly for a chance to win multiple crates of Meantime Brewing beer. That makes for lots of brand advocates and a lasting brand impression with lots of office employees every week!

Takeaway: Get involved in real-time conversation on Twitter through Twitter chats, event hashtags and competitions.

3. Amplification. Be on a mission to get retweeted. Being retweeted by other Twitter influencers in your industry is the best way to increase the reach of your message and a way to reach a brand new relevant audience.

Another way to help amplify your message to create buzz is to identify and create an online community. Whether it be identifying your customers on Twitter or creating a community of industry professionals who will talk and engage with you and your hashtag without you even asking them to!

I love the online community Social Media London (#SMLondon) have created among social media marketing professionals. By hosting offline events, Twitter chats and including their community members in blog posts and the content they produce they have created an online community of people actively tweeting around their hashtag on an on-going basis.

Takeaway: Can you bring together a group of people with a similar interest online and get them to want to amplify your hashtag or message?

4. Influence. Becoming influential on Twitter is naturally going to help you cut through the noise and create a buzz as the more influence people have the more attention people will pay you.

Remember – influence isn’t all about the number of followers you have, it’s about how engaged your followers are too.

Klout is a useful metric to be aware of and a way to measure someone’s online engagement levels.You can sign up to Klout and see your Klout score here. Anything above 60 is a highly respectable Klout score.

Make Twitter friends with other influencers in your area or industry too. Engaging with people more influential than you will help increase your influence!

Takeaway: Sign up to Klout and identify other influencers  to engage with on Twitter.

Hopefully this has inspired you to be more ‘social’ on social media! Get on Twitter and start creating some real connections. Start creating a buzz!

Tweet me at @thatsmgirl