Twitter is a highly engaging platform and when used properly, it can be extremely rewarding for any budding (or thriving) business owner.

This social media powerhouse is a great place to hunt down hot leads who can potentially turn into loyal customers. Twitter also makes it easier for business owners to look for users under the same interest group or location – allowing you to target potential customers with laser sharp precision.

Due to its real-time algorithm, setting up your campaign for viral success on Twitter is easier than other platforms. Domino’s Pizza UK famously used this to their advantage, targeting the lunch crowd with their hashtag campaign #letsdolunch.

In this campaign, Domino’s promised to slash £0.01 for every tweet containing their hashtag. By the end of lunch hour, the tweeters brought down the price of a large pepperoni pizza by £8.25 – from £15.99 to £7.74. The campaign was a huge success and brought the company a lot of attention, not just during lunch but for some time after.

Unlike Domino’s, many businesses fail to use Twitter to its fullest potential. They lack a solid strategy to help them maximize the platform. Now Domino’s has a huge following.

To help you succeed in social media, we’ve listed down some of the most common mistakes business owners make on Twitter. If you’re having a hard time reaping the immense marketing benefits this platform has to offer, be sure to pay attention below.

The Biggest Twitter Mistakes you Might be Making

You are Automating Too Much

Too much automation can be the death of you – on Twitter, at least. While it is an efficient way to knock menial tasks off your social media to-do list, excessive automation can make you appear distant and spammy.

One of the most common types of automation we’ve seen on Twitter are instant DMs or direct messages that are sent to new followers. This process may sound innocent enough at first but based on our experience, we find that generic messages are nothing short of a nuisance in our inbox.

The Remedy

The only process you should automate on Twitter is sending out tweets, and nothing more. The rest should be done manually for a more personal touch. Besides, DMs that are too generic and distant will most likely be ignored, anyway.

If you are just starting out on the platform, you aren’t likely to receive a lot of messages. That means you have the luxury of being able to reply to each and every one you receive, without it being overwhelming or time consuming.

Overselling Yourself

Overselling yourself on Twitter is one of the fastest ways to get unfollowed. Nothing irks a Twitter user more than pushy advertising. They are on the platform to see content they can’t see elsewhere and that is what you should base your posts on.

Your goal on Twitter should primarily be to add value to your business, not just to sell your services. If you succeed in creating noteworthy content, followers will flock to your services willingly.

The Remedy

Experts swear by the 80-20 rule for marketing. This means 80 percent of your posts should be geared towards community engagement and only 20 percent should be brand related.

This gives your followers enough noteworthy content to get them hooked, while keeping them aware of your services/product with your occasional brand related posts.

It may seem counterintuitive to someone who is aggressively seeking brand awareness, but you have to keep in mind that some of the most successful brands tactically map out their content in order to provide their followers a unique experience they can’t get elsewhere.

Failing to Interact

As mentioned earlier, Twitter is a platform designed for engagement and in order for you to make the most out of it, you have to interact with your followers. Spitting out tweet after tweet is simply not enough, you have to reach out to your followers in order to get them hooked.

The Remedy

If you take a look at the feed of some of the most successful brands on Twitter, you’d see that it is filled with conversations they are having with their followers and others. They utilize the platform to actually talk to people. This successfully adds value to their business, because following them becomes worthwhile and interesting for their customers.

Failing to Address Feedback

In this highly viral day and age, customers use the internet to let brands know what they think – whether it be good or bad. Twitter should be a place where you can safely and promptly address your customers’ concerns.

Neglecting to do so can give you a bad rep and can even cost you your customers. Failing to address feedback on Twitter is almost like ignoring an email, but worse because it’s right out there in public for everyone to see.

The Remedy

Use Twitter as a tool to improve your customers’ overall experience. Respond to queries, address concerns and thank them for their positive feedback. Being approachable on Twitter can do you a lot of good as a business, increasing your appeal and encouraging great interactions with your followers.

Failing to use Appropriate Hashtags

Hashtags are the keys to success on Twitter. Using appropriate hashtags in your posts will help users discover you. If you are just starting out on the platform, this is also a fast way to connect with new followers.

With great hashtags, however, comes great responsibility. Using too many can make you look spammy, but not using enough will render your efforts futile.

The Remedy

This mortal sin of Twitter is a simple fix. Aside from using your brand, you can incorporate a hashtag or two that relates to your post – that way, people who are already interested in the type of content you provide can find you easier.

Because of Twitter’s imposed limitation on allowable characters, you must choose your hashtags carefully. Use two or so that will archive your post in the appropriate interest group and whatever you do, never use inappropriate hashtags.

Forgetting to Hit Search

We did mention how people on Twitter love to let everyone know what they think about a brand, right? Well, they really do.

If you haven’t used Twitter’s search function to find out what people have to say about you, you are missing out on a great opportunity to improve your services or product.

Some Twitter users are not savvy enough to include the @mention to link to your account – that or sometimes they are just lazy. As a result, you miss out on some highly constructive feedback from the people who matter the most – your customers.

Twitter’s search bar should be used and abused by business owners like yourself. This is a wonderful tool that can help you better understand the public’s opinion of you.

The Remedy

This Twitter mistake is easy to remedy, all you have to do is type in your business name in the search box and read up on as much customer feedback as you can. You can also take this time to respond to your customers.

Do not ignore any negative feedback you. Respond positively, because you can easily turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal follower – if you make it worth their while.

Failing to Provide Content That’s Fresh Off the Press

We’ve seen quite a few companies who are big fans of repurposing their Facebook posts and somewhat forcefully slapping them on Twitter. While there’s nothing really wrong with recycling posts, if you do so excessively you’ll miss out on optimizing your content for the platform.

Facebook and Twitter users are there for different reasons, so they have different tastes in content. That’s why it’s important to give them something they can’t get anywhere else.

The Remedy

According to Hubspot, a tweet has an average shelf life of only 3 hours. That means what you post on Facebook may not necessary garner the same reaction on Twitter.

Twitter users like up-to-date content – like, really up-to-date content – so it’s important that you provide them with content that’s current, as much as possible.

Leveraging a Culture That is Not Yours

Pretending to be someone you’re not on Twitter is a sure fire way to a Twitter user’s bad side. If you forcibly and unnaturally try to penetrate a particular niche, people within that interest group can easily tell.

Kids from Generation Y can tell if someone from Generation X is trying to speak their language – and they are easily turned off by it.

The Remedy

Stay within your niche and stay true to your own set of people. You are better off spending your time and energy in creating content that serves your specific target market. If you are dead set on expanding your reach, be sure to highlight an asset that can be truly valuable to them.

You Can Become a Better Twitter User

Twitter is a bustling yet untapped potential that can be extremely rewarding for businesses – but not everyone is able to use it to the fullest.

If you want social media success any time soon, you’ll need to veer away from the mortal mistakes we’ve mentioned above. They’re the fast track to boos and down votes.

Remember, people value the experience you give them, not just the product you’re trying to sell. Be sure to give them a share-worthy experience every time they meet up with you on Twitter. Make us proud!