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You've just sent your latest tweet out into the giant black hole known as the Twitter stream.

Now what?

Are you confident that the time you devote to marketing on Twitter actually pays off? And if it is paying off, how exactly?

I've met more than a few frustrated small-business owners who want to take advantage of all the great benefits social media marketing offers, but they just don't know whether their time investment will get them anywhere.

Here's the deal: If you want to see results—and I mean real, tangible, increase-your-bottom-line results—you have to have a plan of action. You need to know which activities to concentrate on so that your next tweet won't get caught up in the current and wash away.

Here are four actions that will help you get more out of your Twitter marketing.

1. Get your website on board
 
The thing about marketing with social media is that you won't make sales. I know: What's the point, then? But before you throw you social media marketing plans in the trash, hear me out.

Twitter can land you more clients or customers, and it can help you make more money. Just not directly. If you want results from Twitter, you need to have a crucial piece of marketing in place and in top condition: your website.

Twitter is where you're going to meet new prospects, offer helpful advice, interact, and make a positive impact. But it's not where transactions are going to take place. After you've built a relationship on social media, you need to help those prospects make the transition onto your own turf: That's where followers turn into buyers.

Your website will reinforce the brand your followers got to know on Twitter, and it will expand on that foundation by exposing people to your products or services. Your website is where you can make offers and close sales, so it's vital that you've spent time creating compelling copy and a seamless visitor experience.

Bottom line: To make money from your Twitter marketing efforts, you must have a solid website to send followers to and make offers on.

2. Share your own thoughts

The fundamental point of marketing on social media is to build up your brand and allow more people to come into contact with it. But how exactly do you "build up your brand"?

I'll tell you one way you absolutely do not: by only repeating what others are saying.

Sharing other people's tips, ideas, and content now and then is a good thing. But the problem comes when you start hiding behind someone else's voice—constantly sharing and retweeting other people's messages.

You can't build your brand if you don't share your thoughts.

So go ahead and share that blog post you really liked and retweet someone else's comment that resonated with you, but then jump in with something unique—something only you would say. Share your ideas, share your tips, share your content. Those are the things that represent your brand, and without them you won't be creating anything memorable.

Bottom line: If you don't share your own thoughts and content, you won't be creating a brand presence that will cause your followers to know, like, and trust your business.

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Are You Wasting Your Time on Twitter? Four Ways to Make It Count

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Sonja Jobson

Sonja Jobson is the founder of Fresh Coast Creative, specializing in lead-generating websites for small businesses.

LinkedIn: Sonja Jobson

Twitter: @SonjaJobson