If you’re using Twitter for business, you should make sure you brand yourself. Branding is critical to your success on Twitter because you want to make sure you are on the top of your follower’s minds.
When someone thinks of you and your brand, you want them to think about the things that make you different — the things that make you stand out from the crowd. Consider the emotions that you want your brand to invoke.
It’s important that the brand you portray actually reflects who you are and what your business stands for. Building your brand on Twitter is a lot about what you say, but it is also about how you interact with your followers.
Remember what your mom said when you were a kid?
“Do what I say, not what I do.”
Well, on Twitter, it’s different. People will develop an impression of your brand based more on what you *do* than on what you say.
If you’ve paid attention to how people use Twitter for business, you’ve seen that some of the strongests brands in social media were specifically designed to polarize certain people in the market. For instance, the Third Tribe brand is all about pitting different types of bloggers against each other.
Here is an excerpt from their home page that explains the concept perfectly…
Over the last several years, online marketing has been split into two opposing teams. Two tribes, if you will.
Mention the words “Internet marketing” to some, and images of obnoxious “gurus” spring to mind. You know the guys: big red headlines, yellow highlighting, crazy promises and hype. And yet real Internet marketers (not get-rich-quick scam artists) are some of the smartest, wealthiest, and most ethical entrepreneurs you’ll ever meet.
Mention the words “social media marketing” to some, and images of touchy-feely idealists who promote community over cash come to mind. And yet some of the smartest people in online marketing successfully participate in social media for higher traffic, better search engine optimization, and larger profits.
Third Tribe was built by Chris Brogan, Brian Clark, Sonia Simone and Chris Garrett — Experts at using Twitter for business.
You might have guessed that there’s an overlap between the best and brightest of both of those two tribes. In fact, the “middle” marketers are the ones to watch.
This middle tribe avoids excessive hype and snake-oil offers. But they have no problem asking for the sale and making money. Lots of money.
These marketers test approaches from every direction to adapt and apply what they learn in a way that works. This tribe profits from the intersection of pragmatism and progress.
This is the Third Tribe.
Using Twitter for business has a lot to do with the brand you are building. It’s not just about promotion and traffic, it’s also about the reputation you are building.
There is a LOT to learn about branding if you are relatively new to it, but don’t worry about all the rules. Just pay attention to who you want to be in the world from a business standpoint and make sure your Twitter activity reflects that an builds on it.