Stay on Top of Your Twitter Game

Yep, the masses are chattering about your business on the net.

Well done. Now, what's your next step???

Twitter is a great way to pump out more materials. Which conversations are you going to engage in and how will you handle it? Keep in mind that that your responses online will factor in your brand image.

Here is a simple guide to help you create your own customized reply plan.

Listen to the people

Don't run blindfolded into a firestorm of comments. Go through the comment section and look for patterns within the conversation. Twitter is probably the best way to hear what the people have to say about your product, even from the big name players out there. Look out for any requests or confusion amongst your demographic. Use Twitter as a way to improve your product and/or service.

Know what you're going to say

Casually talking about your brand: the masses are chattering about your company but not in a way that directly relates to company name. They probably don't even know you have a Twitter account, or they're not interested in having you call out to them. Listen in on these conversations, but only add something to say when it is truly valuable.

Remarks about your brand: the masses will talk about your brand when they chit chat with their people or share something positive about it. When they say something about your company they are actively marketing you since they feel attached to that image. Always help them out if they have something negative to say, clarifying anything that's misconstrued, or applauding them if they said something great.

Direct responses: I highly recommend doing this, to always reply, at least to the ones that are seeking answers. These individuals have a vested interest in your brand – are you going to let them down or completely forget about them?

Establish rules, but have faith in your managers

It's highly critical to make sure your responses reflect how you want your brand to be perceived and remembered, but also give the masses room to go through their own judgment processes. Twitter is finicky when it comes to stock updates and other types of robotic responses. Let your management team who handles social media marketing respond in their own tone and give it a touch of humanity. When you go about hiring your community managers, you should try to make sure they opinions match the company's to a tee so you don't have to worry about them messing everything up, but also having enough trust to sleep well at night.

Time is priceless

As a general rule, the quicker you respond to a comment, the more support you have. If you're tweeting about detailedreams and I reach out to you right away with a hint or tip, you're going to be shocked. However, if you tweeted about a post I made two days ago and I just get in touch with you now, you've already forgot what you said, and my response feels watered down. For my @detailedreams account, I will always try to respond to your questions and/or concerns, even if I have to burn the midnight oil for some time, but a satisfactory response time is usually within a couple of hours.

Direct message vs. public reply

As another rule, if someone has a hard time with your brand, a direct message is the way to go about it. By taking this route, you can take care of the problem one-on-one. The only time you should reply publicly is if they're not an avid fan or if you know others are watching the discussion as well. In addition, when you strike up a conversation with a follower, try to follow them so they can direct message you if they want to take the conversation private. You know you can always follow up with an email or phone call where 140 characters do not hold you back.

Always responding to your Twitter comments can be a hassle. It's like customer support on meth with all eyes on you and a collective camera recording your every keystroke. It's critical to remember that the masses are talking to your brand even if you're handling most of the work.

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