For the record, I wasn’t a fan of Twitter. I thought it was just a bunch of noise. I actually compared it to having a conversation at a nightclub while a death-metal band played with their amps turned up to 11, rivaling that of Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel.
What changed my mind?
I recently tuned into a video featuring one of my mentors—online marketing wiz Neil Patel. He shared some eye-opening statistics and analytics about traffic increases from aggressively using Twitter over a one-week period.
Before I get into what Neil’s shocking test results revealed, I want to tell you about the biggest mistake MSPs make with Twitter. Warning: This will feel like a five-finger death punch to the gut of your MSP social-media marketing efforts.
Why do most MSPs shy away from using Twitter?
My clients often ask, “Stuart, why should my MSP use Twitter? I don’t get it.” And this is another popular phrase: “My clients aren’t on Twitter.” Yeah, right. Just like they’re not on Facebook or LinkedIn either. Of course they really are!
I hear concerns and occasionally complaints about this very subject. Yes, many MSPs are notoriously bad when it comes to executing effective Twitter marketing campaigns because the technical side of their brains dictate, “I don’t like that so I’m not going to do it.” And, remember, they believe their clients aren’t on Twitter.
OK, I’ll bite. Your clients may not be on Twitter, but do you know who may be? Influencers. Yes, people who can open doors for your MSP business (aka, referral sources).
The majority of MSPs want more leads, and I’m sure you do, too. This is something we all can agree on. But, if you want more leads, why don’t you do the things that will result in them? (Like market on Twitter.)
Stop making this fatal error
Here’s the fatal error many of you make with Twitter: You’re not tweeting enough. It’s that simple.
Every MSP marketing professional out there will tell you that you must market your business to your own a territory. Twitter falls into this category.
Failure to execute effective marketing doesn’t stop at Twitter, though. It doesn’t matter if it’s a direct-response sales letter, email-marketing strategy, a webinar, or a live event. They all suffer from the same lack of follow-through.
Ask yourself: “Is your internal programming keeping you from executing effective marketing strategies?” If you answered yes, then it’s time to reboot your brain.
Ask yourself again: “Is Twitter a useful marketing platform for managed service providers?”
Answer: “YES!”
Repeat this seven times a day to change your programming!
Dial up your social media marketing
Now, back to Neil Patel. His research showed that during a week’s period, just tweeting once a day netted about 500 visitors to his website. Now, many of you are probably thinking, “That’s great! 500 visitors is a lot!” Actually, it’s not. When Neil started tweeting 40 times a day (yes, 40 times a day), he brought in more than 5,600 visitors to his website.
I can already hear you thinking, “Neil Patel’s examples are great, but he isn’t a managed services provider.” True, Neil isn’t an MSP. And, a high percentage of MSPs don’t have the following that Neil does.
But, let’s look at the average MSP. First off, many of you struggle to build followers on Twitter. The average MSP has less than 10 Twitter followers. Why? No focus and a lack of consistency.
The other thing that keeps you from tweeting 40 times a day is the false perception that you’re spamming. This is the biggest piece of horse manure ever. No one will go to your Twitter page and think, “Oh my goodness, that MSP is tweeting a lot.” This is where your programming is stopping you. Twitter is a point-in-time application. No one looks at Twitter pages. They simply scroll through their Twitter feeds.
My recommendation? Tweet and share valuable information with the Twitter universe several times a day. Mix up your hashtags. Share information from your blogs and other resources.
You should even share old info that’s still relevant. Why not? What do you have to lose? Believe me. The traffic to your website will go up, and you’ll start to build a solid Twitter following.
How to use Twitter to increase traffic to your MSP website
- Cast aside your limiting beliefs about Twitter and other social media platforms.
- Start using these platforms to get the word out about your business.
- Review your blogs, e-books, and other marketing materials, and develop a Twitter marketing strategy to share relevant and valuable information at least 10 to 15 times a day (to start). You can work your way up to 40 or 50 times a day later. (If you don’t have content, Ulistic’s “Marketing in a Box” provides a wealth of information.)
- Use hashtags effectively, watch for trending topics, and become the local authority when it comes to information technology.
- Carve out time in your day to follow others in your target markets, including businesses, influencers, bloggers, the media, and others in your market segment.
- If you don’t have time to do this, then there are great marketing companies out there (like Ulistic) that have a team of experts who can manage all your social media and other marketing efforts. Feel free to give me a call at 716.799.1999 x101 to talk about social-media marketing, or about your MSP marketing strategy in general. And, why not join our Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook groups to get involved in the conversation? You’ll learn a lot!
Photo: AlesiaKan/Shutterstock.com
