Does your small business have a Twitter account that doesn’t seem to be engaging followers or generating leads for you?

Chances are you haven’t created a Twitter presence that is “en-teractive”. Yes, I totally made up that word to describe a brand that is both engaging and interactive on Twitter, and ‘enters’ the online conversation in the right way!

You see, when a small business joins Twitter, they tend to forget that followers aren’t mere numbers. They’re real people, like you and me.

They want to know who they’re following and why they should follow them. They want to see that their tweets are acknowledged, responded to and dealt with by a real person and not a bot.

They want to feel wanted.

So, how can you create an en-teractive Twitter presence for your small business?

Simple. Here are 5 easy steps:

 1. Add a Photo to Your Twitter Bio

Start by optimizing your Twitter profile bio. Download the FREE Twitter profile optimization guide, if you haven’t done that already, for a kick-butt bio. But any way, begin by adding a headshot to your bio. Let people see who’s behind that Twitter account. If you want, you can add your logo to the background so that the branding too remains front and center.

2. Add Your Social Media Manager’s Details to the Bio

Should you have someone managing your Twitter account, you can have  a logo for the profile image and instead, add your social media manager’s name or personal Twitter handle to add that personal touch and engage with your followers on another level.

3. Use  Your Twitter Background to Tell Your Story

Let followers see what your business is all about. Use a Twitter background that shows what products your business sells or services it offers or better still, photos of your team members. The human touch, so to speak, is key in establishing a following that engages with your brand. 

4. Respond to Tweets

In order for your Twitter account to be en-teractive, you’ll have to make sure you respond to tweets. Yes, especially the not-so-nice ones. Using a social media tool like, Hootsuite, you can quickly go through your tweets on a daily basis and track anyone who’s upset with your smallbiz.

Complaints and grievances on Twitter are an excellent customer service opportunity and I recommend replying to them and resolving them ASAP.

5. Turn  Off the Automated DMs and Tweets

Finally, please shut off those automated DMs and tweets. Not only do they reflect your disinterest in your Twitter account, they’re extremely annoying to people who do follow you. Automated tweets that thank every single one of your follower will just clog up your feed and have no value for people who follow you.

Instead, use Hootsuite  to quickly skim through new followers, thank them individually and invite them to check out your blog or FB page or website. Alternatively, you can use Hootsuite to schedule tweets that invite people to visit your blog or website and space them across the span of a month, so that they don’t seem spammy. It will take barely 20 minutes but will up your ‘en-teractivity’ factor a lot.

Take Action Tip: Add a photo to your bio and turn off automated direct messages and tweets.

Tool to Check Out: Hootsuite for responding to tweets and “scheduling” personalized, targeted tweets.

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos