Looking for better ways to make your web hosting work for you? There are tons of moving parts when it comes to running a successful website, from your web hosting partner to your digital social media campaigns. Anything that drives traffic to your site can lead to more sales, so it’s important to have the best practices in place to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your marketing buck.

If you’re paying for a robust hosting solution, but aren’t seeing enough site traffic to make your hosting solution worth it, it’s time to look at ways to increase your online presence. Easier said than done, right?

Not to worry! We’ve got tricks of the trade to help your business grow, so you get the most out of any web hosting solution out there.

It Starts with a Tweet

Twitter is one of the biggest players in the social media game. Every day, millions of people tweet, from mundane trolling to serious breaking news events. That means there’s an incredible wealth of untapped marketing potential at your disposal. It’s free to use, so start spreading your brand message today and see the difference it can make.

Don’t know where to start? Here are just a few of the things Twitter can help you do instantly and with little effort.

• Promote your business
• Increase sales
• Establish your online brand
• Drive traffic to your website
• Keep your clients and customers informed
• Build a community
• Offer customer support

And obviously much, much more. It all starts with a tweet! Develop your Twitter marketing strategy – plan, organize and execute. Make sure you have someone dedicated to handling Twitter communications and keep an eye online. You’ll be amazed at how expertly you can guide the conversation around your brand online.

Phase I

To begin, figure out where you hope to go. This includes asking yourself questions like:

• What is your end goal? Do you want to increase sales or are you looking for a way to increase your online presence?
• Who is your target audience? Don’t go out there shooting blindly. Find your ideal demographic and focus on them alone. Figure out and deliver on what they need.

Outline any questions you have and answer them to the best of your ability.

Phase II

This is what Twitter is all about. Figure out what to say, how to say it and when to say it. You will be focusing on your tweets and the underlying messages they deliver. You will have to:

• Come up with relevant content. You should sit down and start writing out tweets so you have something to send when the time comes.
• Consider every aspect of your business and how to market it online. Are you a clothing outlet with name brand clothes at low prices? Do you offer free online shipping? Do you match competitor coupons? Do you specialize in something no one else specializes in? Focus on your competitive advantage.
• If there are different generations in your demographics, learn the lingo. Seniors are less likely to want “the hottest boys on the hottest app,” and teens will probably not be interested in “strong investment portfolio building and security.”
• Come up with relevant hashtags. These connect users around the world. Make sure you collect as many of them as you can so you cover all aspects of your business. Look into trending hashtags to see if you can reach popular audiences.
• Get creative. Statistics show that tweets with links, photos, attachments and call to actions perform much better than simple or plain text tweets.
• There’s always a good time and a bad time for sending tweets out. Do some research to find out when you can best reach your target audience.

This is a dynamic process, so always audit and tweak your approaches.

Phase III

You’re all set – it’s time to launch!

• Send out tweets on a regular basis.
• Keep to your daily schedule and send out your tweets on time, every time.
• Expect, and immediately reply to, interaction from your audience.
• Increase your follower number by being active and interactive. Follow people so they follow you back. Follow competitors and relevant businesses.
• Stay ahead of the game. Follow influencers in your niche to find out about industry trends, relevant hashtags and where conversations are heading. You’re on social media; remember to interact!
• If you think you can’t handle all the tweeting by yourself, consider tweeting apps, schedulers and account management software. Don’t go it alone – but do remember that these are all pieces of software and they can’t entirely take over your job. Keep up with your schedule in real time so you don’t send out inappropriate or insensitive messages based on developing news or trends.

Most important: have fun with your audience and followers! Don’t be shy and don’t hold back! This is an incredibly powerful platform that helps you connect directly with real people. Take advantage!

Phase IV

Like with any marketing strategy, you can’t go on without checking to see how you have performed. Take note of mishaps, drops in engagement data, spikes in sales and continue to correct your course.

• Gather and analyze all your information. Has your number of followers increased? Is there any change in sales or profits? Look into the data and figure out whether your efforts are reaping positive rewards.
• Identify weak points in your strategy. Take note of unresponsive demographics, negative feedback, or content with no engagement.
• Use different analytic tools (including the free ones Twitter offers) to keep track of your engagement and sales trends. Correct your mistakes and double down on successful campaigns.

Once you’ve figured out what’s working and what isn’t, you can start the process over again, constantly updating your posts and content calendars and dynamically changing what you see fit.

Repeat these phases over and over again until you arrive at a campaign process that works without a glitch. It will take time, but if you succeed on the goals you set out at the beginning, you’ll see how beneficial it can be to market your business online.