The Powersports Dealer’s Guide to Twitter: Top 10 Tips to Promote Your Business

You may be aware of Twitter — but do you truly take the most advantage of how much this platform could boost your business in the minds of consumers? Take a look at our top recommendations for how to growing your dealership’s digital footprint by simply curating an active, quality Twitter page.

1. Take advantage of imagery and visual content.

• According to Twitter’s business page recommendations, tweets with photo content get an average boost of 35%, while videos get around a 28% boost compared to text-only posts. Especially in the motorcycle and powersports industry, sharing photos and videos of inventory, resources and reshares of interesting news pieces can boost your engagement.

2. Stick to messages that are short and sweet.

• Twitter has a limited character count for a reason — messages are communicated in short bursts, keeping users from becoming bored or weary of heavy content. There’s no harm in linking back to lengthier content, such as posts to your company blog or Facebook page - but in terms of your actual messages on Twitter, keep it short (140 characters to be exact). The most successful posts are those that incorporate imagery with short-form written content that calls the consumers to click a link or button for more info.

3. Always respond to replies and acknowledge retweets.

• Twitter is all about community and user interaction. If an audience member engages the content you post, acknowledge it! For example, if someone retweets your post, comment and thank them — or simply engage them by asking them a question or making a comment about the topic in response. If someone replies to one of your tweets, never let them be the last to respond. Your goal is to communicate that you care about their opinions - so make that clear by liking/responding to any comment they make toward you, regardless of what it is. This will also show other customers that you are prompt and responsive, showcasing your high quality level of customer service to others.

4. Schedule posts using a tool like Hootsuite, and tweet at least once per day (even if it's just a retweet).

• The biggest thing to remember when it comes to Twitter is consistency. If you only post twice per week, your brand won’t be in front of your target audiences regularly — and you won’t get the same level of brand awareness as other more regularly posting profiles. Remember, you don’t have to remind yourself to ‘tweet’ each day - use the free version of a platform like Hootsuite, which is typically charge-free for one Twitter account, to schedule, maintain, and monitor posts for up to months ahead of time. This will help you to achieve frequency and consistency with your posts, but should not completely replace logging in occasionally to engage in real-time.

5. Curate a collection of at least 10 hashtags to reference over time that are related to your industry - but don’t use more than 3 per tweet.

• Too many hashtags can distract from the tweet itself, but just a couple will help your tweets be found in relation to similar topics and conversations across Twitter.

6. Be sure your Twitter handle clearly communicates your brand identity.

• If your company name is already taken - for example, if the Twitter handle “RichmondRVs” - don’t panic. Utilize underscores or periods in your username before feeling the need to come up with a less identifiable name. For example, try “Richmond_RVs.” If that doesn’t work, try the clever “TheRealRichmondRVs” or “bestRVsinRichmond” to communicate your business’ purpose, even without the actual name in your handle.

7. Keep your cover photo and profile picture clear.

• It is important to use the correct dimensions and photo sizes to keep excess pixelation from occurring. Use these guidelines to ensure your sizing aligns with the recommended dimensions.

8. Post your Twitter handle and link to your profile in other places you post online.

• For example, if your business sends out a newsletter or regular email campaigns online, always be sure to include a link to your Twitter account towards the very top or bottom. If your business has a blog, link your Twitter profile so users regularly see that you have a social media presence there.

9. Follow two key groups of users: valuable secondary content sources and users you think will follow you back.

• Following the Twitter pages of reliable sources in your industry, such as Cycle News, Rider Magazine and Cycle World, will provide a healthy flow of content you can reshare to your page between original posts. Resharing this content will not only show your consumers that you’re in tune to what’s happening in the industry, but also enables you to potentially be one of the first accounts to share breaking news, interesting tidbits of information and more with them.

• You don’t want to follow too many random individuals on Twitter just to gain followers. Be careful and strategic about who you follow. To find new followers, visit the follower list of one of your favorite news sources — for example, Cycle Trader. Look through the list of individuals following the profile you’re looking at - and when you come across an individual who seems to be highly engaged (has a public profile, a well filled-out bio section, and a profile/cover photo present) - follow them! You’re much more likely to get a follow back. Users without a complete profile are likely infrequent users who may have become disinterested in Twitter, and users with private settings on aren’t as likely to accept your follow. Not to worry, though - as you build your base of followers, you’ll be able to add more later. Focus on adding a healthy number of engaged users that have a higher chance of sharing your content - you’ll thank us later!

10. Use a link shortening tool like bit.ly to shrink the amount of characters a link takes up in a certain post.

• This will enable you to use the majority of your allowed tweet characters for your actual message, rather than taking up 75% of your tweet with a hefty hyperlink. 

We hope your business finds these tips helpful when it comes to curating and developing your company’s Twitter page. Are you currently active on Twitter? If not, what’s been holding you back? Have you seen an increase in foot or online traffic based on postings to social media? Comment and let us know.