Your Twitter goals influence many of the decisions you make when you set up your Twitter account. They also drive the way you build your community and what you talk about. Some businesses find that they need multiple Twitter accounts because of their Twitter business goals.

• Before You Start: You have a business Twitter account. You have created Twitter goals.
• Learning Level: 2 | Getting Started
• Article Last Updated: Sunday, December 4, 2011

Twitter Goals and Profile Setup

Your Twitter goals influence many of the choices in your Twitter account setup.

• Set up one or more than one Twitter account. If you have incompatible Twitter goals, you may want to set up more than one account. Remember that having additional accounts multiplies the amount of work required to maintain your Twitter presence. Think carefully before creating multiple accounts.
• Decide on the best user name for your Twitter account. If you set up multiple business Twitter accounts, you need to give them slightly different names so you and your community can identify the account’s purpose from the user name.
• Identify the best web link for more information about your Twitter account. If you create multiple Twitter accounts, you need multiple Twitter landing pages. You should also include information about the other accounts in each landing page, along with information to help potential followers find the best account for their needs.
• Create the appropriate bio for your Twitter account. Your Twitter bio should explain your Twitter goal to potential followers. If you need more space, you can expand this explanation in your Twitter landing page.
• Select the appropriate avatar for your Twitter account. If you have multiple business Twitter accounts, you may want to modify your logo for the avatar to support the account user name and goal. For example, if you have separate Twitter accounts for different products, you might use your company logo with the product name for your avatar, or you might use the product logo instead of the company logo.

Twitter Goals And Community Management

Your Twitter community management is everything you do to maintain your list of the people you follow. It involves finding new people to follow, deciding whom to follow back, and occasionally weeding out people you follow.

Your Twitter community, the people you follow, determine your ability to meet your Twitter goals for the account. Each week as you perform community management tasks, you should make your choices based on your Twitter goals. Seek out people on Twitter who can help you meet your Twitter goals and follow them. Many of them will follow you back, making your community stronger.

You may find that someone follows you who does not support your Twitter goal. For example, you may focus your Twitter account on new and existing customers, but you discover that a stranger is following you, or a vendor has started following your account. You have no control over who decides to follow your account. Focus your efforts on whom you follow.

Twitter Goals and What You Tweet

Your Twitter goal also influences what you tweet. Consider your Twitter goals when you create a list of topics for conversation. But what you say on Twitter is only half of the conversation process. Be ready to jump into ongoing conversations within your community on other topics as well.

Your turn: How have your Twitter goals influenced the way you set up and use your Twitter account?

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• 6 Reasons Why Potential Customers Won’t Follow You on Twitter
• Write A Great Twitter Bio
• Write Great Social Media Goals