Raving fans are right under your nose

Do you already have your ideal market targeted on Twitter? Have you started following all the right people – like other businesses in your neighborhood, a particular industry or regional attractions? If you’d like to increase your follower count (and consequently your bottom line) you may want to analyze who you should initially be following and why.

Find your raving fans

How do you locate and hone in on your preferred market? A good place to start is parked in your dining room or shop right now. Within your grasp is a potential gold mine of raving fans, and their two friends and their two friends… All you need to do is ask. Take the opportunity to turn your already sound relationships with your customers into followers by asking if they are on Twitter or Facebook (and wherever else you may have a social presence). Ask them in person and/or promote your Twitter page in the places they see your name and brand. Start adding your twitter @name to your printed materials and e-newsletters. Get it linked up on your web site.

Run with it

But don’t stop there, take the information you collect and put it to work for you. Follow-back your new followers and take the time to personally @reply to say hello and thanks – whether you know who they are or not. Ask them how they liked that oakey chardonnay. Thank them for celebrating their anniversary at your place and congratulations. These simple gestures show that you care and are paying attention to your customers.

By putting your raving fans to work for you by engaging and publicly appreciating them, you’re humanizing your relationships online. Your followers have followers of their own, and your genuine interest won’t go unnoticed. There’s no faster word-of-mouth than Twitter.

Now get out there – on the floor, behind the counter, on the road – and starting asking. By nurturing your current customers, you’ll naturally grow a healthy follower base on Twitter and concurrently, your cash register.

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