According to statistics there are 330 million monthly active Twitter users, so using Twitter as a marketing channel is vital.

There's a lot going on on Twitter, so you need to stand out from the mass of message that flood through and that's not an easy task, but with these tips we can help you work towards getting more followers and activity

1. Update your Twitter profile

Make sure your Twitter profile is complete and consistent with your messages. Whilst this isn't going to directly help getting your posts seen, is does give credibility to your Profile which gives people peace of mind when they share on anything you tweet.

2. Find & follow

Find key influencers and respected people in your industry and follow them. Search on key terms used in your industry and finding those who are already tweeting influentially (i.e. their Tweets get a lot of activity) and follow them too.

3. Inform as well as promote, often

Inform as well as promote - Don't make all your tweets adverts for your business or services. Tweet tips and helpful insight to set your business up as a knowledgeable resource for people to follow. Make sure to tweet your content more than once, for example, tweet the same piece multiple times throughout a week to get a greater audience.

4. Retweet

You don't have to just create your own content, retweet other content that fits with business ethos and mentality. Make

5. Hash tags (#)

Don't forget the hashtags but use them with care. If you want to be found you need to be using hashtags relevant to your industry, For example, we use #webdesign a lot as well as #smallbusiness to ensure we get found by the right people. Don't overload your posts with hashtags though as it makes them difficult to read.

For all social media posting:

Consider using a management tool

As a small business you need to be as efficient as possible in managing your social media, so consider the use of a platform like Hootsuite or Buffer. These tools allow you to manage all your content in one place as well as schedule your content and review analytics. The two tools listed here both offer free versions to keep your costs down.

Review the analytics of your posts

Take note of which posts get the most traction and create more as follow-ups or do a series on the same topic.

Post at the right time

Post when you know the channel is most active. To start with use a guide like this from Hubspot. Over time you will be able to figure out the best time for your audience from your own stats if you start to vary the time.