Twitter is now seen as one of the most effective social sales tools according to Kite Desk [READ ARTICLE], even more so than LinkedIn. Now, I am not sure I 100% agree with that, however we do have to take twitter seriously, whether we like it or not! There are many ways to leverage twitter including( but not limited to):

1. Identifying and follow your target audience
2. Listen to what they are sharing
3. Participate in tweet chats (where communities come together to discuss a topic via twitter)
4. Share your original content
5. Engage others to share your content by mentioning them in a tweet
6. Highlight other peoples’ content by retweeting, quoting (where you add your .02 to your retweet) or favoriting prospects tweets.
7. Use click-to-tweet:

• Visit clicktotweet.com
• Write the message that you want others to share in the click-to-tweet box.
• Click the “Generate New Link” button to create a custom link.
• Click the copy link button on the top right (looks like to pieces of paper).
• Share the link and track the activity of each link over time.
• Whoever clicks on the link will have the message automatically added to their Twitter status box, they click tweet and it is out there. Easy!

CLICK HERE TO TRY IT.

It auto-populates a tweet, and although it can be edited, you are getting your audience to tweet out the message you want them to share.

Add clicks-to-tweet to your LinkedIn publications, your email signature, website pages and so many places more to get people to start sharing your content your way.

I also use this when I am speaking, training or even at trade shows to get a lot of buzz. But, the automated link that click-to-tweet generates is too hard to give folks on the fly (http://ctt.ec/4904e), so when I want them to tweet something fast I make it easier. I purchase an inexpensive URL from Godaddy and have it redirected to my click-to-tweet link.

Ex: TweetSSL.info is a common link I share. I can have this URL printed on handouts, projected on a screen, or even just ask people to tweet it, because it is so simple, everyone can type it in their mobile browser to share it quickly.

BONUS: You can have contests around click-to-tweets – a giveaway or something valuable to your prospects. Maybe the one who gets the most retweets by a specific date or time wins. It is simple and fun, and a great way to get your audience helping you get your message out virally.

What does click-to-tweet do for you?

1. It gets you audience sharing a unified message
2. Your Klout score will go up (if this matters to you)
3. Everyone is using the same #hashtag when sharing your stuff
4. You get a mention every time someone tweets
5. You can follow those folks later
6. You can begin to engage with them

Click-to-Tweet is one of the easiest and productive social selling tools I have seen in a while. I hope you have as much fun with it as I do!