5 Ways Facility Managers Can Grow Their Twitter Accounts
Twitter is a fast-paced, quick way for users to receive news, information regarding current events and see what’s trending in their industry. Office and facilities managers should consider adding it to their social media rotation. Popular with the Millennial generation, it’s a great way to announce happenings at your workplace and to share relevant information to your audience. Building that audience, however, can take some time. Here’s how to cultivate a strong Twitter following, that will be authentic and sure to last.
Stay Active
If you’ve decided Twitter is a valuable place to engage with your current and potential clients, be sure not to drop the ball a few months in! There are so many 
people who forget to keep up with their account, and then wonder why they don’t have any followers when they check back in a few weeks later.
Before jumping on the Twitter wagon, ask yourself, do you have time each day to devote to responding to your followers’ questions and posting new tweets? You don’t need to tweet everyday if that’s too often for your business, but at a minimum you should be tweeting every few days. Going weeks in between can signal to your following that you may not care enough to dedicate time to the site. Which may result in a small number of people sticking around. This varies between industries, so refer to other facility management companies as to how often is consider appropriate to tweet. However, checking the site for responses from your audience is something you really should be doing everyday.
Stay Relevant
One of the best ways to develop tweets is, what would YOU want to read about if you were one of your customers? Do they want real time, accurate, updated information on your building? Interesting articles related to facilities management or on being a tenant? Do you think they’d find office news and events interesting? Or how about updates on the latest construction progress in building six? One of the best ways to find out what works is to try them all, and simply see what people engage with. Don’t be afraid to ask your followers what they find the most useful, you might be surprised to hear what they have to say.
Also, a good way to find new users in your industry is to search hashtags. For facilities management, the hashtag #FacMan is quite popular. If you’re involved in commercial real estate, simply the acronym #CRE can filter tweets and accounts you might be interested in. #Buildings, #Workspace and #Officespace are also popular choices. Need some inspiration? These facility management companies are rocking it on Twitter.
Respond To Your Audience
If one of your followers reaches out to you with a question about when your AC will be fixed or what time the going-away party starts, do your best to respond! Even if you don’t always have the answer, referring them to an individual or 
department who does will do wonders for your customer service reputation.
Being on Twitter should mean that your customers can reach out to you, and hear back within a reasonable time frame. Most users expect a response within 24 hours, or sooner if the question is pressing. Again, this relates back to if you have the time to dedicate to using Twitter effectively. You could also consider having another member of your team check the site every afternoon for responses to be sure everyone is answered. Select someone you trust, who has strong communication skills. What you write on social media is out there for everyone, customers and prospects alike, to see. You want those in control of your social media to have the ability to uphold your brand’s integrity.
When another account – be one of your customers or another company shares your tweet, always be sure to show your appreciation by saying thank you! When another user shares your content it is beneficial to both parties, because they get to share awesome information you created and your account is seen by new individuals who follow them but maybe don’t follow you just yet. If an account who doesn’t follow you shares your content multiple times, try following them back first. They just might respond with a reciprocated follow. It’s also a nice gesture to occasionally share another user’s content who repeatedly shares your own.
Follow Active Accounts
As with any social network, there are going to be users who had ever intention of staying active, but fell flat. It’s best not to stay connected with people who aren’t at least mildly engaged. Not sure who is active and who isn’t? Using a twitter counter site like Social Bro can tell you who hasn’t tweeted in three months, so you can remove them from your list. A good rule of thumb is if they haven’t posted or at the very least retweeted or favored other tweets within the last three months, they’re probably not worth following.
Did we forget anything? We would love to hear what’s worked for you in growing your Twitter following. Share your tips with us in the comments below!
