I love twitter…and for good reason. Twitter has brought me invaluable contacts and business deals, new friends and partnerships, plus its so much fun! There is an unspoken rule in twitterville, only nice, respectful people can be on twitter.
Check Out Twitter’s Official Guide
Many of my tweeples (friends and followers in twitterville) have asked how I utilize the web’s most popular micro blogging tool, allowing us to express what we are doing with 140 characters or less. I answer the question, “What interests me right now?”
Here is my twitter etiquette and best use policy.
You – Your twitter profile.
- Name: Use your full name, not some made-up cool factor or company name.
- UserName: OK here you can be creative. Just don’t make it look like a spammer (iwannasellu) unless you are just selling.
- Location: Use your geographical location. Many people will search for other twitters near them or in a place of interest.
- Bio: The bio is my favorite aspect of a twitter page. The bio is seen on your home page, but also within many 3rd party twitter applications. Its the first thing people read about you, after your incredibly magnetic tweet caught their eye. Your bio can be professional, comedic, satyric, anything you want.
Have fun be creative with a few unique tag lines. Here are a few favorite examples:
@brooksbayne – marginalizing the everyman. satirist, entrepreneur, technologist, music producer and melter of faces utilizing molten guitar riffs. independently conservative.
@garyvee – I do this: http://tv.winelibrary.com and I care about this: The health and happiness of my Family and Friends. Keep it simple!
Spend some time on your bio and make sure you have a real picture of you as well as a link to your blog or another social profile page. Social networking is about getting to know people and allowing them to know you. Make your info accessible, be transparent.
Tweets – Your twitter content.
It’s NOT all about marketing. Twitter is first and foremost a communication tool. Your twitter profile is a daily digest of your routine life. Send tweets (twitter messages) that allow others to gain an interest about you and find a common connection.
Social media is about people and if you don’t allow people to get to know you on a somewhat personal basis, they probably won’t stick around for very long.
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when using social media properties as a marketing platform is trying to make a sale or promote a product, before they even know you. They should be establishing a relationship with you first, then if you like them, and they are the ‘real deal’ you might check out their stuff.
I talk about whatever I am doing whenever that is. You can see my latest tweet on my home page. If I am researching content for a project, I’ll tweet that, with a link to the articles web page. Hey you never know, someone out there might be interested in the subfamily of Salmonidae, then you will make friends and hang out in twitterland together.
Post relevant content about your business and interests.
Interact – with The Twitterverse
- Follow: Search for people that interest you, not just because you want a gazillion followers. See How To Find People On Twitter
- Unfollow: Some say never to unfollow but I say user discretion. Hey if I follow you because I liked a comment or link and then find out your a total twittersnob (more on that later) or you consistently tweet about nothing I like, are rude or otherwise, I will unfollow you.
- @Replies: Take some time during your twitter session to make authentic replies. Replies show you’re an active participant, give other twitters recognition and is just plain respectful.
- D: Direct messages are private chats between users. Do not abuse direct messaging with sales pitches and spam. Use them sparingly and wisely. If you are not going to respond to direct messages then deactivate it in your settings.
- RT: ReTweeting allows you to share what others are saying with your friends and followers. Its a a great way to help distribute relevant and interesting content. We all love to be retweeted!
- Links: Add links to your messages that direct tweeples to your new blog post or interesting articles. Remember its about the conversation not just sales.
- Don’t Spam – Twitter has gained such popularity, every internet marketer is capitalizing on the ability to build a list and sell them a product. Twitter is an incredible marketing tool but build your relationships first, try the soft sell approach.
There are some great applications to help you manage twitter, including organizing your followers, url shorteners with built in tracking and custom views of your status streams. I use hootsuite for my browser interface and seesmic’s desktop client software that allows you to manage twitter and facebook.
Have fun.
All the best,
Jayson
PS: I help out a lot of folks with twitter, so leave a comment if you have any questions. Follow me and I will follow you.
