So many people I talk to “don’t get” Twitter. Even worse, are companies with Twitter accounts who have fewer followers than someone like me, who just Tweets casually. Let me offer you some advice on the best ways to use Twitter.
Twitter is not a bullhorn. Get out of the web 1.0 mentality. You can’t just post status updates and expect people to find you.
Twitter is a conversation. Be a part of it. Engage and participate in trending topics, follow others and engage them in daily discussions.
Follow back. Follow those who follow you. Use the search feature to find others talking about your topics of interest and follow them. Watch the conversations occurring with the people you already follow, and follow the people they interact with.
Twitter can help you find others. Some of the best moments are when you complain about a product, and their support team finds you and offers to help. It’s a sneak attack, it defuses someone who may not have otherwise contacted you, and shows them that you really do want to help. Use that search feature to see if others are talking about you, your products, brands, or even just your topic of interest. The key to this is timeliness. Don’t respond a week later. Twitter is too real time for you to be “just getting around” to that person’s tweet.
Twitter can spread positive perception quickly. Use the “retweet” feature to your advantage. If somebody says something positive about you, retweet them. It shows that person that you are actively listening (reading), and shows others that you recognize your followers.
Twitter is news. When I first signed up for Twitter, I didn’t ever look back to RSS feeds. Not only is Twitter the place to go for breaking news events before any cable news networks, but it’s the place to go for trending topics, and even following some of the largest corporations as they continue to use Twitter as a bullhorn to spread their news. Only mega companies can get away with that behavior, but you will notice that even those with millions of followers will find a way to engage their fellow Twitter users.
Hold me to my own standards, follow @NuAngel on Twitter!
