Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I Joined Twitter
There is a tremendous amount of people on Twitter these days, and that means that if you aren’t on there as well, you may end up missing out on something. No matter whether you’re a business person looking to make contacts, or an enthusiast looking for people to share with, Twitter offers you a platform for exactly that. Despite this, there are still people who feel anxious about Twitter, and unsure exactly what they should and shouldn’t be doing on it. So, to help you get over those Twitter jitters, here’s a list of things I wish I’d known when I started out, both for personal and work accounts..
1. FOLLOWING SOMEONE DOESN’T MAKE YOU A CREEP
Personal: A lot of people who I’ve introduced to Twitter have this to say right at the start. “but I don’t know them, isn’t that weird?” And every time I tell them, absolutely not, that’s what Twitter is for. You’re broadening your horizons. It’s scary, but that’s because most social situations are. Just remember, if they’re on Twitter, then they won’t mind being followed.
Business: No business is going to complain about increased attention to their brand, or an opportunity to engage with potential new business partners. Be forward, friendly, and above all interested in their business and you’ll likely find yourself at the beginning of a very rewarding conversation.
2. FOLLOWS ARE HANDSHAKES, NOTHING MORE.
Personal: By following someone you’re saying that you’d like to hear more of what they’re saying. It’s not a binding contract, and it’s not in any way seedy or off-putting for the person who’s being followed. If anything it’s a compliment. Just remember, everyone’s doing it.
Business: Following someone is a good way to introduce yourself. Plenty of people using Twitter for work will have a followback policy, so add a business whenever you think you’d like to start a dialogue with them, and either introduce you there and then, or wait for them to follow you back before saying hello.
3. YOUR FOLLOWERS ARE INTERESTED IN YOU
Personal: If someone follows your account, that’s a handshake from them saying they want to hear what you have to say. That means you should never hold back on tweeting something because ‘you’re not sure that’s what they’d want to read’. You might end up not tweeting something that they would have loved and retweeted for days.
Business: There’s no shame in publicising your business on Twitter, in fact it’s encouraged. Don’t spam obviously, try to keep your tweets down to a easily consumable number, but be sure to be active every day. Activity is the number one way to grow follower interest in Twitter, show them that you have things to say and that your brand is active. Users are much more likely to engage with you if they can rely on you engaging back.
4. YOUR FIRST TWEET DOESN’T MATTER
Personal: So many people spend ages agonising over their first tweet, there’s this idea that your whole experience is going to be defined by that tweet. Once you’re ready to start tweeting, just throw yourself into it.
Business: Be authoritative with your first tweet, but just as with personal accounts, don’t worry about it too much. You’ll soon be filling the account with other relevant (and entertaining) posts so there’s no need to hold meetings discussing what you’re going to say when the account goes live.
5. IT’S OK TO LURK
This tip is true for both types of accounts. Just because you have a Twitter account doesn’t mean that you have to tweet immediately. Spend some time following people, find out how different people use it and decide what methods you like the most. Follow other accounts that are related to your interests and see how they work. Decide what you like and don’t like about different accounts behaviours and then let that inform your own online. Don’t spend too much time lurking though, once you’re confident you know what you’re doing you should get active and start putting yourself or your brand out there.
6. IT’S NOT A TEST
Personal: Don’t let your inner-editor run riot when you’re on Twitter. People aren’t going to unfollow you because you don’t hit the nail on the head every time and nobody minds (much) when you miss off a full stop to hit your character count. It’s ok to try on different styles of tweeting before settling on something.
Business: Whilst you don’t have to hit the nail on the head every time, it does pay dividends to make sure that everything you tweet from a business account is considered. Personal accounts have a little more freedom, but a poorly phrased Tweet can have negative repercussions on a business. By all means try to keep your tweets comfortable and friendly, but think before you tweet and remember it’s a public service.
7. YOU CAN ALWAYS GET MORE FOLLOWERS
Personal: Don’t hold back on tweeting about something because you’re worried about offending someone who follows you. You are what makes an otherwise uniform account unique, and a tweet that might lose you one follower could well end up netting you three new ones. Don’t get hung up on numbers. For personal accounts it’s more about the quality of the connections than the number of them.
Business: Whilst you want to form quality connections and friendships with your business account as well, numbers are also important to any growing business. The more followers you have, the more visible your product is, so it pays to get more followers. However, it doesn’t pay to pursue accounts that unfollow you and try to win you back. That kind of behaviour can be viewed as petty and unfocused, so you’re better off trying to win those accounts back with quality content rather than messaging and asking what you did wrong.
8. YOU DON’T ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
Personal: A retweet can speak to your character just as well as something that you’ve written yourself. Sometimes it even does it better! I have friends who mostly retweet, but still manage to get a lot of themselves and their interests across. If you do have something to say about a retweet, try to fit it around the post you’re forwarding. That way your personality is more a part of the retweet.
Business: Retweeting an interesting article or post is another great way to show what your business is interested in, as well as forming contacts with other business accounts. If you consistently retweet accounts they are likely to note that at some point and either get in touch or follow back, either of which is good for your visibility.
9. LET PEOPLE KNOW THEY’RE GREAT
Personal: If you’ve read a blog post or an article that you think is good, let whoever wrote it know that. People are much more open to being approached on Twitter than they are on email because they understand it’s a public service. Furthermore, the micro nature of twitter posts means that they’re much more likely to read them and respond in kind. I’ve gotten in touch with all kinds of interesting people on Twitter who I would have struggled to reach via email.
Business: What business doesn’t enjoy being told that they’re doing a great job? If you’ve attended an event recently or seen a report in the news about a business that’s doing interesting work, why not congratulate them on Twitter? They’ll appreciate that you’re raising their visibility and if they follow your account then that could become a useful contact for you at some point.
10. TRY NEW THINGS
There are a lot of lists out there like this one listing how to correctly use Twitter, but one of the best things about the service is that people are still finding new and interesting ways to harness the massive audience and mix of people using it. These tips are really a starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the service, but once you’re comfortable with it, experiment! If you find something unique to do with Twitter then people will thank you for it, and you’ll find yourself with a much larger and more influential audience. So what are you waiting for, make an account and start seeing what Twitter can do for you.
Continue reading here: 5 Technologies That Every Entrepreneur Needs
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