Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Making twitter work for you

Probably the best description I've heard about Twitter is that its the real time search engine that you didn’t realise that you needed.

It’s a great way to discover new content and stay informed of developments in your field, connect with new people and even if they don’t follow you still learn from their tweets.

To make tweeting work for you try following these simple tips:

Add value where you can

Join a conversation if you have some information or an opinion that will expand an argument.

Tweet links to great articles you’ve discovered

I find the links tweeted by the people I follow one of the biggest pluses with Twitter as I discover articles and facts that I would never have found myself. Aim to share the material you find that will be of some value to your followers.

Tweet profound things

Hey don’t be scared by this you don’t need to turn into Socrates overnight. But tweeting an original comment, observation or fact might get republished by your followers (retweeted), and this helps to build your influence and hopefully number of followers.

Give a little of yourself

You don’t need to tell the world what you had for breakfast but it's social media and that means people like to get to know a bit about you. Saying your going to a concert, pub or taking a holiday helps your followers form an opinion about who you are. Some moderation on personal stuff is the best policy unless you think you are a celeb and feel the world needs to know your every thought and movement.

Think about the time you tweet

If most of your audience is in bed then they are not going to read your tweets. I find the best time to tweet is in the morning when people are on their way to work, or the evening when they are at home. It’s not a good idea to send out a batch of tweets in a short period of time. Try to stagger your tweeting so you are not spamming people.

Remember the golden rule - as with all efforts in social media - is to try to add value. If you succeed in doing this then your influence and reach can only grow.

And don't forget you can follow me on twitter here.

Happy tweeting.

Posted via email from fakingIt

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