So your friend’s brother’s dog’s babysitter told you that he’s making oodles of money with Twitter and that it would be great for your business. You’ve either just created an account or you’ve been using one for a little while and it’s just not working out for you.
Before you give up, take a lesson from the Nerd. Welcome to The Realist’s Guide to Getting Started on Twitter.
Okay, so here’s what you need to know…
If you’ve never used Twitter before, you’re diving in to the belly of the beast we call “social media.” You’ll find Twitter to be noisy, fast-paced, and more than likely, you’ll think it’s pretty confusing. Bear with me. Let’s dissect a few of the key things you need to know to get up and running like a pro.
1.) Twitter is nothing special.
Twitter is nothing more than a communication channel. It’s just like an email, just like a telephone. Sure, it has some different features, but the purpose of Twitter is to connect people.
Unfortunately, far too few Twitter users see the site as a communication tool. Instead, they see Twitter as a way to blast out their message to millions of people. The problem with that sort of thinking is that people have to actually care what you have to say if you expect them to follow you. If you’re just creating an account to blast out a marketing message or to tell people how great you are, you’ll end up like “that guy” that shows up to networking events, passes out as many business cards as he can, and disappears into the night as quickly as he came. I think it was @skydiver who called them “business card ninjas.” In fact, everything in this discussion on real-world networking applies to Twitter.
2.) Twitter can be self-absorbed.
What you’ll find:
The first thing you’ll do on Twitter (after updating your status to say “just setting up my twittr“) is to go find some people to follow. And then you’ll follow them. And then you’ll see things like “I am sitting on the patio” and think to yourself, “I really don’t care.” Heck, my first tweet ever was “Starting a business.” Brilliant, no?
That’s because nearly all new Twitterers are taking some time to adjust to how things work, and there’s two sides to that coin. At first, it’s really easy to say that someone is silly for updating their statuses to tell people what they are doing all of the time, but you’ll change your tune the moment that you follow someone because you realize that you really do care about what they’re doing and when they’re doing it.
What you can do to change it:
Any of these social tools are about relationships. It’s called “social” for a reason, ya know? Focus on following people that you are legitimately interested in and engage them in conversation. Use the @mention feature to reach out to people when you follow them and introduce yourself. Ask questions and respond to others. Focus on your followers, not just you. I fall into the “all about me” trap, too. Let’s start a conversation.
3.) Twitter is like voyeurism for nerds.
What you’l find:
You don’t make “friends” on Twitter. You “follow” people. Just like in that kinda-okay-but-really-pretty-awful Mel Gibson movie, Conspiracy Theory, where he follows Julia Roberts everywhere he goes, Twitter lets you stalk just about anybody.
The moment you create an account on Twitter, you’ll likely see people start to follow you. Do not be alarmed. Again, that’s Twitter.
What you can do to change it:
If privacy is a concern, you’ve got a couple of options. First, you can “protect your tweets” by approving followers as they follow you, but if you’re using Twitter for business, this will make it harder for your customers to connect to you. Second, you can block users who you don’t want following you, but this is retroactive and, if that user signs out of Twitter, they can see your tweets publicly. Lastly, you can just filter the info you publish to the world. This is your best bet–if you wouldn’t tell a stranger, don’t put it on Twitter.
Another common practice on Twitter for spammers and other unsavory characters (wannabe porn stars included) is to follow as many people as possible just in hopes that those people follow back. It’s a way of building up followers, as if the number of followers you have actually matters (it doesn’t, by the way). I call this “twam.” If a twammer decides you look like an easy target, just click the “Report for Spam” link on their profile.
4.) On Twitter, you’re competing for attention.
What you’ll find:
No matter how many followers you have, it’s entirely possible that your posts will go unread. Just starting off on Twitter, you might be able to read every single tweet that the 10 or 12 people that you follow are posting. But after you start to follow more and more people, you’re going to find that you just don’t have enough bandwidth to
What you can do to change it:
According to a study from Hubspot, most users tweet 4.422 times per day. The more people you follow, the more tweets you see and the harder it is to keep up with every one of them.
For your message to be seen, then, you have two options. First, if you’re trying to get in touch with a specific Twitter user or a small group, use @mention them to send the tweet to their Mentions section. If you’re trying to reach a wider audience, then the answer is to tweet more often. According to the Hubspot study, “users who tweet between 10 and 50 times per day have more followers on average than those that tweet more or less frequently.” The optimal number of tweets per day is 22, according to the research.
I wouldn’t say you should tweet 22 times per day. Instead, focus on three variables. Create content that:
- Provides real value, rather than a marketing message. Your followers are a loyal community for you to serve, not spam.
- Engages individual users with content that they’re interested in. What you think they want and what they really want may differ.
- Is spread out throughout the day. Tweet throughout the day rather than in “chunks” to have the greatest reach.
5.) Twitter has awesome potential (if you use it well).
Whether you’re new to Twitter or you’ve been using the tool for a while and not seeing the results you’re looking for, follow some of the steps in this guide and I guarantee you’ll see an improvement. Take the focus off of how great you are and focus on how great your followers are.
I’m going to take the time to unfollow some Twitterers who I don’t often connect to so I can focus on those who are doing cool things that I can brag about. If you’re just getting going on Twitter, reach out to me. I’d love to connect with you and share your masterpieces. As always, you can find me on Twitter at @RobLaughter.
