Before I started to write the Twitter optimization series I assumed that I’ll just write a few posts about how to use Twitter and when there is nothing more to write the series will end. Well, when I actually started writing and more so after part one, two and three of the series I noticed that the deeper you dive in Twitter the more you can write.
I’m not surprised anymore that problogger Darren Rowse is publishing a whole blog dealing solely with Twitter and has enough things to write about.
So now I’ll try to get more structure into my series so that you can really use the lessons as a whole, not just its parts. Therefore I introduce to you the 5 steps to Twitter success.
While being a superstar is not automatically an asset in the business sense yet you’ll notice that the most popular Twitter users are basically superstars. You might also attempt to become an authority in your area or whatever goal it is you set for youserlf.
The tactics and the overall strategy of social networking stays the same whether you try to get thousands of followers or you aim to foster deep bonds with a tight community. The differences are in the details.
You can distinguish these 5 steps to Twitter success
- Getting followers
- Keeping followers
- Getting people to react
- Using the right tools
- Earning money
The first three have already been covered at the SEOptmise SEO blog but I want to recapitulate them in short overview along with the newer ones that are coming up.
In part 1 in short “getting followers” I wrote about how you can thwart your own attempts of getting followers. Now I will reformulate those in a positive manner:
1. Use an avatar image, a picture of a person, you is best
2. Only use a logo as avatar in case your brand is already established
3. Link your homepage in your profile, not LinkedIn or FriendFeed etc.
4. Let employees tweet as real people
5. Do not collect many more people you follow than you got followers
6. Describe yourself in a factual not anecdotal way
7. Tweet mostly in English if you’re from non-English speaking countries and target the global market
8. At the beginning promote your Twitter presence so that you gather at least 5o followers
9. Tweet at least a few times a week, do not lurk
10. Do not pose as someone else, especially not a young attractive females, unless you don’t care
In part 2 “keeping followers” I also described the negative effects of your long term participation where you might lose your followers again. In positive terms it means:
1. If you’re on Twitter for business, limit the private tweets to a reasonable percentage
2. Use direct message only for person to person conversation, not for broadcasting
3. Link to yourself only occasionally
4. Reply to other people, especially when addressed directly
5. Do not tweet dozens of times per hour, that’s flooding
6. Tweet manually not via automated scripts
7. Post tweets directly to Twitter not via crossposting from elsewhere
8. Vote on social sites for people you follow if you like their links but do not vote down if you dislike
9. Be polite and use informal but not too casual langauge
10. Keep conversations concise or otherwise move to another channel (private message, IM, email)
Part 3 “getting people to react” dealt with making people support you actively on Twitter. In order to elecit a desired reaction you have to
1. Ask simple and direct questions
2. Break news stories or be among the first to spread them
3. Cover Twitter both on site and on your blog
4. Mention and socialize with already popular and active Twitter users
5. Tweet link to outstanding resources helpful to others
6. Blog about other tweets you read and elaborate on them or collect a few
7. Be outspoken about negative things that annoy you
8. Create a tool geared towards the Twitter audience
9. Be a human being, that is not only a business robot, mention private things others can relate to, like a cat
10. Give away freebies, or at least report when others do
Part 4 “using the right tools” next week will deal with using the right tools to assist you in becoming a Twitter success. You’ll notice quickly that using the Twitter homepage without any tools is not enough. Also the multitude of Twitter tools make this social networking site so powerful. You need:
1. A Twitter client for the device you mostly use to access Twitter
2. A tool that helps you track the mentions of your name, brand or most important keywords
3. A way to gain quick overview on what’s going on, on Twitter
4. Some WordPress blog integration to connect your online presence to the Twitter community
5. A favorite short URL service with analytics, proper redirects etc.
I’m still in the process of finding out what you truly need but among the plethora of Twitter tools there you can bet that I will identify at least 10 needs there are tools for.
Part 5 “earning money” will attempt to discern how really Twitter is making money for all those business people out there tweeting all of the time. Thy can’t just do it for the sake of cat talk!
So I hope you can use this overview to learn to be an even better Twitter user. In case you have suggestions for part 4 and 5 please add them in the comments. They might show up with a link in the article.
I have to disagree with
5. Do not tweet dozens of times per hour, that’s flooding
I tweet quite a lot but the followers I want are the the ones that follow me anyway and are intrested in what I tweet, sometimes its random but other times there are questions or detailed help, twitter for me has turned more into an instant messenger than a microblog.
I’d say rather than don’t tweet loads, tweet worthwhile things, I average about 3 extra followers a day, I only expect 1 or 2 of them to stick with me but If I changed the way I tweet, I wouldnt enjoy twitter as much, so stuff them!
Why can I not vote these people down on social media sites?
Some days I tweet less than others. I tweet about random things that annoy me but I also provide value to my followers. It’s difficult to calculate what the perfect number of tweets per day would be.
I’d like people to tweet less personally. I get annoyed when I see hundreds of tweets of one guy in an hour. The reason I don’t stop following is because it would look rude. But to each, his own, i guess.
Really great info here. Thanks!
Thanks for the info. The more I learn the better I’ll be!
As someone who is just getting into social media and social media marketing I appreciate the tips found here. Thanks!
I’m hearing more and more about Twitter. It seems to be getting everywhere at the moment. Maybe it’s time I investigated this site more fully now.
I have had trouble understanding the twitter techniques. This information is helpful. Thanks!
Simple tips, but very useful for me.
Thanks for this post. And for all “Twitter optimization series“
Regarding those people that tweet dozens of times every hour: In some cases this can get really annoying. There are those people that tweet personal things every ten minutes like “headed to the bathroom” or “giving birth”. That is information that the world doesn’t really need to know.
However, if someone is tweeting worthwhile information amongst personal tweets then I am more than happy to read through the dozens of blurbs every hour. I think it just depends on the user.
Good, simple steps. I find part 3 to be the biggest challenge. I have a good sized group of followers, but I don’t communicate directly with enough of them. That’s one thing I’m trying to improve upon.
Good sound info, thank you, Lance
heyy….
This post helped me a little bit about how to optimize Twitter…but i was expecting something more from your side..
waiting for your next post.
I’m new to Twitter so this was very helpful. After reading the comments I see that Tweeting too much or too little is a fine line. Thanks! Keith
These are really great trips, not just for Twitter, but for ALL social media efforts – I especially love the section devoted to optimization, which I think we all have to get a handle on to minimize the duplication of effort – but they keep adding things every day! agh!
sound good, but by following all this steps not just going to bring you followers
I tried all those steps. I dont know how to look for the ROI
One question: can you give us an example of the name tracker that you mention in part 4 with “A tool that helps you track the mentions of your name, brand or most important keywords”
Would totally appreciate the tip – thank you :)
Hey Chris, in fact I’m preparing a list of Twitter search tools right now that will contain also several tools for the task described above. Stay tuned. I guess it will appear later this week.
Thank you for this information. I am trying to increase my Twitter following. It seems to be easier of Facebook.
I think twitter is the best place to establish personal interests. My idea went that way because currently there is Google + Project which is the best place to promote business matters.
Good step, thank you dude.