Using Twitter the right way

Social media moves at a staggering speed and you don’t want to find yourself driving in the slow lane with your blinkers on. Twitter is a simple and easy way to get your toes wet in the social media ocean.  I’m going to assume that you’ve already created your account, written a witty bio, and have created a brilliant background image.  {if you don’t have these things yet, email me}

In order to know how to use Twitter the right way, you need to know how not to use it too.

Tip #1 Just because it says “What are you doing” doesn’t mean that you should be telling people that you’re writing a newsletter, eating McDonald’s or that your dog just ate your business report.
Tip #2 Even though we’re going to learn how use Twitter to build your business, you don’t want to be shamelessly self promoting yourself either.
Tip #3 Don’t use auto messages.  Social media is all about building relationships.  It would be the same as holding up a sign that said “yes” to a friend who asked you a question because you were too busy playing Bejeweled on Facebook.

Which brings us to what you should be doing.

1. Monitor your brand.  Much like Google Alerts, you can track keywords in Twitter to find out what people are saying about you.  Keeping on top of this means being able to step in immediately if any negative publicity is happening.
2. Grab a pen and write down your goals for using Twitter.  {Do you want them to buy from you?  Subscribe to your RSS feed?  Go to your website?  Become an influencer?}
3. Offer 140 characters of wisdom.  You know who your target market is, so start talking to them.
4. Much like you would monitor your brand, you can keep up with the latest buzz in your industry.

Chris Brogan had some great ideas on how to use Twitter.  Some of my favourites are listed below, and you can read the full 50 items on his site.

• Use a picture {and preferably a closeup of your face!}
• You don’t have to read every single tweet.
• Consider a 3rd party service like Tweetdeck