How To Work Twitter: Part 4

When it comes to basic Twitter functionality, the list is the last of the main features I need to cover in this ‘How To’ series.  So, let’s dive right into it.

What is a list?  In my own words, the list is Twitter’s answer to Facebook groups.  If you’re not familiar with Facebook yet, then you can consider a list to be, quite simply, a way to organize your followers.  Why create lists?  Well, say you manage the Twitter account for your nonprofit or small business and you follow 300 other people.  Some are coworkers or volunteers, some are donors, some are sponsors, some are business partners, and some are just regular followers.  Lists provide you with an excellent way to organize who you follow.

When you start to follow lots of people, it can get hard to keep up with every single Tweet that gets sent out.  Lists can quickly and efficiently assist you with catching up.  Maybe you need an idea for a fund raiser or new product promotion.  Quickly browse the list or lists that contain your business partners or competition.  Maybe their content can inspire you.  Need to hire an employee or find a volunteer?  Check out the Tweets of the people on your volunteer or customers list.  Maybe you can find a lead.  Bottom line, lists help you make sense of the cacophony of tweeting that occurs when you start to follow lots of people.

OK…so how do you create a list?  On the right side of your home page, you’ll see a ‘New List’ link on your tool bar, right under the ‘Lists’ heading (how novel!).  Click that and a pop-up appears.  Name your list, explain it if you wish, and make it public or private.  I suggest public, because lists are good tools for your followers to find the people you value…it’s all about networking.  Create your lists and start adding.  The easiest way to add someone to a list is by locating them on your ‘Followers’ page (just tap the word ‘followers’ under the number of followers you have, shown on your home page.  You’ll see a little list icon next to that cog icon we talked about.  The drop down will allow you to add this person to the list (or lists) that you already created.  When you want to take a look at the lists you’ve created, just click the name of the list you want to see.  It will be located on the right side under ‘Lists’ after you create it.  What you’ll see here is a feed made up of the people you put on the list, in chronological order.  The more people on the list, the busier it will be.

It’s that easy.  Along with the value you gain from organizing your followers, you’ll find some value in how happy people are to be listed.  Quite often, you’ll get a ‘thank you’ mention or direct message.  And, quite often, you’ll get added to a list in return.  If you want to take a look at the lists you’ve been added to, click the ‘listed’ number next to ‘following’ and ‘followers’ on the right side if your home page.

Has this ‘How To’ series helped?  Leave me some feedback if you’d like to read explanations of Facebook or  YouTube in this format.

How To Work Twitter: Part 2

So, by now you have the basics of navigating the world of Twitter.  Let’s take it a step further. This post will talk about two specific practices that I have learned for growing and attracting your following.  They are part of what I like to call: Twitter PR.

What is Twitter PR?

Imagine that you are at a party alone and you are trying to make a friend.  Suppose you see another person standing alone by the punch bowl.  You walk over and say:

“Hello, my name is John.”

The person responds, “Hi, my name is Matt.”

And then you stare at each other for the rest of the party.  Fun!

Sounds silly, right?  Believe it or not, the equivalent of this exchange takes place daily in the cyber world.  While the beauty of online socialization often lies in anonymity, its an absolute plague to a social media strategy.  If your goal is to attract customers, donors, business partners, or even friends, you have to recognize and utilize the give and take options available on Twitter.

How do you do that? It’s really not that hard.  Whenever you notice that you have a new and interesting follower, follow them back.  Once you do that, you can now send them what’s called a ‘Direct Message’.  You can find the direct message (DM) option under that same little sprocket on the person’s profile page.  This is basically a private e-mail.  Only you and the person can see this, and its still limited to 140 characters.  So, just say something like, “Thanks for following. I look forward to reading your Tweets.”  Be creative with this and let your personality shine.

The DM isn’t the only Twitter PR tactic.  They also give you the ‘Mention’.  This one is a little tricky to figure out, but you’ll get the hang of it.  Let’s go back to our party scenario.  Assume that John and Matt decided not to stare at each other, but actually started a conversation by the punch bowl.  John tells Matt that he is a rocket scientist and explains his job in great detail.  Matt thinks that is really cool and wants to tell a few of his friends at the party about John.  So, he shouts over to his friends to come and meet John.  You can do the same thing on Twitter with a mention, like this:

Matt’s tweet:  Hey everyone.  My new friend @John is a rocket scientist.  Isn’t that cool?

By putting the ‘@’ symbol next to the exact Twitter ID of a person, you create a link to that person’s Twitter profile right into your Tweet.  And, as we learned, a Tweet goes out to everyone who follows you.  So, everyone who gets Matt’s tweets will have a direct link to John for as long as Matt’s Tweet stays on their feed.  If they are interested by rocket scientists, they’ll visit John’s profile and maybe add him.

As a way of thanking and acknowledging Matt, John might reciprocate with something like: Thanks to @Matt for the mention!

How do you know if you’ve been mentioned?  Look for the @(your Twitter ID) link on the right hand side of your home page.  Hopefully, you’ll see a sub-feed of Tweets that mention you!  If not, stop staring and start talking.

Along the same vein as the ‘Mention’ is the ‘Re-Tweet’.  A re-tweet acts very much like a traditional e-mail forward.  When you re-tweet someone, you are sending their tweet, in total, as your own tweet to your following.  And, their name is attached as a link (like a mention).  Typically, people will re-tweet good quotes or thoughts, good articles, or a link to a great blog post.  The re-tweet is just another show of appreciation and could land you a new follower if you re-tweet someone who does not yet follow you.  How do you re-tweet, there’s is an invisible re-tweet button in the bottom right corner of a person’s tweet.  Roll your mouse over that area and you’ll see it.  Say yes when prompted and you’ve sent a re-tweet.  Odds are you’ll see a thank you in the form of a mention sometime soon.  By the way, to see if you’ve been re-tweeted, look for the ‘retweets’ link 3 links under the @(your Twitter ID) link.

Bottom line, you have to give more than content to build a solid network.  Your best weapon in the Twitter arsenal is what you have to say in your tweets, but you can’t ignore the ‘social’ aspect to social media.  So, mention and re-tweet good content and interesting people and do it a few times a day.

Part 3 sneak preview: hash tags and lists!  Stay tuned.