Lately I’ve had a bunch of people come to me asking advice on how to get started on Twitter and it got me thinking: As second nature as it seems once you get going, it’s a little daunting at first to get started.
This list of 15 Dos and Don’ts has been created with that in mind. I’m sure there’s a ton of other Twitter “How-To” guides out there, but this one is for those who want to form meaningful relationships online, not just those who are interested in “collecting” followers.
1. Use your own voice. Bring your own personality to the forefront. Say what is on your mind.
2. Be personal, but don’t alienate. Don’t tweet or write about the worst day of your life. That said, no one is happy or perfect all of the time. Be real, but don’t complain nonstop. No one wants to listen to that.
3. Your avatar matters. Don’t let it blow your credibility, but also let it reflect your personality. Remember this is the one thing people will associate you with every time they see a tweet from you.
4. Be who you are. Don’t use pseudonyms or false screen names. It’s all about transparency and honesty. Especially if you are tweeting about your work, use your real name, and be clear who you are.
5. Make a good bio. Let your bio reflect who you are and what kind of conversation people are in for if they follow you. Also, don’t make your tweets completely dry and about business only. Knowing a bit about your personal life or interests will help establish a relationship between you and your followers.
6. Thank people for RTs and have conversations. A one-way Twitter account is nothing but a newsfeed. Generate discussion about topics you are interested in and watch your followers grow. Thank followers for retweeting (RTing) your comments or links and let them know you appreciate it. Mix up your tweets with replies, general tweets, and links.
7. Follow the right people. Use Twitter search to find people tweeting about the subjects you are interested in. When reading a blog you find interesting, track the author down on Twitter. Find people to follow looking at who others are following. Seek out Twitter lists that pertain to your area of interest—the people you follow will probably have some very cool lists.
8. Don’t follow a lot of people all at once. Build up your Twitter stream first. After you’ve posted at least about 20 tweets, start following about 10 people. Keep it going at that level and remember to interact.
9. Be mindful of your and others’ ratios. The ratio of followers to who you’re following is important. If only a few people follow you, but you follow a ton of people, Twitterers will assume you’re a spammer. Build slowly and organically.
10. Provide value. Link to things you find valuable. Ask questions you really want to know the answers to. Twitter is a knowledge pool. People you interact with will read your Twitter stream and want to see what useful or interesting information you provide.
11. Be a leader. Stick to your area(s) of expertise and provide unique, individual perspectives on what’s going on in your world. Qualify statements when you’re not sure about them.
12. Use hashtags. There’s two ways to use hashtags: 1. To add a #punchlinetoajoke. 2. As a discussion subject. If you see a comment that interests you and has a hashtag, do a Twitter search on it. It’s probably happening now. To join the discussion, simply add that hashtag to your tweets. This is a good way for people to discover who you are.
13. Be consistent, but don’t overdo it. If you tweet 30 times an hour, that’s probably too much. You don’t want to take over someone’s Twitter feed. Stay active but don’t go too far. If you’re responding to people, that’s better, but save some of your thoughts for later.
14. DMs are for private conversations. Duh. Everyone can see everything you post on Twitter, except for direct messages. Don’t forget that.
15. Use the @ correctly. If you want someone to see that you’re tweeting about them, referencing them, or retweeting them, use the @ symbol before their Twitter name so your tweet shows up as a “mention.” It is important to know that not everybody will respond to you, however. Just because you mention Ashton Kutcher doesn’t mean he’ll start following you.
