There have been dozens, probably hundreds of posts discussing how to use twitter. There is no right or wrong answer since we all have different goals and objectives but one thing is for certain. Without engaging others, having meaningful conversations beyond “What’s for lunch”, or giving kudos to those in your network that deserve credit- gaining followers that really care about what you have to say will prove to be quite challenging.
The graph below is a rough breakdown of how I’ve been tweeting. While I don’t specifically put each tweet in a particular category, I do pay special attention to how I can best provide value to my followers and network. At the end of the day, the more people I provide value to, the more I feel I am achieving my desired goals.
CONVERSATIONS
The beauty as I see it is that twitter limits our conversations to 140 characters. We’re forced to make our statements concise, eliminating pointless words we too often use. How each of us views what content should be included in a tweet when having a conversation with others is debatable. I try and limit instant messaging conversations to DM’s but we all play in that grey area so I don’t get too caught up if certain tweets that should be DM’d are not. As the graph indicates, the majority of my tweets come in the form of conversations.
RETWEETS
In simple terms, RT’s are designed to help spread someone’s message to your network. In addition, it’s a good way to give someone props for their tweet or content. Others RT to help their network answer a question, find a vendor/service provider, or share a cause. It is much more likely that others will be willing to spread your message if they find that you do the same for them. Word of caution: Too much RT’ing will cause some to wonder if you create your own content or will get annoyed that you pass along meaningless dribble too often.
LINKS TO CONTENT
Let’s face it, every now and again a little self promotion is expected. Linking your latest blog, website, or article you found interesting is perfectly acceptable. The goal as I see it is to mix it in with everything else you tweet. Less than 20% of my tweets link to something but there is no magic formula as to what % is accepted by the masses. Much of the value we can provide to our networks will occur by sharing a well written article often times written by someone other than ourselves.
Direct Messages
Sometimes it makes more sense to have your conversation private, between two people. Knowing when to use a DM vs. @ reply will vary from user to user. To test the rule, ask yourself with any particular tweet in question whether your message should be viewed by your followers or better suited to be private. Most times the answer will be very clear.
So, the question is how do you tweet and are you happy with your results from spending time on this social networking site?
