Is Twitter mystifying?

The best way to utilise Twitter is to remind yourself that every time you post a tweet the intention is to share something of interest to your followers. Whether it be that you’re sharing something that is of interest to you in the news or a frustration you’re experiencing, someone will read your Tweet and hopefully you’ll engage them.

Some people will use Twitter to just pitch links to offers that they themselves will make money from, which is a sure fire way to lose followers. You can promote using Twitter, in fact it is a very powerful tool for that very thing but you need to be sure the interests of your followers is at the heart of what your Tweets are about. You want to be known as someone who people should be following on Twitter, and by providing information that is useful will enable you to achieve that. Once you’ve established a nice following and your readers trust you then when you do decide to pitch something to them they’re more likely to take your recommendation seriously.

It’s really not much different to blogging. If you have a blog and don’t offer your visitors anything they think is of value then they’re unlikely to subscribe to your blog and it’s no different with Twitter. I’m sure you’re aware just how many successful bloggers there are and that being due to the value they offer. Find resources, news and plain and simple useful information on any market or area of interest you and your readers have and watch your Twitter followers come in droves.

Think about other people on Twitter too not just your own Twitter aims. Ask them questions, reply to their Tweets and build up relationships that can really help you and the other people within your network. When you have a strong network, whether that be on Twitter or even off line, then the recommendations you’ll receive will help grow your network even more which in turn can grow your business.

You can use Twitter to keep yourself abreast of the latest developments in world news, financial markets or any particular area of interest you might have. If you have an area of interest then it’s highly likely others will too and they’ll be posting on their Twitter accounts about it. Twitter is a powerful tool that is truly taking off in a major way world wide. Getting up to speed with Twitter and using it carefully can help you build a business and or make your current business efforts more profitable.

Now you know what is Twitter!

Is there a reason that you would want to have not just one but two or more Twitter accounts?

Well there is a reason but does Twitter allow it? As far as we know at the time of this article, yes you are able to have multiple Twitter accounts. Why would you though? Well if you are running a business then it can be a wise move to only have an account that focuses on that business alone. Imagine your clients reading about the wild party you threw for a friend’s 40th! Well of course you wouldn’t tweet this but if you wanted to you couldn’t! So at the very least it’s a good idea to have one account for personal use and another for business.

Another use might be if you were part of a specific group such as a book club, wine club or mother’s club! You could all set up your own special account and keep your Twittering tightly focused on the group’s interests.

Some people who have multiple Twitter accounts set one up specifically to receive news tweets that they can check out quickly as the day progresses instead of having to block out half an hour or so at the end of the day in front of the television.

There would be a great many more reasons for creating multiple accounts and it can make life easier, so if you have a need then don’t hesitate go and create your specific account now and send out a tweet!

Do you know the rules of Twitter when it comes to etiquette? When the cell phone came into our lives in a big way you might recall having to learn the etiquette around using it such as not talking loudly on your phone in a quiet restaurant! Well believe it or not there are some expectations generally about how to behave when it comes to using Twitter and here we’ll cover off some of the basics. If you’ve broken some of these unspoken rules don’t worry, just take note of them today and put your best Twitter foot forward from here on in.

It’s obvious to most people that spamming on Twitter or anywhere for that matter is just a big no no and trying to follow thousands of users in one day might be a little ‘off’ too. But what about the less obvious?

1.  You can apply this first rule to every thing in your life not just on Twitter! Treat others as you expect to be treated yourself. If you don’t want a load of tweets, one after the other after the other from the same person, then don’t do it yourself. If you like to know that someone you sent a tweet to got it and they thanked you for it then remember to do that to others who contact you too. A thank you is always nice to receive no matter who you are.

2.  When you post a tweet and see someone else retweet it you will get a little smile on your face and that comes from a feeling of satisfaction that someone thought what you said was worthy of sending out to their followers! So how can you thank others for the tweets you find interesting and useful? Retweet them of course! Oh and thank anyone who retweets any of your messages!

3.  If you’ve visited a blog or read through a brilliant Squidoo lens then send out a tweet about it! Just because the owner of the blog or lens might not even have a Twitter account isn’t the point. The point is you’re sharing information with your followers that you found useful.

4. Did you tweet something and it got a lot of retweets? Great! Tempted to tweet it again? Don’t be, it’s just not a good look. Do you want to see the same stuff come up from the people you follow. If you continue to tweet useful tid bits then more and more people will see your tweets and read them.

5.  Just like in face to face social and professional situations, it’s fairly common practice not to discuss religion or politics. If you’re in politics as a line of work or in a major way then it would be expected to see tweets about that but otherwise, stay away from these two subject matters or you could find yourself spending time debating issues that the world has not agreed on since the dawn of time and I doubt Twitter is going to break down those walls any time soon.

You will discover the unspoken rules of Twitter etiquette the more you use it. The biggest learning’s come from how you feel about the tweets you see from the people you follow. There will be tweets from people you follow that make you groan and ask yourself the question of why you’re even following them, don’t do what they do! Whose tweets do you ‘look for’ and why? Work that out and do it too!

Like email, tweets can be misunderstood so think before you send out your tweets!

If you think Twittering is a waste of time then you could be right but it all depends on what you’re using it for. Twitter, like many social marketing mediums, is becoming a very lucrative way to make money. If you think Twitter is a passing fad I think you might be mistaken. Twitter is really taking off and with many celebrities and politicians embracing it there is only those who Twitter and those who get left behind really.

You can indeed waste a ton of time on any online social network and Twitter is no exception. It really is all about how you prefer to make use of it if at all. Some people have reported landing jobs via Twitter, we all know that many jobs are never advertised, maybe it was a Twitter relationship that led to a private offer.

If you want to use Twitter to make money then you can’t just keep putting up links to the product in question and expect people to follow along and click the order now button. If a complete stranger walked up to you and said ‘Hey there is a great book called ABC and you should go buy it!’ do you think you would take much notice? Not likely. But if it were someone you knew even only briefly you just might take their recommendation on board. And as for close aquaintences and friends, well most people won’t question them, they’ll simply purchase based on their friend’s word. And there in lies the power of networking on Twitter.