Twitter, the popular social micro-blogging service, is on course to have over 18 million users by the end of 2009. With so many people in the twitterverse, how do you standout from the crowd and get noticed? I have put together a few tips that I hope will make you a more successful twitter user.
Find New People to Follow
Once or twice a week, you should go on a “find people to follow” mission. You can go about this by searching for keywords and sorting through the thousands of responses to see if anyone looks interesting to you, or you can use one of several tools out there to help you find users who are sharing the type of content you want. Just Tweet It is a directory of twitter users sorted by genre. Once you drill down to a category, you can browse and view users and read their bios to see if you might be interested in following them. Twollow and Twollo are two popular services that will auto-follow users that tweet keywords that you specify. One of my favorite ways to find interesting people is to see who my friends are following. Since you are interested in their tweets, it is likely that they will be following other people that interest you. Don’t forget about Follow Friday! Follow Friday is a weekly event on Twitter. Users from all over the world participate by listing other twitter users they recommend and including the hashtag #FollowFriday or #ff in their tweet. There is good chance you will be interested in who your friends recommend.
Join In Conversations
You should take any opportunity to interact with other users by answering a question, retweeting things that interest you, and offering assistance if you have the knowledge to help someone with a problem. On several occasions, I have responded to people asking for help with websites. I know that I have built long lasting relationships with these folks because I connected with them when they were in need. Don’t be shy! If you have the answer, share it and you will be rewarded. It is important to remember that you have knowledge that other people need. Twitter is about interacting and building relationships, not marketing or promoting yourself at every opportunity.
Respond to Messages and Thank People
You should think of Twitter as you would any other popular means of communication. If someone sends you a message that elicits a response, take the time to get in touch. This is no different than someone sending you an email or leaving you a voice mail. Also, don’t forget to thank people for answering your questions and retweeting your posts. This goes a long way in building relationships and it leaves folks with a positive feeling about you.
Twitter is growing in popularity on a daily basis; and it is becoming harder to stand out above the crowd. The best policy is to check twitter with at least the same frequency that you would check your email. Remember to constantly seek out new people to follow, be a part of the conversation, and take the time to respond to messages and thank people when appropriate.
I hope that you find some of these tips helpful. What other habits do you recommend for twitter success?
