Insights, Lessons and Suggestions to Make the Most of Twitter
It has been 27 months since I started using Twitter, the micro-blogging service that has set the social networking universe afire.
Over this period, I have learned many things about Twitter, tried out different ideas and modified the way I use this fascinating service. And interesting enough, I have seen many users who joined later on go through startlingly similar phases as I once did – only to arrive at similar conclusions.
This was the seed of this post about Twitter. Maybe by sharing some insights, lessons and suggestions from 27 months of Twitter, this will help you past speed-bumps – and let you make the most of Twitter.
Let’s begin by addressing some Twitter myths. There are many of these myths, primarily points of view and opinions of folks who are new to Twitter and not yet sure what to make of it.
5 Twitter Myths That Need Debunking
1. Auto-following is polite.
Yeah, right. And of course, you smile at everyone you see on your way to work, pass the time of the day with your janitor, waitress, bus conductor, gardener and others at home or your office, refuse to ignore anyone who passes by you or makes contact – or just is within 25 feet of where you are!
That’s the surest way to waste your time, lose your focus and get nothing meaningful done – while being ‘terribly busy’ all day long!
Thinking that courtesy demands that you follow back anyone on Twitter who chooses to follow you is responsible for most of the woes new Twitter users suffer. And the myth is perpetuated by those who, as a strategy, follow many people on Twitter… and claim that to NOT do so is impolite!
2. Auto-DMs build instant rapport.
Direct messages allow one-to-one communication within the framework of a ‘broadcast’ medium that Twitter is. It is personal, direct and private. Or so you’d think!
What destroyed this (once-)reality is a practice called ‘Auto DM’s – automatically sending DMs to anyone who follows you on Twitter. No, not always ‘automated’ by scripts; even manually sending DMs to your new followers counts as this.
Coupled with the habit of following many people, and auto-following from politeness everyone who follows you, this auto-DM behavior practically destroyed it’s effectiveness. Hardly any power-user reads all the garbage sent to them via DM robots, and the result is like what spam did to email!
3. No one reads their entire timeline.
The Twitter timeline is fascinating or frustrating – it all depends on how you view it. And how much clutters it up!
Personally, I follow no more than 40 people on Twitter. I make it a point to read my Twitter time-line DAILY. I find snippets and quotes, links and offers, wisdom and wonder – and much of it I share with my own followers.
Making it easier to ‘mine’ the Twitter timeline is the powerful Twitter Search tool. With it, you can sort through the vast Twitter database by keyword, phrase or search term.
4. Everyone uses Twitter the same way.
Many people (I mean REALLY many people) have guidelines, rules and laws about how to use Twitter. Their own. And that’s because they assume – wrongly – that everyone uses Twitter the same way as themselves.
For the same purpose. With the same goals. From the same perspective.
Yet Twitter has several MILLION people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and countries, speaking different languages, believing in different religions, having different political leanings.
I have rules, too. But only one, though. It’s this.
“There are no rules for Twitter”
5. Follower count matters most.
Unless you’re a celebrity, you won’t have many followers – and don’t need many.
And if you’re a celebrity, you’re obviously using Twitter in a way (and for a reason) that VERY few other non-celebrities are… so how you do it won’t matter to them in any meaningful way!
What matters, just as in your own email contact list, is WHO is on your follower list - not how many are. The 35 people I follow on Twitter at any time collectively have a network reach of several MILLION others. But that’s NOT why I follow them.
I follow people on Twitter whom I feel are interesting. You may find the same people dull – and that’s why Twitter is so amazing, it allows YOU to decide whom to follow, for any reason you want!
5 Things Twitter Is NOT
1. Twitter is NOT good for direct response
I’ve tested it several different ways, for many purposes – and it always works out a poor alternative to email or other forms of persuasion.
2. Twitter is NOT a reliable communication channel
That’s because even though it is ‘instant’, not everyone is ON Twitter all the time – and tweets can get lost in clutter easier than email in an inbox.
3. Twitter is NOT great to defend positions or win arguments
I mean, how much can you say or state in 140 characters, right?
4. Twitter is NOT ‘instant traffic’
If you’re on Twitter to matter, drop the idea that all it’s good for just a short burst of traffic, and focus on being someone worth listening to and following.
5. Twitter is NOT about you… it’s about THEM!
Always. So figure out how to add value to your followers. That way, they’ll stick around – and ask their friends to join them.
5 Things Twitter IS
1. Twitter is great for connecting
I’ve developed associations with high profile bloggers, newspaper editors, powerful politicians, best-selling authors, world-changers – all on Twitter.
2. Twitter is convenient to catch someone’s attention
When other options don’t work quite as well, Twitter can get your ‘foot in the door’. What you do with that attention is entirely up to you, though!
3. Twitter is a coffee-room
It’s a place to hang-out, chew the fat, catch up with news, relax and unwind during a busy day, take a refreshing break – and then get back to work, energized!
4. Twitter is a viral medium
The right kind of meme can spread like a wildfire across the network, creating ripples and making waves. Of course, it depends on WHAT you tweet about!
5. Twitter is a time-sump
If you let it, Twitter will suck up a lot of your day, leaving you feeling unproductive and wasteful. Limit your time on Twitter. Make it matter.
To The Next 27 Months of Twitter
These are just a few things I’ve learned in 27 months on Twitter. Over the next 27 months on Twitter, I will surely learn many new things – and maybe discover that some of these are wrong or inappropriate.
Maybe you already did. If so, please share your thoughts and ideas about using Twitter – and making the most of it!
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