Yesterday I marked my 3rd anniversary of Twitter. To celebrate my 3rd anniversary, I sent a minor ” humble bragging,” as one of my Twitter friends called it. Hey, I am a latecomer. @jack sent his first tweet more than six years ago.
I’ve had the opportunity to interact with some of the most brilliant business people and marketers on the planet during the past three years.
I sent more than 18,000 tweets. This is about 17 tweets a day and more than 500 per month.
Listen before you tweet: Twitter Tip 1.
Scott Stratten, @Unmarketing, who wrote one the most popular blog posts about his 50,000 Tweets, is not an expert, but when I looked at my Tweetstats, I noticed something: I waited three months before sending a tweet. In October 2009, I sent 55 tweets.
I watched. I watched. I followed early adapters such as Chip Rodgers and Mark Yolton from my company, Scott and Mark Schaefer @markwschaefer, and many more. I then jumped into both tweets (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
Tweet Great Content: This is the second Twitter tip.
Twitter is a great way to share news, tips, blogs, and other information. I’m voracious in my desire to scan and filter great content. This is the best way to gain followers and become known for being a great content curator.
Twitter Tip #3: Engage with people
Twitter is an excellent information channel, but its real power lies in the ability to communicate with others in real-time, anywhere in the globe, at any time, seven days a week, 24 hours per day.
Are you looking for someone who understands engagement well? Follow Aaron Lee from Malaysia (@AskAaronLee). Aaron Lee has more than 342,000 followers but still manages to keep in touch with many people.
Twitter Tip #4: Find Your Voice
It would help to incorporate your interests in cats, business, and knitting into your tweeting. It is essential to set goals and find your voice on Twitter.
You can attract an audience that shares your interests by sharing content. You can then slowly gain influence within the community.
Twitter Tip #5: Be polite
In social media, I always thank people. I follow everyone who follows me back, especially those who look like real people, have a bio and profile picture and interact with others.
Fill out your profile. Upload your photo. Explain what you do, where you work, and your interests. Include a link back to your blog or Linkedin profile.
If you were to string together my top tweets from my three years on Twitter, it would look like this:
Twitter Tip 6 – Mix it up
Sometimes I follow everyone who RTs me. Sometimes I thank them. Sometimes I RT their tweets. Sometimes I’ll comment on their blog. I am always trying to test out new ways to interact with people.
For each self-promotional Tweet, you should also follow a version of the 9-1-1 or 4-1-1 rules (depending on your goals). This rule requires you to share four or nine articles with others and converse with one person.
It would help to experiment to find out what works best for you.