Do you feel like no one’s listening to you on Twitter? If so, you’re not alone. The reality is that unless you’ve got a huge personal brand because you’re a celebrity, politician or spokesperson for something important, no one’s waiting for your Tweets. To get people to listen to you on Twitter, you must build your Twitter following. Show someone’s home
- Post a photograph. Show you’re a real person not an egghead with whom people want to connect.
- Include biographical information. Let others know who you are and what you’re interested in.
- Make it personal. This doesn’t mean tell all but rather add a quirky personal fact.
Learn how Twitter works.
- Listen to the Twitter conversation. Learn how people engage on Twitter and what people respond to. Avoid trivial banal chatter such as what you had for breakfast or only providing updates, such as look at the cool places I go to (and more about me!)
- Learn Twitter lingo. Twitter’s biggest challenge is that it’s got a language of its own. This means don't auto-dm people who follow you.
- Follow people who are influential and thought leaders in your areas of interest. Select people from whom you want to learn.
Start tweeting.
- Respond to other people’s queries. Answer people and provide useful commentary where you have knowledge to add to the conversation.
- Share Twitter love.Retweet other people’s tweets and content.
- Recommend others in Twitter memes like #FollowFriday. Pay-it-forward by sharing the people you love to follow.
- Participate in Twitter chats to meet people and engage. During Twitter chats, connect with people you’ve engaged by following them.
Develop a reputation as the go-to source in your area of expertise.
- Provide useful information on a specific topic. Read widely and curate useful information but don’t talk about yourself! Tweet blog posts and columns you find interesting referencing the author’s Twitter handle. (Note: Not all buttons include this information but it’s important to build a connection with the author.)
- Tweet blog posts where you’ve commented. This shows you’re an involved member of the social media community.
- Use Twitter hashtags. Hashtags enable you to broaden the conversation.
The bottom line is Twitter’s about building a social media community and engaging with them as people, not another push marketing promotional channel. Therefore, offer consistent quality information either directly or via curation and be the kind of person that people want to partner with because your brand has to stand for quality over time. Are there any other tactics you use to build your Twitter following? Happy marketing, Heidi Cohen
