Twitter – Are there really any golden rules you should follow?

I have read so many articles on the “how to’s” of twitter. Authors who feel they have found the golden rules when it comes to the Twitter world. How to gain followers, how to tweet properly, how to un-follow others, how to make money from it, how to’s for everything Twitter! I am often asked if I know which “how to’s” are the right ones; are there really any golden rules for how to twitter successfully?

My thought is that a lot of people are jumping on the Twitter train hoping to make a quick dollar as a Twitter genius. Others have valid advice and just want to share it. No different than any new fad through out the years…

Many twitter advisors are right in the field that they are using twitter for. From my experience, I feel that there are a few things that should be followed when it comes to twitter. Everything else is personal preference. Twitter “how to’s” all depend on how you want to use it!

Here is my list of questions to help you identify why you are using Twitter and what will work best for you. Give them a read and I am positive that you will be twittering with a purpose in no time!

1 – Who do you want reading your tweets?

The answer to this simple question will help guide what you Tweet about. Here are a few common categories and some food for thought on what to write about:

• Is this something for your friends and family to keep them informed? If so, keep your tweets personal and interesting for those who love you most. Pictures of your daily life can be uploaded easily to your twitter through this site (http://www.twitpic.com/)
• Are you trying to sell a product? If this is your reason to tweet, make sure you are adding value to your readers. You never want to come across as sell, sell, sell… although; we do all need to make a living. Think of Twitter as a tool to keep you and your product “top of mind”, a daily reminder that you are still alive and kicking. And don’t forget to link your tweets back to what you are trying to sell. Twitter is not detailed enough to do the work for you.
• Do you want to become a Guru in your field and gain recognition? For this, you should always be adding value to those who follow you. Links to useful tips and tricks, current information on what you are an expert on, etc. Always be sure that your Tweets are correct, current and thought provoking. There are a lot of gurus out there – so you need to stand out!


2 – What are you interested in?

An easy question helps you to determine who to follow and who will follow you!

• Keep it interesting for you! If you are using twitter for something that you are not interested in, you will quickly lose purpose and focus. What fun is constantly sending updates to others on things that you yourself are not interested in? Being passionate about what you type will keep your tweets sincere and interesting to others.
• Follow people who interest you. They will likely want to follow you back for the same reason. There is no use in following people who are of no interest or value to you. What a waste of time to go through all those updates each day.
• Stay true to yourself, regardless of your reason to tweet… someone else is reading it. By this I mean, do not let the pressures of fads dictate what you write about and who you follow. When you follow those who do not interest you, it is like removing the spam blocker on your e-mail… all you get is junk!


3 – How often are you able / willing to tweet?

• Keeping constant with your tweets is important. Too often or not often enough, you need to be conscious of how often you want to tweet. There is such a thing as too much twitter! Those who are updating every moment of every day are often deleted. This is simply because their followers want to hear from others too! If you tweet too often you fill your follower’s pages with your updates and they get frustrated quickly!
• On the same note, if you don’t twitter often at all – you will likely also lose followers. We all often look through our follower lists and delete those whom we don’t know or are not of interest. Stay top of mind – be remembered so you aren’t deleted.
• Those who really follow you will check in during the times you normally post – so be sure and update what you have to say at the same frequency and time each day.


4 – Spell Check!


• No one likes tweets that are full of spelling errors. Yes, it is only 140 characters, but please be kind and read before you post! All too often simple spelling errors will take away your credibility and followers (do you really want to follow someone who can’t take a moment to spell check?!).


I believe that is enough of my twitter thoughts for now… Twitter seems to be continuously evolving and changing; so don’t doubt that I will be back again at some point on the twitter subject!

Enjoy your twitter account, have a blast with it and don’t forget to send me your twitter name so I can follow you and see what you have to say!!!

Ciao,


Rebekah


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