It's official, Twitter is HUGE!
It's mentioned on the news, radio, television and the internet just about every 5 seconds. It's such a powerful marketing tool but, like many things, people tend to abuse the medium or just plain use it badly. I'm here to get you up to speed on Twittiquette (Twitter etiquette and proper use).
Well here we go:
The Top 7 Mistakes:
1. No Picture.
Now I know this one's obvious but if you're still one of those people without a pic, just upload one already. That is all.
2. Bad Auto-DM.
I know this seems like a great way to automatically promote your business or product, but it's not. A big, dumb Auto-DM with a sales blurb and then a link to your lame website or eBook just damages your credibility and ultimately, your brand. Think of it as Twitter spam. By all means have link to your site in your profile, that's fine, but switch your Auto-DM off. Otherwise, just make it say 'hello!' or 'hi!' at the most.
3. Auto Twitter Software.
There are many kinds of software out there that just post to your profile automatically. They can 'tweet' a URL, a joke or anything many times on auto-pilot. These are irritating to everyone. Firstly they don't do a very good job of tricking us into believing they're human very well and secondly, most people just abuse them and send loads of marketing messages. Even if some products do camouflage themselves well, the growing sophistication of Twitter users will weed them out sooner or later. This is done by tagging the profile as a spammer or blocking them outright.
4. Not Joining In.
Some people only go on Twitter to 'broadcast' to everyone. This doesn't help. It's like having a conversation with someone who has verbal diarrhea where you can't even get a word in. Reply to people's Tweets you find interesting. Ask open questions like: "Who's eating right now?" Anything you feel like really, as long as it's engaging and not just 1-way communication.
5. Being Too Random.
Contrary to what most non-twits (people who don't use Twitter) think, Twitter isn't actually for informing the world what you're doing every second of your day. Nobody cares if you just cleaned up the crumbs of Pringles next to the sofa. Or are busy putting on your socks. Unless you're a huge celebrity, keep it to yourself. Us normal folk should keep our tweets about interesting links, jokes, helpful tips or anything that people will find value in. Remember that word. Value.
6. Too Much Too Quickly.
I have this one guy in my 'followings' who let's rip with tweets like a machine-gun, non-stop for about 10 minutes at a time. Why is this a bad thing? Isn't tweeting a lot a good? Well when he tweets, all I see is him in my stream. No one else. That's irritating. And on Twitter, irritating is bad. Very bad. Space out your tweets to around 2-10 Tweets a minute. That should create some space for others to peek through.
7. Lone Wolfing.
If someone takes the time to follow you, then by all means, return the favour and follow them back. People appreciate this cos it shows that you're interested in sharing with everyone, not just a select few who you deem 'worthy'. By all means have another account that only follows your heroes. That's cool. Just don't use it as your 'active' account.
So, in closing, just keep this in mind and you're golden: Twitter is no different to the way people interact in the real world.
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