6 Tips for New Twitter Users

I have to confess, I still haven’t gotten into Twitter.  My Facebook addiction is bad enough.  I fear that if I add Twitter to my arsenal of time-wasting technology tools, I will never finish a book chapter or blog post again.  Nevertheless, Twitter is white hot.  Its chief advantage is being able to meet up with colleagues or friends in the real world after Twitter has informed you that they’re presently nearby.  Everybody’s doing it, and if you’re new, you might find these suggestions from Shel Israel helpful:

• Show yourself.  Scroll through some pages and see what catches your eye. Use a real photo, and if you have a blog or website, link to it. Under bio, say something about what you are really about. Saying your location is on iPhone is overused and unhelpful to someone deciding to follow you or not.
• Read first.  Start by reading what others have to say. Get a sense of the rhythm of Twitterville conversations before you join in. Wait until you have something useful or interesting to add to the conversation.
• Celebrities don't count. You can always start by getting followed by a few celebrity Tweeters like Scoble, Calacanis and Loic. But they give you no credibility at all because they simply follow everyone. Their purpose is to be a new media star and it works well for them.
• Post before you follow strangers. Take a few days and post a few thoughts on subjects you want to discuss on Twitter. It can be work, play, news, sports, or music. People will learn what you are about and can decide to follow you because they share something in common with you.
• Avoid spammer stats.  The worst thing you can do is have stats that show you follow 149 people and 4 people follow you. Spammer stats mean that you chose to follow a bunch of people but revealed so little of yourself, that no one wanted to follow you back. Fix this by going slower and posting tweets that let others know about you.
• Have favorites.  Notice the little star icon to the right of each tweet, and use it to make that post a "favorite." Favorites show your sense of humor and your passion points.
• Take your time.  Twitterville works like any other neighborhood.  People start by chatting about the weather or lunch. Sometimes the conversation goes nowhere, tapering off into cyberspace. Other times, the conversation deepens and evolves into a real friendship or a business opportunity. If you push too aggressively, people may respond to you in the same way they do the loudmouth at the party. They walk away and talk in circles that do not include you.

Comments

[Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers]

These are great tips!

When I first started using Twitter, I remember thinking, "This is the stupidest thing I've ever spent time doing!" I couldn't figure out why everyone felt the need to share what they were having for lunch (or dinner or breakfast)! I didn't really care what airport they were exploring, and what the weather was like in their backyard.

After spending some time with it, I learned that Twitter is a great place to solidify social networking relationships as well as to begin new networks with all types of interesting professionals. Often, people post interesting links and thoughts that either inspire my own writing or just make me laugh! Many agree that Twitter is kind of like the watercooler for people who don't work in an office - a place to share an idea, to touch base (in 140 characters or less) and to move on.

Now that I "know" people on Twitter, I care about the weather in their town, and don't mind learning what they're craving for dinner!

I hope you'll check it out! If you do, be sure to let us know!

[Willy]

Hey Alexandra,

I used to think Twitter was a "time waster" too. That was until I used it to get meetings with 3 CEOs and a VP of Recruiting in 2 weeks.

I wrote about it here: http://thetalentbuzz.com/2008/08/how-i-used-twitter-to-get-meetings-with-3-ceos-and-a-vp-of-recruiting-in-2-weeks/

I think that you should give Twitter a try. It's a really cool way to connect with people.

[Mark McClure Coaching]

I'm feeling my way on Twitter too but have it on a tight leash at the moment (using FireFox LeechBlock and most of my yummy, time sucking sites are blocked from 9-9 Japan time.)

One thing I heard marketer Paul Colligan say on a webinar (he was using tweets as a way of taking live qs and comments!) was that there was little point in replying to a tweeted conversation more than 10 minutes old - at least I think that's what he said.

I'm not sure about that one and have been playing with replying to tweets which are hours old.

As a career coach, I can see value in it for providing real time "laser coaching" by email to certain clients. "The 140 Coach" has a certain ring to it, don't you think?

regards

[Alexandra Levit]

Miriam: I love your idea that Twitter is like the water cooler for people who don't work in an office. That's a great way of thinking about it, because so many of us solopreneurs are craving human company.

Willy: Thanks for reading and commenting, and for also sharing your amazing Twitter story. I slowly feel myself becoming convinced!

Mark: Major business potential there, but do you get yourself into trouble by leading clients to expect a response in less than 10 minutes? Reminds me of the pizza delivery deal from the 90s. Dominos (I think) had to give away a lot of free pizzas.