Useful Twitter Tools
So, you have a Twitter account, and you tweet every so often, but honestly, you just don’t get the big deal about Twitter? I used to be the same way! It just seemed like a bunch of people shouting out to a crowded room where nobody was listening! How does that help a business to grow?
Well, here are some ideas and websites to help you make the most of your Twitter account. But first, let’s talk about the PURPOSE of having a Twitter account in the first place. Remember, Twitter (and all social networking sites) are for networking, and having conversations. If you are only shouting out and nobody is listening or talking back, then it’s time to rethink your strategies.
Twitter, in some ways, reminds me of the recent Massachusetts Senate race… if you live in Massachusetts, you were BOMBARDED for weeks by nasty campaign commercials, automated phone calls and very little real conversations about the actual issues that face the Commonwealth. By the day of the elections, I was so frustrated by the yelling and screaming, I had lost faith in all the candidates and was pretty sick of politics in general.
So, in terms of Twitter, we can learn about how to turn people off in the same way. Shouting the same message over and over again will get you nowhere on Twitter. Sharing information and useful ideas will! Here are some tips for tweeting that might help:
- Keep it light. Twitter doesn’t have to be serious…. lighten up and have a little fun with your tweets.
- Be personal. Tweet in your own voice, not business-eeze.
- Don’t advertise. If you must advertise, only allow 1 out of every 5 tweets to be an ad, and even then, don’t keep repeating the same offer. Change it up!
- Make yourself useful. Offer useful information, retweet information that you found inspiring or interesting. Provide helpful tips. People will look forward to tweets that they can actually use.
- Engage in @conversations. Don’t just start a conversation, but participate in other conversations too. Basic networking manners apply on Twitter too!
Now, on to how to maximize your Twitter experience. Here a some websites that I find really helpful in managing and growing my twitter friends and relationships:
- Twellow.com This is a great site for not only listing your twitter feed, but even more helpful for finding interesting and relevant people to follow and network about subjects related to you or your business. You can browse and drill down to categories on every imaginable subject and follow people right from their site. Once you find the right categories, you can also list your twitter feed there so people can find you too.
- Buzzom.com Flush. Grow. Recriprocate! Huh? This is a great site that helps you to manage your followers, find new ones, and make sure you are following everybody that follows you (or unfollowing people who AREN’T following you!)
- SocialOomph.com SocialOomph has free and paid accounts. Right now I only have the free account, but I might upgrade. With SocialOomph, you can automate some of your twitter activities, such as sending a direct message back to people who follow you, telling them a little about yourself and inviting them to tweet or visit your website. This is becoming standard practice, and this site makes it easy to set that up.
I’m interested to hear about the Twitter sites you find useful! Feel free to post a comment and tell me about it!
