Twitter: Who is Tweeting, Why? and Who Cares

So, you have heard about Twitter, set up an account and wondered why bother. In fact all those scrolling comments about items that do not interest me did cause me anxiety, at first. I was seriously wondering if I should care, X them out and un-follow or just not visit that website page again...ever!

The Truth

If truth be known, this is the way I feel about all social media. It takes so much time and is it worth the ROI? (Return on Investment). In an unofficial poll, I have found that I am not alone. People are glued to their phones with text messaging, reading FaceBook posts, emails and the like. Well, time is my most important commodity. I can make money with my time used wisely. And, all of the social media avenues can be huge time wasters. What is a busy, businesswoman to do?

Other than burying your head in the sand it is time to take control of your social media channels, stream line them and take action, now. In the subsequent posts I will show you some tools I use to keep ahead of it all...and in about thirty minutes per day. It does take some planning (not my strong suit) but it can be done.

Twitter: A Few Basics
Twitter or micro-blogging is a 140 character masterpiece that forces you to be brief, succinct, and targeted. You should have a custom page. You can hire a webmaster to create one for you at a minimal charge. Think of it this way, would you walk out to a meeting wearing your jammies? If not, then a custom Twitter page is a must. If you can create your own (I did and it shows), then fine. At least it is not the templates that come with your account.

Don't Set Follow Acceptance to Automatic

Umm... you would think this goes without saying, but looking at a friend's Twitter account recently I saw a few questionable ladies on his page. When I alerted him to the fact, he quickly deleted them. He had set his controls to auto not wanting to deal with "one more thing." The reason it is called social media is you need to be social.

Use Your Manners
When someone with a large following "follows" you, send them a quick email thanks and offer to help if they are someone you can work with in the future. Send them a blog post, or something of value. Don't have anything of value? Find some great articles and paste the URL's of the website in a document with a brief explanation of what this is.. then send the article as it pertains to the follower. I have made some very good contacts doing this. I ask, "how can I help you" ... or "if you ever want to write a book, let me know"... etc.


What Do all the Symbols Mean?

Re Tweet
 RT  @FeliceGerwitz 

When you like what someone is saying you retweet them. That lets them know you care. How do they know? You can do a quick search for your name in the search feature. This lets you see who is talking about you... and what they are saying

If someone RT or Mentions you to follow, thank them (by posting a message for all to see, not direct message)


DM-- Inbox
Direct Message--In Box

What people you follow send you...and only you can see this.


DM -- Outbox
Direct Message Out Box

What you have sent. Put the letters DM in front of the @Name and it will only go to that person who you follow


Lists:
I am listed on 81 people's list. Anyone can place you on a list to follow you and encourage their people to follow you as well

I have 14 lists that I follow. Just have not created more or looked into this further, no other reason.


Follow Wednesday and Follow Friday
This is a way to see who cares about what you are posting. If you like what someone says, recommend them to others. That is what this is all about. It also helps people find and follow you. 
 


Twitter is a powerful tool if used correctly. It has to be right? All the big-boys (and girls) are on it. Next post will give you some great tools to keep it all organized and scheduled.