Don't Get Confused By Twitter – Part One

If I had a pound for every blog post I have read about how to make the most of Twitter, I’d be able to retire. Yet for all the collective wisdom out there prescribing best practice lists, there are very few guides on how to understand Twitter. This got me thinking, are companies failing to make the most of the social network because they simply don’t understand it?

Well it’s clearly not popular with Ricky Gervais but was his derision of Twitter fair, or was he masking over his confusion about how to use the service? It is fair to say that the micro-blogging social tool can be confusing, which makes it intimidating for apprehensive new-comers.

So we have put together a 3-part ‘beginners guide’ that is by no means gospel, but could have even helped Mr. Gervais!

Defining Twitter

The most basic description of Twitter is that it’s a service that allows users to update what they’re doing in 140-character, bite-size messages that are broadcast to their group of followers. If you’re familiar with Facebook, it is very much like the status updates but oh so much more flexible.

As a Twitter user, you can follow people to get their status updates (”tweets”) and others can follow you to get your updates. It’s really that simple.

It is important to remember though that Twitter was built as a person-to-person communication tool that has grown to offer infinite possibilities to businesses. If you keep this in mind when using Twitter, chances are you will soon be making the most of it.

5 Suggested Types of Tweets

1.) If you look at asos.com’s tweet’s you’ll see that along with the usual expected tweets relating to the company and sales, they often start the day with a simple friendly and sometimes topical question designed to evoke responses. This is a clever way to remain true to Twitter’s original mantra but it also helps to create personality for the brand through direct interaction with followers.

I’m not suggesting that you fill your twitter account with inane tweets – which evidently annoyed Mr. Gervais - but it does help to start conversations.

2.) Maybe you’re discussing something relating to your field of interest in the office. Send a tweet out - include your followers in the discussion. They will feel valued and their responses could help to shape a solution or idea. Similarly, if you like a particular message, retweet it. People often appreciate the sharing and amplification of their ideas, so look to retweet cool stuff.

3.) Post links to articles and sites you think folks would find interesting - even if they’re not your sites or about your company. Take people behind the scenes of your company, it adds human interest to your tweets.

4.) It is important to give what we wish to receive. Want to find more customers for your business on Twitter? Help others find customers for their business. Want more people responding to your tweets? Respond to their tweets more. Tired of reading meaningless tweets? Make the effort to post meaningful ones yourself.

5.) Tweet about promotions and competitions; perhaps even tailor them to your followers as a loyalty reward.

Rather than using Twitter to try to tell people who you are or what you know, focus instead on providing people with quality information related to a subject matter. People then feel a connection to you, and may even be impressed by you, not because you tell them that they should be, but because it shows through your tweets.

Have we missed out anything, perhaps you know of another popular tweet? Let us know in the comments below.

In Part Two we look at how to get followers, who to follow and a common courtesy list of do’s and don’ts.