Twitter is quick and easy and more than a little addictive. It’s tempting to post tweets about every little detail, regardless of whether anybody cares. Please don’t.
Like many things online, a little extra effort goes along way on Twitter. And like most social media sites, the key to being a good Twitter user is to provide value through your tweets.
So, here are ten do’s and don’ts for providing more value for your followers and those you follow. (Note: If the only people following you are your close friends and family, then feel free to tweet about whatever you want. But if you have a lot of people following you who don’t know in real life, these guidelines will help you make a better impression.)
Don’t …
- say ‘good morning’, ‘good night’, or ‘I need coffee’ or otherwise provide us with the blow-by-blow mundane details of your life. Everyone’s life has those details, and none of us need to know about them in your life. If you don’t have something to say on Twitter, don’t say anything.
- respond to others with tweets that don’t add to the conversation, such as “me too” or “neat.” Again, the rule here is to figure out how to add value — some insight, more information, a humorous, engaging or interesting tweet. There is one exception to this rule: If something really tragic happens to someone (like a death in the family) and you express your sympathy, support and positive thoughts to someone through Twitter, that’s good. People in difficult situations need encouragement and support, so that’s providing value, even if it’s just as tweet that says “So sorry to hear the sad news. I’m thinking of you.”
- deluge people with tweets every five minutes. We probably don’t need to know that much. There might be a few situations, such as when you’re Twittering a conference panel or something, where this would be OK. But most of the time, concentrate more on quality and less on quantity.
- offer links only to your own blog post but ignore everyone else’s. It’s fine to self-promote with Twitter, provided that’s not the only thing you’re doing and you’re willing to promote others’ work.
- be too clever with instant messaging acronyms. Sure, IM lingo is useful when you’re trying to get a tweet down to 140 characters. But don’t make yourself hard to understand for all those people who don’t know what acronyms like LOL or BFF or OMG mean.
Do …
- point people toward useful and interesting links — other tweets, web sites, blog posts, etc. Make sure you provide enough information to also give people an idea of what they might find at that link and why it’s worth their time.
- converse — respond to others’ questions, give suggestions, point out resources, etc. Twitter is not just a one-way broadcast service; it’s about conversations. So start them and participate in them.
- ask questions. You need answers, other people like to help, so ask questions. When you get answers, don’t forget to say thank you.
- tell people something surprising and interesting about yourself. While mundane details about your life (‘headed home now’) aren’t very interesting, telling people something unusual or interesting or engaging can be. So look for chances to reveal, appropriately, interesting tidbits. Just finished your first triathlon and did the bike portion on a unicycle? That’s worth Twittering.
- break news. Did something newsworthy happen near you? Mention it. Did you just see the first alert of some breaking news event flash across your favorite news web site, or even the TV screen? Twitter it.
I’m sure I’ve broken every one of these guidelines, but I’m trying to improve. What are your best tips for being a better Twitterer? Please leave them in the comments.
