Category: Twitter

Three scheduled tweets walk into a bar and the bartender says, “_____________________________.”

Twitter is kind of noisy these days, it’s true. And I’m pretty good about spending a few 5 minute sessions in the home feed, too.

People can get really offended when you (well, I, let’s be honest here) make suggestions. These are not the ten commandments folks, just ideas.

Twitter is Social Media, not an RSS Feed.

There are some that get joy out of the automation and others enjoy the conversation.

I read a post this week and this really struck a chord:

“With all the fancy tools, we’ve lost something huge: SOCIAL media. ” Amy Donohue 

Look, I’m not against social tools or even some scheduling.

But you still have to be there.

Otherwise, you’re just sending messages out in a bottle.

“Walked out this morning I don’t believe what I saw
A hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore
Seems I’m not alone in being alone
A hundred billion castaways looking for a home” ~ by Sumner, Gordon Matthew. (more…)

Owning a dog can be a very rewarding experience, especially if you adopt. With a dog you need to pay for the adoption, vet, and license fees. But it’s worth it.

Dog ownership taught me to live for something beyond myself. I have step-children and grandchildren but they grow up. Dogs do not. Always looking for an analogy, I realized this is helpful in social media. Why? The most egregious crime of social is to be self-centered.

Many people start their Twitter accounts and build a small community, interacting as time allows, and that’s great. I’m a huge advocate for Twitter as you can tell by the quantity of posts I’ve written. Your Twitter use can exist without a chat, but the chat is more rewarding.

The next step in your “dog ownership” is to join a chat. It’s unnecessary but more advanced. In many ways that’s like going to a dog park.

Just like dog parks, Twitter chats are fun.

If you feel like you’ve plateaued maybe you have.

It’s great to run by yourself or find a few friends to chat with here and there but going to a Twitter chat is way more fun. It’s just like going to a dog park. It’s a great time to sniff around, smell the smells, explore, and run off leash.

It’s true that you can have small bursts of conversation on Twitter, if the parties happen to be online at the same time. However, during a Twitter chat, they’re all online, active, and present. And each chat revolves around a topic which makes the interaction both focused and engaging.

Twitter chats are exciting because they are live, sometimes the answers are even controversial.

Types of Parks

There is a dog park to suit both your and your dog’s needs. Many towns have neighborhood parks that are usually smaller with a regular (local) attendance.

Some parks have grass and some have sawdust. Even better are parks that segregate by size. Many beaches allow off leash access and if you want to meet with people with your exact dogs, you can find breed-specific clubs.

Twitter chats are like that, too. There are many different kinds of chats, big and small, with wide and narrow topics. For example, #LeadWithGiants is a large weekly chat that allows nearly anyone to attend since we can all learn to be better leaders.

Either way, they are a fantastic way to expand your horizons, learn new things, and connect with people you never would have met.

Local Culture

Culture is a vogue way of referring to a group’s written or unwritten rules. Each dog park has both written and unwritten rules.

Some rules (protocol) are obvious. Pick up after your own dog, be aware of your dog’s behavior. In a Twitter chat, that means not starting fights and adhering to the chat’s structure (answer Q1 with A1 and include the hashtag at the end).

How do you learn the unwritten rules? Stand back, observe, and listen. You’ll see quickly (especially if you go regularly) who the alpha dog (and dog parent) is. It’s exactly the same in a Twitter chat. There is always a dominant personality  (or two or three) as well as a moderator (the person who asks the questions). Now, being dominant isn’t bad. It just is.

Sometimes as attendance shifts, the culture shifts. Honing your online social and observational skills is a good thing. Always listen. Always watch.

Making Friends

While joining the chat is fun, you won’t instantly bond with everyone there. No, you’ll bond with people more like you.

Not all dogs chase balls. Some chase other dogs. Some dogs spend their time sniffing. Other dogs intensely watch for squirrels. These dogs may not fight, but they don’t have a lot in common.

Look for the people in the chat with whom you agree and be friendly toward them. Give them a high five, fistbump, or retweet. No need to pee on their leg. HA!

On the Watch

Just like in real life, you need to be aware and you have to watch for the bullies. It’s a reality of our life, online and off. It’s exactly the same at the dog park.

Being at the dog park, like watching children at a pool, isn’t a time for multitasking. It’s your responsibility to watch your dog. People open the gate and your dog could escape, an aggressive dog could walk by, there could be a fight.

Twitter chats require an intense amount of concentration and presence. You can’t really automate (pre-schedule) your answers. People will know you’re not present.

Truthfully, it may not be for you. After our second dog, we went to parks for a couple of years. Then it became too much work. You may find the same with chats. Just be aware. It is a commitment.

How do you find a chat?

You can go to Twubs or ChatSalad to search for hashtags. TweetChat has a list of active “rooms.”

The easiest way to find a chat, I’ve found, is through one of your trusted followers. Just like my adventures in the dog park days, Twitter chats are full of very friendly and welcoming people.

As I answered in #BufferChat, here is my 140 character advice:

A5.
1. Find one that fits your brand.
2. Attend regularly.
3. Answer succinctly.
4. Listen.
5. Follow Up.
6. Be kind. #BufferChat

— Bridget Willard (@BridgetMWillard) July 2, 2014

This post was originally written in 2014 and, at the end of 2020, not much has changed. What has changed is clients wanting magic tricks to become instant thought leaders. It doesn’t work that way.

“Leadership is a choice not a rank.”  Simon Sinek 

To follow or not to follow, that is the question and a highly debated topic.

Twitter is, in my opinion, the most public of all of the social networks. Though you can make your account private, unless you do, I feel that you should fully consider why I believe you should follow everyone* back.

It is in your following behavior that you demonstrate true leadership and, dare I say, the best way to grow your following.

*Spam

Yes, there are #TeamFollowBack, #BirthdayClub, and #BuyMoreFollowers spam along with porn sites. Don’t follow them unless that is your industry.

Disclaimer

Yes. It is your Twitter feed. You are able to run it the way you choose. However, if you plan on tweeting for a business or for your professional life, I’d ask you to consider it fully. But if you want to be that guy who has 50,000+ followers and only follows 78, be my guest. If that’s you, you probably won’t like the rest of this article.

Management

Yes, it is way easier to manage tweets from under a hundred people. Did you really think you’d read every single tweet? Just the thought of it makes me stressed out.

One of my favorite parts of Twitter is that reading the tweets is a low-commitment, easy-to-handle task. When I’m waiting at the doctor, or waiting for my boss to sign checks, or have a few moments to spare, I can read Twitter. It’s easy to start and easy to stop.

Generosity

Generosity is a key attribute of leadership. We all respond well to those who give more than they take. And when they ask for favors (retweets, links, store purchases) many of us are happy to oblige. We’re your biggest fans, so why not follow back?

Another form of generosity is spending 5-10 minutes a day in your home feed and responding to those people. Sage advice from Scott Stratten I saw years ago. I do it daily. Guess what? I meet new people. (Imagine that!)

Perception (aka Branding)

Do you want to be viewed as a jerk? I’ve had conversations with people who have hurt feelings (literally) because they were not followed back. Heck, I’ve been that person. We talk about you behind your back. If you’re using Twitter to boost your celebrity, get consulting gigs, or anything even remotely revolved around building your street cred, then following back is a must.

Celebrity

Because we irrationally adore celebrities, we tolerate their jerky behavior (read any tabloids lately?). Verified accounts allow people to skip Twitter’s ratios (see a few sections down). However, most of us are not celebrities but we act as if we do when we don’t return a follow.

Is one of your fans quoting you frequently? Quoting is promoting. Maybe you could follow that person, thank them, and even put them on a list called “frequent quoters,” “big fans,” or “appreciated.” I bet you’d encourage those people to keep promoting you. You’ll make a fan for life.

Personal Growth

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ~ Aristotle

Keeping an open mind and allowing yourself to empathize, if not agree, with other people’s experiences, opinions, and perceptions is what makes you grow as a person.

When you’re notified that a person follows you on Twitter, you decide within 10-60 seconds if  you believe they have anything of value to offer you. What does that say about you?

Following Ratios*

*Excerpt from my post “Organize Your Twitter Stream: Use Lists.”

Like your cholesterol’s HDL versus LDL ratio, it’s important to shoot for a “good ratio.”  Carol Stephen

It sucks when you don’t realize you can only follow 2000 people and then you hit a following wall, literally. You can’t follow anyone else unless more people follow you. If you followed no one back and are following 2000, you’ve got a lot of work to do, my friend, both to follow and unfollow.

There are additional glass ceilings that you hit. I have experienced this over the last 13 years of managing accounts. You will hit another wall at 5,000, 9,000, 14,000, and 19,000.  It seems to me that the sweet spot is about 1.1 but Twitter says it depends on the individual account.

This is why I had to start unfollowing people who don’t follow back.  I really like who.unfollowed.me for this.

This is why I follow people back. The few exceptions are porn, how to get more users people, how to make money on the internet people, #TeamFollowBack (spammy, in my opinion), and eggs.

Only verfied accounts get to be non-follow-back-ers. This behavior can be viewed as arrogant, so proceed with caution.  You get back what you give.

As Twitter says,

Once you’ve followed 2000 users, there are limits to the number of additional users you can follow: this limit is different for every user and is based on your ratio of followers to following.

More Info: Twitter Help Center: FAQ about Following

The Secret

No one reads every tweet. It’s impossible. This is why lists are crucial.

Whether you want to be able to promote your clients, keep up on a group of people with common interests, or read about the goings on in Portland, lists are the key.

Do you remember the Twitter handle or name of that painter you wanted to get a bid from? Oh my! This was one of my problems. Putting people on lists by category (changes depending upon your account) really helps if you ever have to find someone. Lord love ya if you ever have to use Twitter’s search, the most frustrating experience next to removing red nail polish, but I digress.

Results

I’m no celebrity yet I have over 16,000 followers. Why? I follow people back. I list them. I read tweets. I respond. I make connections. Whether you spend five minutes twice a day or several hours on Twitter, this strategy works. Why? We are all human and are wired for connection. There is also a dopamine reaction from a notification but that is another blog post.

Updated April 6, 2020

One of the occupational hazards of being opinionated is that people ask you questions. “How do I grow my Twitter followers?” I’ve heard this question hundreds of times. Another one is: “I am having trouble getting followers for a new client.”

The short answer is to do the work.

Ten Ways to Grow Your Twitter Following

1. Make sure you have a completed profile, avatar (logo), header photo, and background. Your Twitter background shouldn’t be clouds. Most of us are choosy and won’t follow eggs. See: “Baby Steps to the Tweet.”
2. Follow back. Unless they are spam, an egg, #TeamFollowBack, or porn, I follow. One thing I’ve learned in this business is that you never know who is behind the account, who they know, or even where they live. All business is word of mouth and social media just multiplies that exponentially. I have friends all over this country who do accounts that aren’t necessarily local and we talk (and recommend each other).
3. Nerds like me have lists by geography and topic. Take advantage of the work we’ve done for you. For example, here is the list my primary personality has for my county. Follow those people. It’s a much better way to find new people than buying followers (which is spammy).
4. Make lists by county, clients, and topic. Spent time “lightly stalking those people.” See “Organize Your Twitter Stream – Use Lists.”
5. Start using a hashtag related to your industry, topic, and / or geographic location. Remember, the purpose of a hashtag is to filter out tweets by that topic. You will see tweets from people you don’t follow. Reply to those tweets and follow those people.
6. Not everyone on Twitter engages. By now you all know I feel about the Retweet Button which passes along a tweet but stops a conversation. So that is just part of it. The less people you have following the more you have to work to engage in your home feed. If you want to have friends, be a friend. It’s up to you.
7. Ask questions. People love to answer questions. If you’re a bakery, you can ask, “What is your favorite cake to bake?” “What cupcake flavor do you wish you could make?” “Chocolate Chip Cookies: Milk or Coffee?”
8. Search on Twitter. Again, presuming you’re a bakery, search for “cakes,” “cookies,” “bread.” Reply to some of those tweets. This is what Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee) did with WineLibrary.com. He sat on Twitter answering people’s questions about wine pairings. Now he’s a total social rockstar.
9. Sometimes you have to prime the pump. While tweeting for Riggins Construction, I met a bunch of ladies who all tweeted for businesses. We supported each other by replying to tweets and retweeting each other’s accounts. It’s not cheating; it’s networking. Surely you have mutual friends who will support you, even if they’re in other industries.
10. Join a Twitter Chat. This one might be tricky and it is more advanced: Twitter301. I get really good, quality followers from the chats I participate in. See: “Want to Meet More People: Join a Twitter Chat.” They’re also more industry specific and/or engaged users. Check ChatSalad.com or Twubs.com to find these communities.