The Dos and Do Nots of Twitter (Part 2)

Last week we tackled the first half of The Dos and Do Nots of Twitter (Part 1), which highlighted 12 unfavorable tactics that are commonly seen in the Twittersphere. In part 2 we continue where we left off at lucky number 13. Now remember, as with life there are no guarantees, HOWEVER, and this is big; however, these tactics (or anti-tactics) should improve your overall Twitter experience. More importantly, it will increase your followers Twitter experience, leading to stronger relationships, better retention rates, and a bigger following.

Number 13: The occasional quote can be helpful or motivating, but if your feed is a nonstop quote train, you can “count me out.”

Number 14: One-word tweets that are not jarring, informative, or particularly interesting. “Wow.” Now that makes me want to continue following you. If someone can explain the point of those types of tweets, I will high-five you.

Number 15: Do not follow thousands of people to try and gain more followers. Jeff Bullas (@JeffBullas) has a massive following and offers excellent advice on gaining followers that are relevant to your business. His advice is to follow the followers of your business idol. Follow others that share similar interests, and then follow their followers. Tweepi is a great tool that allows you to quickly search for role models.

Number 16: WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING? Limit the caps people. Just because you write in all capital letters does not mean I am going to reply. In fact, quite the opposite. I am going to find you annoying, and I will likely unfollow you. Want to capitalize a single word, go for it – no harm there.

Number 17: Don’t announce followers or unfollowers, retweets, etc. Who cares if @BobSacamano unfollowed you? I certainly don’t.

Number 18: Test the links to tweets you are retweeting. If you are a retweeting machine, take the time to read what you are passing along. Nothing worse than looking at a link that has been retweeted and it takes me to a 404 page not found.

Number 19: Proofread your tweets ladies and gentlemen. This is not AOL Instant Messenger. This is a message sent out to the masses and will be a representation of your business/personality. Spelling, yes it is important.

Number 20: Consistency. Guess who I am not following? The individual that has not posted in 2 months, but goes on the occasional 20 tweet a day bender, then back on hiatus. If your account has not been active for over a month, I am going to assume you no longer tweet, read my tweets, or provide any value to the community.

Number 21: Keep it short. You have 140 characters, but guess what… 100-120 is the sweet-spot for retweets, replies, and favorites. After all, longer tweets leave no space to your audience to engage with your content and add their comments.

Number 22: Not engaging with your followers and not engaging with your nonfollowers. Gaining a following involves work, you have to shake hands and kiss babies. Get in on those conversations, share your information.

Number 23: Do not obsess over your follower count. Organic growth is the best way to grow your following and your business. For the love of god, do not pay for 50k REAL FOLLOWERS only $5.

Number 24: Klout score. Nobody worth one’s salt ever said Klout was a legitimate factor. Sure it can offer some form of metric as to your reach and popularity, but the truth is Klout scores can be gamed and do not hold much value. If anything, use it as a personal metric to see your growth.

Well that is it people, that is The Dos and Do Nots of Twitter. As usual, like it or hate it, let us know on Twitter or Facebook.

Derek Brusin

I am the one who likes cupcakes.

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