Here are some of the best practices I’ve observed of folks who are so-called “experts” at using Twitter.
#1: Influence Is Important
Talk about Klout and PeerIndex at least once a day. You might say anything – that the service is down, or about a new feature they introduced, or even some critique of these you found, or something like that. Don’t tweet about your score or refer to it directly. Be subtle.
Objective: Your followers should be aware of these services if they aren’t already, and they should go and check out your scores on them.
#2: Emphasize Positives
Retweet anything and everything whenever anyone says anything positive about you. This includes all mentions, all Follow Fridays, and all @replies.
Objective: Your followers need to know what an awesome person you are! Or else, how would they know?
#3: Demonstrate Engagement
Once in a while, ask a question or for help. Even if you don’t get any, after a while, say “Thanks for all the responses!”
Objective: Your followers will be struck in awe at how much ‘engagement’ you get on Twitter.
#4: Engage With Influencers
Keep @replying to people who are celebrities on Twitter with a high Klout. Keep doing it, even if you don’t get a response. Once in a blue moon, one of them will.
Objective: When someone with a high Klout replies to you, your score increases. Also, your followers are awe-struck that you talk with such great folks!
#5: Reciprocate
It’s all about give and take. You need to keep a score of who retweets you how much and who has mentioned you positively and who has recommended you. You should reciprocate in exactly the same manner, in exactly the same proportion. If you don’t, you’re out of their favor.
Objective: Maintain give and take relationships on Twitter. That’s what it’s all about, you dud!
#6: Lifestream
You should be constantly sharing your life online:
- Everywhere you go, check-in to all location services – Foursquare, FB Places, etc.
- Share photos of each place you go to
- Each time you travel, describe your travel experience, in real-time
- Each time you meet with other people who have Twitter handles, mention all of them and talk about how you’re having an awesome time with them
Objective: Demonstrates how committed you are to living life online, and establishes your presence 24×7, enhancing ‘discoverability’.
#7: Share Wisdom
Whenever you attend a social media conference, tweet about it in real-time, with the appropriate hashtag for that conference.
Objective: You should be imparting all the wisdom you’re getting to your followers, shows how unselfishly you share insight.
#8: Hashtags
Don’t overuse hashtags, else you’ll appear to be overdoing it. Never forget to use them either, they’re very important.
Objective: Balance: Your tweets should appear in anyone’s searches for that topic, but you don’t feel a bot to your followers either.
#9: Use Old Style RTs
Never use native style retweets. They’re impotent because of a number of reasons. If you natively retweet someone, someone else can do an old-style retweet without attributing you, for example. Also, it is very important for the person you retweeted to know how many retweets that person received because of your retweet. Get it? Once in a while, keep talking about why you prefer old style RTs, because they ‘get more engagement’.
Objective: Many experts have shared their wisdom on this topic – Google it to find out if you missed it.
#10: Be a “Pro”
Keep talking about different Twitter clients on desktop, iPhone, iPad, etc. Talk about their pros and cons. Also, maintain a healthy dissatisfaction even about the Twitter client you prefer to use above all.
Objective: Shows you’re a “Pro” at using Twitter with very high expectations of the client you use.
Unfortunately, as you might have observed if you follow me, I don’t practice any of these best practices. Have you seen any more? Share with all in the comments!
