10 Words Every Successful Tweeter Needs To Know

Before I look at the words you need to have in mind to be a successful Tweeter lets consider how success might be measured.

Success can be defined as

Accomplishing an aim or purpose or having achieved popularity, profit, or distinction

So what would your measure of success be on Twitter? If your aim is profit then that can easily be measured however popularity and distinction are much more intangible factors to evaluate. Although I’ve never tried it (and never will) I understand that I could buy thousands of followers tomorrow, would that make me more popular or a more distinguished power tweeter? I don’t think so!

So I think it’s important to be honest with yourself about why you Tweet and to measure your level of success against your objectives. For example you might Tweet for fun and only have a few followers but have a wonderful relationship with the people you connect with. From the outside looking in you wouldn’t appear to be very successful however you will probably be achieving all your goals.

By the same token you might have hundreds of thousands of followers but little interaction with any of them appearing to be successful and a tweeter of distinction but actually having an empty, unsatisfying experience. So don’t make hasty judgements about others and, when you look at my 10 words consider your own experiences and how you can use the messages to make Twitter a better and more successful place for YOU.

Participate

Join in the fun, it’s ok to watch from the sidelines when you start to get the feel of things but you will have a better experience if you jump in, connect, converse and relate to other tweeters. Follow people who interest you, if they follow you back say hello with a personal message (not automated – see below) and when you are ready;

Share

A good way to get started is to share Tweets, it gets you noticed and if you share quality content and maybe add something of your own then you will begin to attract followers. Please make sure to give credit to those who have tweeted or shared before you, nothing is designed more to alienate people than taking credit for something they have done. Think about sharing appropriately in the other online places you inhabit too, people will love you for that. Before you share though be sure to;

Check

If a Tweet contains a link then check it out before you share it both to check it works and also to make sure the content is suitable for your audience.Beware of links from unknown sources though, if you see a tweet mentioning your name or a Direct Message from an unknown source Never click that link, it invariably leads to trouble!

Reciprocate

When someone takes the trouble to do something for you it’s just good manners to do something in return. So when you see that a fellow tweeter has mentioned you or has RT’d your content send them a thank you, add a follow, find some gold in their Twitter stream and share it with your followers. They will appreciate it and will be more likely to notice you again, you no doubt like it when that happens to you so make sure you do the same to others.

UnAutomate

Ok, it’s not a real word, I admit I made it up but I wanted to make a point and it fits the purpose. I hate it when I follow someone and I get an automated message, especially if it contains a ‘check out my blog’ link – Yuk – it makes me want to unfollow not check you out further.

There might be a place for automating services such as Buffer and Tribber but please use them wisely and always read content before you share it.

(Update April 24th – Ok, I admit it – I have been trying Buffer on @AnnTran_ ‘s recommendation and I’m liking what I see. I still read the posts so I’m not changing my view on automating but I am finding I am sharing more and better content by scheduling.)

Balance

Keep your activity on Twitter balanced by Tweeting about a variety of subjects. Many people operate within their niche, for instance most of my Tweets will be about social media and technology however I think it’s good to mix with tweeters with all sorts of interests. So why not throw in the odd ones from other areas and connect with people from all sorts of backgrounds and parts of the world. It’s much more fun that way.

Aim to have balanced activity too, try not to get too carried away and bombard your Twitter stream with too much all at once, people might just get tired of seeing you if you overdo it.

Positive

Twitter seems to me to be an overwhelmingly positive arena to operate in. OK there are ‘haters’ and ‘trolls’ out there who can make it an uncomfortable place to be, particularly for tweeters with a high profile, but for the average user it creates a positive environment. So keep it positive, constant negativity and moaning will soon put people off or attract the wrong kind.

Informative

What a place to share information, share your interests and add to the knowledge of the world. Don’t just be a sharer of content that’s already doing the rounds.

Instead of always recycling a link that’s already been around the Twittersphere (I made another word up!) several times just because it was tweeted by a ‘celeb’, why not be an innovator of information and seek out new stuff to entertain and amaze the world. Subscribe to blogs (like this one) and web sites so that you are among the first to know whats going on and become a leader rather than just a ‘follower’.

Compassion

Many people use Twitter to promote charitable or Social Good causes. Tweeters such as Amy @charityideas, Ann @AnnTran_ , Sean @2morrowknight and many more, use Twitter as a vehicle for good so give them a helping hand. However much we might like to we can’t contribute to every good cause we come across but it costs nothing to share the content of someone who is trying to help others so be generous with your Tweets to support them.

Enjoy

The last word and the most important. If you aren’t enjoying all or part of your Twitter experience then stop what you are doing, think about your reasons for being there and make changes so it’s fun again. I’ve been through periods where I’ve got bored with all and it’s become a bit of a chore but I’ve made those changes and found all the old enthusiasm returning.

And remember – if you need to take a break it will still all be there when you get back. If you have built good relationships in your time on Twitter then your friends will still be there for you when you are back on form again.

What do you think is a good measure of a successful Tweeter? 

* To see the poll results to date and a follow up post pay a visit to How Do You Measure Success on Twitter.

So now it’s your turn, what do you think? Do you have any other words you would like to add or any comments on my advice? I would love to hear your thoughts.

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*Image credits

Success Key – Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hacker – chanpipat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Spheres Balance – Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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