Twitter Tips by Zach Braiker Social Media Strategist

Twitter Tips

written on May 3rd, 2009 by Zach Braiker

I currently manage several twitter accounts and help clients grow theirs.

Here’s a few things I’ve noticed. This isn’t based on science but from experience building many accounts from scratch.

Accounts with photos attract more followers than those without
Photos of people usually attract more followers than logos
Twitter accounts with wallpaper attract more followers than those without
Attractive people seem to have an easier time getting followers
One of the most important aspects of your twitter account is your name. If your name contains a term you want to associate with, like “luxury” or “advertising,” it’s a lot easier to build followers who share that interest.
Clever names take more work. If I called my Twitter account “SocialMediaTrends,” rather than “QuiverandQuill” I think it would have taken off much faster. If you don’t believe this, open as second account and try it out.
Don’t just share links to articles. It makes you look like a robot. Add your opinion, your distinct, human voice.
What goes on behind the scenes is just as important as the tweet stream. That means create relationships by DMing people with whom you click.
Use Retweeting and Follow Friday as a way to acknowledge the people in your network with whom you want to build a relationship.
Twitter takes time. I think this point is somewhat deceiving. On the one hand Twitter is all about what you are doing “right now.” It is the consistency of what you write over time and how deeply it resonates with followers that form the meaningful connections that make twitter worthwhile.
You are going to be asked about the ROI of Twitter if you’re a business person spending a portion of your day there. I recommend you responding first by determine what activity you do in business that most contributes to revenue or profitability. This could be business meetings, research, cold calls, speaking at conferences, sales, etc. Then use Twitter to assist with that activity. See Chris Brogan for how this works with sales.
I use Twitter for more than just having a conversation with followers. It’s a source of news and insight. I subscribe to subject matter experts on business, corporate social responsibility, fashion, advertising and travel. They constantly share interesting, thoughtful tweets with links to articles and resources.
You don’t have to keep up with Twitter. You don’t have to read everything. No one was grading you (except Twitter grader).
Show people you are paying attention. Acknowledge them. Make them smile or think.
At unconferences there’s this law called, “the law of two feet.” It means when something doesn’t interest you use your two feet to find something that does. I view Twitter the same way. It’s the law of two clicks. If someone isn’t providing value click on their name and then click unfollow. You can shape your experience.
As with all branding, consistency is key. When the name, photo, wallpaper, tweets, RT, DM are all consistent with the brand, people will better understand your identity.