How to Tweet

22 June 10

Twitter is a couple of years old now, but for many it’s still a mystery. My client Jan Donley asked me some great questions about the service the other day, including, essentially “What should I tweet?”. Understandably, while she does want to use Twitter to reach potential readers, she does not want to appear overly self-promotional. This is a quandary faced by anyone using Twitter for something other than family/friendly communication.

What to Tweet

I recently heard some excellent advice on this from Whitney Hess on The Big Web Show. She insisted that Twitter had opened up career opportunities that other channels (like her blog) hadn’t. Her advice was:

  • Be yourself. Let your personality show, and don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.
  • Share information you truly find useful. Don’t “re-tweet” any old thing, but if you found something informative or useful, tweet away.
  • Share things that inspire you. Whether it is other Twitter streams, blog posts, new stories, books, music, art…
  • Don’t be all business all the time. While no one wants to hear about your toenail fungus, it’s fine to share personal things. Strike a balance.

When to Tweet

Personally, I get annoyed when someone Tweets every 2 minutes. Sure that will happen naturally sometimes, but in general try to be consistent but not obsessive about tweeting.

Comment
No comments yet…Be the first!

Comments are closed for this article.