Let’s talk twitter, shall we?! Is it weird that I don’t know what I’d do without twitter? Yeah, probably. But in all seriousness, I have developed some great relationships with talented creatives over the site … I dig it. So, I thought today I would would share some of my thoughts about our favorite little place, twitter:
1. Be yourself. It’s as simple as that. If you let your personality show, people will respect you for it and enjoy “following” you. If you try to be somebody you’re not, chances are … it’ll show. People don’t like that fake kind of thing. Sure, maybe you use twitter to showcase your blog, portfolio, etc., but your readers like to hear about YOU, too. Don’t be afraid to share what you had for dinner or what your favorite movie is. People like to know that you’re a real person!
2. Say hello. This is a biggie for bloggers and online creatives. Some of the most rewarding and best networking relationships I’ve made have come from twitter. All it takes is a simple start up conversation for a relationship to flourish. You never know, your future business partner could be waiting for you to simply say hello. It’s funny how those sorts of things work! Connections are made every single day.
3. Don’t be annoying. Of course you can use twitter how you please, but if you’re trying to connect with others, you should keep a few simple things in mind so you don’t lose them. There are TWO things that bug me (and certainly many others) on twitter: First is when I’m constantly bombarded by linkage and advertisements. For example, I think follow friday (#FF) is a GREAT idea, don’t get me wrong, but when people suddenly shoot off 50 names and all I see is blue, my eyes immediately skip over them. If you want to promote people, try to get creative with it to avoid people blazing past your tweets. And secondly, long twitter conversations can be quite overwhelming for people not involved. Again, I think connecting with others is exactly what you should be doing, but when your chit chat sesh has become 30 tweets deep, maybe messaging would be a better idea?
That’s it, folks … I wanted to keep it pretty simple. I could go on and on about tips for networking with twitter, but I think that’s a story for another day. Just remember, be yourself, don’t be afraid to say hello, and be mindful of what you’re putting out there.
I’m on twitter, right here, if you’d like to say hi! I love hearing from all of you, seriously. Tell me who you are!!
YES YES YES … someone who tweets 100 times a day is the worst. oh how twitter people can be annoying. ;)