Do you often sit there looking at an empty tweet box, wondering what to write? This can be a common occurrence especially if you are new to Twitter as your mind can be bogged down with all the w’s (What should I say? When are people going to follow me? Why do they care what I say? Where am I supposed to put the hashtag?)
But to quiet all that noise, I think there are only three things that a Twitter newbie needs to remember.
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Speak to people not at people
Don’t forget the fundamental point of Twitter – it is about being sociable, interacting and sharing with people. Twitter is especially great as there is no need for formal introductions before you can interact with someone – and the best way to build up you following on Twitter is to be active on Twitter. The more you tweet and interact with people, the more people will see you, follow you and interact with you.
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Be smart about the hashtags you use
There is no denying that hashtags (#) are hugely popular. They are a great way to catagorise your tweets and group them together with tweets of other likeminded individuals. But be careful about falling into the traps that some tweeters (especially certain celebs ) fall into – and that is using a hashtag that pretty much takes up all of your 140 characters and ultimate means nothing. A word to the wise, just because you stick a # in front of some words, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are creating an effective hashtag.
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Add some meat to your tweet
My biggest Twitter pet peeve is when I see tweets that are solely made up of a link – OK, we all like surprises and an element of mystery, but if there is no additional explanation of what I can expect from said link and why I might be interested in it, I can absolutely guarantee you that I will not be clicking on it. It also comes across as quite unsociable which completely defeats the object of Twitter. So just remember that when you want to say something on Twitter, you need to actually say something.
What do you think is the most important thing a Twitter newbie needs to remember?
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