Doing several recent social media strategy sessions on Twitter-based community management for businesses prompted requests from the participants for more time and content on the topic of using Twitter more effectively. Their questions and comments triggered this list of Twelve Tough Twitter Truths, adapted from previous @Brainzooming tweets.
Twelve Tough Twitter Truths
1. Twitter is like shouting a conversation into a crowded room with almost no visual cues of who is listening, participating or even aware of you.
2. These should be your three most asked questions while tweeting: 1) Do I really need this word? 2) Do I really need this character? 3) Do I really need to say this at all?
3. Interesting Tweet Headline + Bad Link = You Won't Be Getting Future RTs (and I'm Glad I Check Tweets Before RTing)
4. Reaching out quickly to someone tweeting about your brand is only half of the social media equation. When your community management person then disappears after the initial response, that's a social media problem.
5. Just because a tweet is directed to an individual or you think you have a small audience, that doesn't make it "private" or "semi-private." It likely just makes it “little noticed.”
6. If the only time you tweet someone is a direct message asking for your social media content to be retweeted with nothing else included in the message, a second direct message saying "please" is the least you can do.
7. It’s fine to be a fan boy/fan girl for clients, but people pay more attention when you're a fan on social networks for something you don't benefit from financially.
8. Don't judge another person you know only through social media until you've spent an hour reading their Twitter stream.
9. Keep your Twitter friends close and the people that aggravate you on Twitter even closer.
10. Interesting how celebrities tweet stupid things with such gusto and then their apologies never have the same passion.
11. A platitude gets tweeted halfway around the world before something of substance has a chance to be ignored.
12. So let it be tweeted. So let it be done.
What do you think of these Twelve Tough Twitter Truths? What Tough Twitter Truths have come through your own social media experience that you would add to the list? I’d love to see your additions to keep the list building! – Mike Brown
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