Twitter is a social networking tool that allows us to share short messages (140 characters or less) with the people who 'follow' us; and we can follow them back and receive their messages.
I tend to use Twitter more for gathering information about people in the know and happenings around the city I cover - New Haven, Conn. But I find these five tricks have helped me increase the visibility of the Tweets I share and I hope they are useful for you as well.
1. Include a picture.
When I'm out in the field, I now use my smartphone (Droid X) to send out Tweets that set the scene while my assignment is unfolding. I snap the picture, hit the menu button, click share and then select Twitter. The App allows me to type a message about the photo and off to the network it goes.
This has been big fun and from the feedback I've gotten, people enjoy it.
2. Use hashtags.
Including a hashtag or pound (#) sign, can increase the reach of your Tweets because people who may not be following you, but filter the hashtag, will see your posts. For example, the people and organizations in New Haven who do not follow me but follow the hashtag for the city #NHV see my Tweets and often retweet them or my post will catch their eye and they'll choose to follow me.
3. Tap into a URL shortener with metrics.
I use bit.ly, which is a popular one that can linked with third-party applications that help sort tweets such as TweetDeck. Bit.ly has an "Analyze" tab that tells me how many clicks each link received, who has shared the link (via Twitter name), and the referring sites where people found the link - in other words, the sites where it was posted such as Facebook or TweetDeck or shared by e-mail.
I can also see what countries people were in when they clicked the link. It's great intel.
4. Engage in two-way conversations.
You shouldn't feel obligated to follow everyone who follows you, particularly the spammers, but when someone does, say thank you. When your followers post a query that you have an opinion about or expertise on a topic, chime in.
Too many people use Twitter to spout links and never interact beyond that. Watch for what others are talking about, join the conversation, thank people for retweets and mentions. Engaging with the online community will help grow your network and sphere of influence and crowdsourcing becomes easier.
5. Organize with third-party applications.
I use TweetDeck to filter tweets by topics, organizations and individual followers. It is impossible for me as a working professional to sit in front of the computer all day to watch my Twitter feed. TweetDeck allows me to check in several times a day, see what I've missed and share anything new on my plate.
Hootsuite enables me to schedule Tweets that will go live at a later time.
