Now that we have gone over the rudiments of Twitter, let’s talk about the expected behavior of those who use twitter. There are certain expected ‘rules’ of behavior on twitter. I have tried to list them here. I also try to use them. Other people on twitter expect them.
- The point of using twitter as a promotion tool is to network with other people. You want to attract people – get them to sign on as your follower. Getting followers is the goal of twitter. To attract followers a member should behave on twitter as one would at a live conference. There may be people who walk around a convention or conference handing out their business cards and refusing to take other people’s cards, but I don’t think they would make a good impression or get much interest in their business. It is the same online with twitter. When you are handed a business card, you usually thank the person and give them your card. On twitter when someone follows you, you should always thank them. When I first started using twitter, I thought it would be nice to send a personal message to those who followed me. When I told my younger friend this she couldn’t stop laughing. The people on twitter do not want a personal relationship, they want exposure. She taught me that a thank you on twitter needs to be public. Each week I go to my site and click on ‘followers.’ It is there that I can find the people who became my follower that week. I take their handles and create a tweet that looks like this-“Thanks for the follow @someone @youtoo @goodtaste etc.”
- Once you join twitter, take the time to create a profile. Include a photo, information about your work and some pictures representing your writing. Use book covers if you are an author, magazine links if you write short stories, etc. Write an interesting synopsis of who you are and what you do. You will see the importance of your profile as we go on.
- When you create a tweet – take the time to include a link for the recipient. Tweets are about convenience. It is just impolite not to make it easy for the recipient to be able to buy the book you are promoting, the youtube cat video you are recommending or the business you are praising. Again, do not put your link first as most spammers do this but include it early in the tweet to make it convenient for the reader.
- When people follow you, if it is feasible follow them back. I have learned the hard way to check the profile of the person who follows me. I don’t usually follow business tweets back, not unless it is a business I want to promote or am interested in. I don’t take the initial info on the follow notification as enough to know. I have in the past followed unsavory sites by trying to save time. I now take the time to click on the handle and read the complete profile, check what kind of followers they have and what kind of language they use in their tweets. It only takes a moment to do this, but it is well worth the time.
- Know your friends’ handles. When you go onto your twitter site you will see a search line on the right top of the page. Search for your friends and read their tweets. If you like something they have tweeted – re-tweet it. As you move your cursor and let it hover at the bottom of their tweet, you will see the options to reply, re-tweet, favorite or have more options. If you want to promote your friends, re-tweet their stuff. When you like what they are saying ‘favorite’ the tweet.
- Don’t have a closed mind. Randomly read your tweets. I found a children’s book writer who followed me. I asked him (in a private message) if I could review his book. When I gave him a positive review (on my blog, Goodreads, Amazon and in a tweet) he was forever grateful. He now re-tweets and will favorite me routinely. At least once a month he uses my handle to tweet a thank you. I have done this frequently with similar results. Reach out and promote someone else.
This may all seem overwhelming but remember it is just a modern way of exchanging business cards, meeting unique people and businesses, promoting others and getting your name out to the younger generation. I know! I know! You’re wondering how you will find the time to market and still write. That’s what we will discuss in the next post.
Karen Boyce
Karen Kelly Boyce lives on a farm in N.J. with her retired husband. She is a mother and grandmother. She is the author of “The Sisters of the Last Straw” series published by Tan Books. You can see her work and learn more about her on her website: www,kkboyce.com