Using Twitter is easy. Becoming known on Twitter…not so much. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes at that place, and not everyone’s aware of the delicate sort of dance everybody engages in every time they share their thoughts with the world.
The people who know how things work- who know how to make themselves heard and how to make themselves known- are often the ones who shoot ahead, while everyone else just contentedly putzes along. And hey, if you’re just on Twitter because you’ve got some thoughts to share with your friends, that’s perfectly okay.
But if you’re looking to get ahead in the game, here’s a few things you’ll want to know regarding how to do it. Note that none of these tips actually guarantee success. They’ll just increase your chances.
Tweet Regularly
One thing I’ve noticed about my own stream is that when I don’t tweet anything for a day or two, I tend to lose followers- people lose interest, think I’m uninteresting, and unfollow. It’s almost like some sort of insidious pattern, and it’s repeated itself on far too many occasions to simply be a coincidence. You need to tweet regularly and constantly- consider using a Twitter buffer.
Don’t tweet too often, either- you’ve gotta find a balance. If you’re tweeting articles and other media that’ll take a while to digest, a few tweets an hour should suffice.
Find a Niche, and Tweet Meaningful Content
You need to find a way to stand out from the crowd, and you need to make sure that the content you share with everyone…is actually something they’ll care about. Try to search out stories that no one’s found yet, details that everyone wants to know, or information that’s scarce. Figure out what your focus is going to be, and zero in on it. You’ll probably get more followers with a clear focus and a fully developed personality than you would if you’re simply a jack of all trades.
Learn To Use Hash Tags
This one’s self-explanatory. Twitter’s search engine uses Hash Tags to seek out and recommend tweets to people. Learn how and when to use them.
Interact
Don’t just sit atop an ivory tower and throw out missives to the masses. Talk to the people who are following. Show them you’re a real person, and not just some newsbot or buffer program. Again, this is self-explanatory- a little interaction goes a long way.
Connect
Finally, connect your account to other aspects of your life. If you tend to frequent cosplay circiuts (and you’re good at what you do) be sure to let people know you’ve an account. If you’ve got a website, post up a link (or a twitter feed). If you’ve other social media accounts…connect them.
That’s all for now. I’m no expert on social media, nor am I a twitter guru…but I’ve done a bit of observation, and this is some of what I’ve learned. Here’s hoping it helped.
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