My name is Elf Emily… and I am a Twitter n00b. I realize that’s a risky confession coming from someone getting back into the SEO industry- but I am a believer in full disclosure.
Don’t misunderstand – when Twitter first entered as a major player in the social media scene, I signed up for my account like everyone else to test it out and see what it was all about. To be honest, I was intimidated by it because I didn’t really know how to interact in a meaningful way. So, when I ended up transitioning to a job in traditional marketing, I used that as an excuse to ignore Twitter’s existence. “Oh, I don’t need to care about Twitter, I design brochures now.” And I lived in my own little world of denial for three years.
Fast forward to that moment when I realized I had left my heart in San Francisco Internet marketing and found myself staring vacantly at the 188,453 missed Tweets in my previously-abandoned account.
You know that awkward feeling when you walk into a party and you’re way too late to even be considered “fashionable” AND you’re not appropriately dressed?
Well, that’s how I feel about Twitter. I feel like I am walking into a crowded room of people who are already comfortable and having a good time… and I am just standing there. Awkwardly. Clutching my drink and looking for the nearest corner to hide in until the party is over.
But, I can’t do that.
I need to be professional. I need to put my big girl pants on.
So I devised a plan. One that I think may very well work in both awkward social situations as well as in the Twitter world. It’s a list of Twitter tips for beginners (like me!) to help them get their feet wet and avoid those awkward first encounters.
- Stand quietly and observe for a while: When you first walk into a crowded room of people, it can feel uncomfortable and overwhelming. The best thing to do is observe everyone and take mental notes of who I would like to meet and engage with. I plan on doing the same with Twitter: find who interests me, follow them, and then just sit back and listen for a while to see if what they are talking about makes me want to join the conversation.
- Start with small talk: I would never walk up to a stranger and start talking to them like I have known them my whole life… that would be rude and sorta creepy. For the same reason, I plan to start with simple interactions. Complimenting or retweeting certain posts that interest me, asking questions when I want to know more, and making sure to listen before I tweet.
- Add value: As I begin to get more comfortable with Twitter, I need to make sure that my interactions actually add to the conversation – and that I begin to start conversations on my own. It isn’t enough to always say “that’s great!” to what everyone else says. Neither is announcing my coffee choice every morning. I need to be self-assured enough to know what I believe, to talk about issues that really matter to me and to stand by the statements that I make.
- Make adjustments as needed: One of the biggest mistakes I made the first time that I tried Twitter was that I followed a bunch of people that I “thought” I should be following, even though they didn’t interest me. The result was a really boring feed that I had no desire to engage with. Now I have significantly pared down the people I am following, and I am slowly adding people I really, honestly, and truly want to follow. And now…. I am starting to see why people like Twitter.
- Balance “fun” and “function”: Twitter is a valuable tool… but it’s also meant to be fun. I find that my favorite follows are the profiles that mix both valuable content and enjoyable, casual conversation. All work and no play makes Twitter a dull social media platform. All fluff makes it nothing but a time-waster. My goal is to create a profile that is both fun and functional so that I can build up my followers and be part of a conversation that is both engaging and educational.
That’s my plan for becoming a confident and valuable Twitter user. What other rules should I live by? What rules do you use to guide your Twitter participation?
[This post is part of our 12 Days of SEO series where we’ll be publishing a different nugget of knowledge related to the sounds of the season. We’ll be updating the 12 Days of SEO page as new posts are published.]
