How You Tweet: Readers’ Responses

Tweet

I've written about Twitter multiple times here on Inc and the posts have always been quite popular.  In particular, 'How to Get Retweeted' and 'Hashtag Techniques for Businesses' have garnered lots of comments.  Many readers know a lot about the Twitter universe, so I've compiled a summary of readers' best Twitter tips.

Best Practices

Reader Nicole Henderson said it best when she described what makes you stand out on the internet: 

            'Google has redone their formula for page rank.  It used to be all about how many people visited your website or blog.  But now it's all about your entire online presence: your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your reviews -- it all matters!' 

Nicole is right; the web recognizes and acknowledges content that is constantly updated and interacted with, such as content on Twitter and Facebook. Every interaction improves your page rank and SEO.

Twitter, as well as other social media sites, have provided a forum for voicing public opinion. We can directly connect with people who have similar interests, who are discussing the same topic, or who could be potential customers of our products or services. But one thing we must remember: it's a two way street of communication. We can't just stand on the corner with a megaphone and tell everyone what we think. We must engage with followers.

            '…It is also important to keep it social, ask questions, and get to know connections that may benefit you, your business and your clients.'—Lynn Brown

            '…It's called social media.  Don't act like a car salesman just trying to make a sale with your Twitter account.  Act like a friend, interact with your followers, get to know them, and watch your Klout score go up.'—Sonita Lewis

Updated Twitter Techniques

My readers also have different ideas of how to get the most mileage out of their Tweets:

• Lynn Brown finds that she has an increased amount of Twitter activity when she posts on Mondays.
• Sonita Lewis is a fan of Tweeting often.  She Tweeted over 800 times in one month. Wow! She says that 500 Tweets a month is not uncommon for her.

Also, there is a clear connection between hashtags and getting re-Tweeted:

• Duane Anderson finds that including hashtags in the main topic of his Tweet results in more re-Tweets.  He also finds that hashtags help people find his Twitter feed.  And since his Twitter feed has great content, his followers are more likely to stick around and keep following him.
• A reader named Jim noticed that using Twitter hashtags led to an uptick in referrals to his website.

Great Twitter Websites

Here is a list of Twitter-related sites that have been mentioned by readers:

• 14blocks.com–This site looks into your followers' activities to determine when they're online for each day of the week. That way, you can find out when is the best time for you to Tweet.
• danzarella.com–a great resource for social media, in general.
• Tweetdeck—helps you keep track of your Tweets and what others are Tweeting.
• Hootsuite—a useful way to follow posts organized by hashtags.

As always, happy Tweeting!  And thank you for all of your useful advice!

Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx.  You can follow him and his company on Twitter.

Curt Finch has more than two decades of software development and distributed workforce management experience. In 1997, Curt created the world's first internet-based timesheet application and the foundation for the current Journyx product offering. Curt has a B.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. His book, All Your Money, is available on Amazon. @curtfinch