Twitter users can often spot a spammer by looking at the ratio of people following you versus those who you are following. If you’re following thousands of people and only a few are following you back, that probably means you’ve used the site primarily as means of self-promotion. Spam is unwelcome on Twitter, just as it is in your inbox.
The partial exception to this is if you’ve created a Twitter account named after the product or company you represent. In such cases, it is expected that updates you provide will be about that product or company. Those who follow you will be expecting such updates.
HAVE AN IDENTITY
Your Twitter profile is crucial in legitimizing you or your cause to other Twitter members, so once you understand Twitter and have an account set up, you should spend some time on your profile. Others will use it to determine whether they wish to follow you.
Pay particular attention to the URL, biography, picture and design of the profile. A link to your Web site or blog can be helpful and a real name is important if you’re expecting to attract a community of respectable followers. As with any other real-life community, you’ll find the most success on Twitter — and the most usefulness — if you fully and accurately represent who you are and why you’re there.
BE USEFUL
To make Twitter work for you, your cause or your company, you’ll need to learn how to cultivate a following that matters. To do so, you must take the time to get involved in some conversations on Twitter. When you create your own tweets, concentrate on the quality of your Twitter posts.
People who use Twitter constructively are there to gather information, so you should contribute and compose your tweets with an eye toward their usefulness to others. A good way to figure out what to say is to answer the questions “what has your attention” or “what is important to you” rather than the standard Twitter question of “What are you doing?”
Pointing other Twitter users to resources, tips, articles, presentations, ideas or people of interest will help you to cultivate a large Twitter following.
DON’T DISAPPEAR
If you drop out of a group or community in real life, you’ll lose that resource and all it has to offer. The same holds true for Twitter.
You don’t need to be a slave to Twitter — creating multiple tweets every day — but it is important to show up on a regular basis. If you use Twitter for legitimate purposes — because you’re interested in a topic or you’d like to keep people informed about your company, your profession or your cause — then incorporating Twitter into your life should not be too much of a hassle.
Twitter’s 140-character limit on tweets and its opening question of “What are you doing?” has given many people the impression that the service is for the most superficial among us. But that’s not the case.
On Twitter you’ll find some of the most influential thinkers, newsmakers and professionals, and many of them are turning to Twitter as a preferred method of communication that’s in keeping with today’s busy digital lifestyle. Use Twitter to your advantage.
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