5 Easy Ways to Derive Real (Not Fake) Value from Twitter

5 Easy Ways to Derive Real (Not Fake) Value from Twitter 

I’ve been a power user of Twitter for a few years now (@DemandDarrell – Digital Marketing Focus) and have benefited greatly from the platform. At first I really didn’t know what I was doing – but through trial and error I eventually learned to sift through the fluff and get to the actual value. Here are some tips (and truths) to help you get more value from Twitter.  

1. Realize that main goal is building a network and learning from that network – not selling to them.

The majority of the high profile thought leaders in your industry are on Twitter. You can learn what they are reading about, tweeting about, and who they are following – think of it as a virtual mentorship where you are essentially stalking them (in a socially acceptable way of course) to learn what they know. In addition, they will usually follow you back. By connecting with people in your field, you stay current about the latest trends and breakthroughs in your industry.

If you are trying to sell a product or service, keep in mind that opportunities from Twitter often come organically, and indirectly. For example, a connection you make on Twitter may refer you to a customer down the road. Or someone will see your expert tweets/shares and reach out with a question. Just know that no one is enthusiastically reading their direct messages looking to buy something, and you are just going to annoy people by hard selling.

SEE EXAMPLE: Twitter Engagement

2. Focus on a few hashtags only.

Here’s where I think many people get Twitter wrong – rather than search for popular hashtags and using random hashtags that you think are trending, pick 3-4 hashtags and be consistent. For example: I frequently engage and retweet the hashtags #digitalmarketing, #contentmarketing and #ABM. This has two important benefits:

1. It shrinks the Twittersphere down to a manageable level, and you can pretty much see all the news and all the people that are talking about that topic.

2. Twitter will pick up on the fact that you are always tweeting and discussing a particular topic, so you will start to show up in the search results for people and rank higher for top tweets (I can’t confirm this officially since I don’t know the algorithm, but I can vouch for it anecdotally and have tested it on friends and colleagues Twitter accounts).

SEE EXAMPLE: Focus Hashtags

3. You have to engage – not just tweet and retweet.

Nothing screams “bot” or “fake account” more than if you just tweet and/or retweet. You really have to engage with people by making comments, replying with gifs, and sharing your opinions. I shake my head when I reply to a tweet or message someone and am met with silence. You don’t build a real network by using Twitter as a megaphone. Pro Tip: Turn on your notifications so you can see when people are mentioning you so you can respond.

Funny: Who Makes These Fake Accounts?

4. Follow back.

Unless you are a celebrity or high profile professional in your industry, you need to follow back as many real accounts as you can. Everyone would love the type of account where a million people are following you and you only follow like 10 people, but the real world doesn’t work like that. Invest in a tool like ManageFlitter to follow back the people that follow you, and this will mitigate the amount of unfollows you get due to you not following them back. Careful not to follow more people than follow you as that looks spammy.

SEE EXAMPLE: ManageFlitter in Action

FIVE: Use Twitter while you are waiting

There is no way around it – growing followers and influence organically takes time and consistent effort. One of the best things I’ve found is to develop the habit of interacting with people on Twitter while I wait. Follow new people while you are in line, tweet and retweet while you are getting gas, reply and share new content while you are waiting for a report to run.

By utilizing these tips and adapting them to your own style, I’m sure you’ll be able to derive real (not fake) value for Twitter.

Happy Tweeting!

PS: What Twitter or other social media tips do you have to share? Put them in the comments below :)