5 Things To Consider Before Diving Into Twitter

Twitter is here to stay. In the beginning, some people thought it was a fad that people would lose interest in within a couple of months. When I started to use the social media platform two years ago, I didn’t know how to use it effectively. I was just lucky enough to meet people who have taken the time to teach me and show me how I can truly benefit from using the site.

I know some people still do not see the benefits of using Twitter. To them, it’s a waste of time, others think it’s just something that people do because they are bored or don’t have anything better to do. We all have our opinions. Those who have benefited a lot by learning and connecting with people from all over the world and sharing views and opinions know that Twitter is a great tool to accomplish that.

If you are; however, new to Twitter, and if you would like to try it out, may I suggest some things that you might want to consider before your dive into it?  I hope the tips here will allow you to be more efficient as well as allow you to have fun.

1. Time Management – Twitter can be addictive, I know some people who lose sleep because they would rather tweet. Others tweet only once in awhile. We all have our own objectives for using Twitter. What is important here is balance. It is ideal to be around. People follow you for a reason. They like listening to you, or in this case, reading your tweets. However, try not to over do it. Don’t lose your job because you can’t stop when you need to.

2. The 80 – 20 Rule – Share links and engage.  Again, the emphasis here is balance. There are so many things you can share on Twitter, but consider your audience when you tweet. You can share almost anything including music, photos, quotes that will inspire and information that will teach and entertain.

3. Follow The Right People – It is your call regarding who you want to follow on Twitter. Some people only follow their friends and family, while others, like me, follow different people from all walks of life. There are a host of people that you can follow based on your interests. There are brand builders, teachers, designers, chefs, musicians, celebrities, etc… Following the people who you feel you can learn from and engage with will not only widen your knowledge, but will also allow you to create connections and build friendships.

4. Retweeting Is Good – Retweeting is a great ice breaker on Twitter. Maybe you are following someone you want to get to know better, but you are intimidated to speak to that person directly. By retweeting their links, you open the lines of communication. It is also a great way for you to share new found information with your followers.

5. Respects Begets Respect – Just like in real life, respect the people you tweet. Respect begets respect. It is better, I believe, for someone to just unfollow another person if he or she feels that what is being shared is not important to them. Never bully anyone. Remember that the people you tweet are humans that, just like you, want to communicate and discover the online world.

I have included the Twitter video that will give you a glimpse of what Twitter is all about. It shares the message that we can truly discover the world around us together in 140 characters at a time.