When I was new on Twitter, people were more into just sharing links and having small talk. I remember one time I got a DM from a person that told me that I talked too much because I was always speaking to people and asking how they were doing or catching up with people that I had not tweeted with in a long time. I felt discouraged, and to be honest, I did not quite know what to do.
It’s a good thing I had great tweeple friends that encouraged me to continue and just ignore those who wanted to hamper my engaging with others. They pointed out to me that there should be no strict rules to follow on Twitter or any other social networking platform. There might be some guidelines, but as it is, they are just guides. People really must remember that it is you who makes your experience richer, and not something that is dictated by the masses. I kept that in mind.
If you are new on Twitter and wonder why some get more feedback than you or if you feel like you need to shout to be heard, this article is for you. If you’ve wondered how you can boost your engagement on Twitter, here are some tips that I hope will be helpful.
1. Go ahead and speak out – Don’t be afraid to speak to people you follow. We are there not only to share information, but also to converse with each other. Don’t get intimidated by people with so many followers, most of them got that many because they know how to engage with others. But a word of caution, do not feel hurt if that person do not reply back right away. There are some reasons for that. Maybe they are offline or maybe they just missed the tweet. Just keep on trying.
2. ReTweet – If you like a quote or a tweet that a person shared, you can always retweet it to the people you follow. It also breaks the ice. I have become close to some of the peeps that I follow because we started engaging right after I retweeted their links. However, make sure that the information you choose to share with your followers is helpful. There are people that retweet just names bunched up together just to be noticed. That will only brand you as a spammer.
3. Content is Key – Sharing good information and balancing it with a good amount of conversation will certainly boost your engagement with more people on Twitter. Remember it is a social platform and people are listening to what you are saying so make your tweet count.
4. Be Helpful – If you see your followers in need of help, try to help them if you can. They may need help with tools that they can use with their online projects. Maybe they need a recommendation for a good place to eat or stay. Maybe they need help sorting out their blog or getting good information on new applications. Helping someone will also make you feel good and help build your relationship with your followers and the people you follow.
5. Recommend people to follow – I am not talking about FollowFriday. I feel that the best way to boost engagement is to introduce people you know that are good twitter folks. I have met the best people I learn from because they were introduced to me personally by the people closest to me.
Just like in real life, the points above are the things we usually do when we want to network and meet new folks, so why not try to incorporate some of the same principles in your online life?
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