Be a good tweeter

Twitter is the best social media platform when it comes to reaching like-minded individuals. It reaches over 250,000 times more people than its bigger rival, Facebook, when it comes to networking. Twitter is fast and friendly, and you can chat to people who are actually interested in following you. This means your Twitter profile is crucial to your success on the social giant. Potential followers will first see your avatar, browse your bio and if still interested, they’ll check out your latest tweets.

Your profile will determine how people perceive you during initial contact and if you get it right, they will be keen to follow you. Get it wrong and they might gossip to their friends and colleagues, and tell their associates that they were turned off. You’ll want to make friends on Twitter and build a solid reputation. Through your profile, you have the opportunity to give the right impression, because in business, reputation is everything.

How do you build a great profile on Twitter? What things could you be doing wrong? Are you making people think bad things? Here are some top tips to make sure your profile is right and your reputation is great, while avoiding some common mistakes.

Your Avatar
The first thing people see about you is your avatar. First impressions count, so use a picture of yourself. Add an appropriate face picture to your profile and avoid logos. People want to chat to a person, not a brand. Choose a photo where you are smiling. Don’t use a holiday pic of you in your trunks or bikini, as this could look like a spam account. Use the same friendly avatar that you use for other sites, so people can easily associate your avatar with you.

Get Your Bio Right
Don’t get cute. You only have 160 characters (Max) so make it count. Your bio is your ‘twesume’, start with who you are and be professional and positive. Describe the most recent you, and update it regularly. Honesty is essential, the truth always comes out eventually, and when it does, it will lose you followers, no one like lies. Do include some keywords within your bio, so you’ll be searched for on Google. But avoid making a list of keywords. Your followers will see right through this tactic. Include your web address at the end, another good SEO tactic.

Make it Count
Tweets are public and therefore everything you tweet builds a picture of your personality. You won’t be a very likable person if you moan and criticize a lot. Swearing will make you look aggressive and passive-aggressive tweeting like ‘they did this and its wrong’ could make followers think you’ll do it to them. Your reputation depends on you being nice at all times, so remember, if you can’t think of anything nice to say, don’t say anything. Always review before you tweet. Telling followers that you are about to eat lunch is pointless unless there is some exciting aspect to it. Be ruthless and consider if your tweets are really worth publishing.

No Pity Talk Please
Some people just love attention and you can see right through their insecurity. Twitter is not a place to air your personal problems or life complaints. Most people can’t tolerate for long, those that focus on their self pity all the time, we all have problems so deal with it. If you profile just hints at ‘poor me’ you’ll alienate people and your reputation will plummet.

Engage a Little
Be a human being and actually talk to people, make friends and be someone that people enjoy catching up with. Add warmth and personality to your profile. Help others – whether that’s a re-tweet on their tweets or adding a little advice – they will love you for it. Karma is an excellent part of nature, so if you’re nice to others, they’ll be nice back. Remember your reputation, be someone who cares. Whenever someone does something nice for you, thank them. Shout about their generosity and strengthen your reputation.

Don’t be a Manic Tweeter
Tweeting every minute of every day will dilute the importance of your tweets and turn off your followers. Tweeting too much is annoying, just like if a friend was talking constantly and loudly over the top of everyone else. Its not going to make you popular. Tweeting regularly is a good thing, but remember to tweet interesting and juicy things, things that are enjoyable to read or watch. Relevant and helpful stuff from your expertise will boost your reputation and people will see you as a great source of information.

 Don’t Sell Things
Twitter is about networking, not for selling or marketing. People no longer want the hard sell so avoid the ‘Buy me’ scenario and look towards building your network. Always share links to your website to showcase your work or blog but just don’t offer some discount for a limited period, as this will annoy your followers. Network is the key use of Twitter.

Hey! We offer training if your interested: Communicating with the Masses

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