Twitter Tips

Twitter Tips

Future Man

If you're fairly new to the world of Twitter, here are a few stats, tips and resources to help you get started.

Demographics

Quantcast estimates that Twitter users are primarily:

  • Female (53%)
  • Young Adult 18-34 (47%)
  • Caucasian (82%)
  • Childless (74%)
  • Well-educated (63% college or grad school)

eMarketer estimates there will be about 18 million Twitter users by 2010, but Nielsen Online's figures suggest that Twitter's retention rate is only about 40%. As well, eMarketer's age research shows that the largest Twitter user group is 45-54 years old but that the 25-34 year-olds are a close second. There are a large number of websites dedicated to helping Twitter users find interesting people to follow. The implication is that if you want people to follow you, you must be interesting.

How to be Interesting on Twitter

  • Go beyond posting about "What's Happening". Provide commentary and context. Allow your organizations personality to show. For example, instead of "meeting all day for strategic planning", try "Strategic planning today with 1 extrovert and 3 introverts. Bring on the coffee."
  • Start following interesting people with similar interests. Retweet their posts to build credibility and followers.
  • Think about what your audience might be interested in throughout the day on a day-to-day basis. Post links that will provide information they need or help get them through their day.
  • Balance fun and serious, light-hearted and thought-provoking, business and personal. Remember that you only have 140 characters, so enjoy the challenge and target your messaging!

How You Can be Re-Tweeted

Being retweeted is an indication that you have posted a successful or interesting comment. Dan Zarella of Copyblogger has posted a detailed study of what spreads on Twitter, including the most and least re-tweeted words. You can read the entire article at CopyBlogger.

In summary:

  • 70% of retweets contain links compared to 20% in "regular" tweets.
  • Retweets have nouns and third-person verbs—that is, they refer to someone or something doing something.
  • The word "you" is the most likely word to occur in retweets compared to tweets.

Twitter for Your Organization

A comprehensive guide for how to use Twitter to meet your business goals can be found here:

Twitter Books:

Additionally, here are additional free resources for using and measuring usage on Twitter:

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5Q
Posts: 1
Comment
Re: Twitter Tips
Reply #2 on : Wed February 17, 2010, 07:47:21
@Sue: Definitely--it's not an easy task to define your audience, develop a communications plan and stick to it! Then, on top of that, how to integrate YOU and your personality in the Social Media environment and know when/where to keep lines drawn.
Sue Brage
Posts: 1
Comment
Twitter Tips
Reply #1 on : Wed February 17, 2010, 07:34:02
Great post John. One of my biggest challenges is identifying my audience when I am not tweeting for an organization. Do I try to reach the same professional market, or do I develop a new niche based on other interests. At times this keeps me from engaging.