If I was to take a guess at why I am being asked by so many people about the way I use Twitter it would have to be because there are so many people on Twitter who have not got a clue how to use Twitter?
I spend a lot of time debating people on the best and worst ways to use Twitter as a Social Media tool. So, now that I am some sort of expert in so many people’s minds I thought I would put my Jedi Ninja skills to use in producing my list of the..
Best of the Worst Ways to Use Twitter
Linksters
You have seen them. The Tweets who see absolutely no value in social media and feel posting a canned remark that translates loosely to..Check This Out!…along with a link to some worthless blog or article of limited interest is of extreme value to everyone in Twitterville. No I am not talking about the Tweets who occasionally post a link to something of general interest or humorous. I am talking about the true Linksters who post on Twitter nothing but one link after another. Sometimes Dozens at a time. All…day…long
In the conversations I have had with a few of Linksters that took the time to respond to me is they feel they are providing things of value and are attempting to be a provider of information to Tweets. All of which would OK if it was not for the fact most everyone has a feed aggregator working for them and see the same articles that they are posting on Twitter. What value is that? Plus, in this day and age of spamming why on earth would anyone trust that the link they posted is not a link to some Trojan virus.
There is nothing wrong with posting a Link to something of interest, especially if there is a conversation you are having with someone on Twitter about the information. There is nothing wrong with occasionally posting a link to a News item or fact that would be of general interest to the people who follow you. Posting original thoughts as well as a healthy amount of socializing with faithful followers works magic to building the trust factor.
Posting nothing but a Link provides nothing, shows no social relevance and leaves an impression of the person who posted the list of links as being a person that really does not care what people think about them. Sad, isn’t it?
ReTweet-a-Thon
Another pack of Tweets who have lost consciousness of how to effectively use Twitter for Social Media. You again have seen these people who do nothing my ReTweet everything they see from everyone they follow. After awhile of reading the letters “RT” you start to get nauseated, not to mention tired of them taking up a lot of real estate on Twitter.
So what is the value of rapid RT’s? Sure, it shows you are friendly and supportive and part of the community. But what does nothing but RT’s say about a person?
One of the biggest weaknesses about Twitter is there is no way to get to know who it is you are spending time with on Twitter outside of watching what they post. If they only post ReTweets it doesn’t seem that they have much originality or creativity. Is that someone you want to Trust providing you with valuable Social Media?
iPhone-a-Berrys
Yaw, the iPhone and Black Berry crew. The Tweets who see everything and “Ayy, Let Me Tweet That”…all…day…long….. Geez. Then after checking Google for the latest translation to the single letter words they type out you find that they either said they were Rolling On The Floor Laughing Their Ass Off or were Rioting On The Flight Landing At Orlando..WTF?
All…day…Long. And don’t expect a response since by the time Iphone-a-Berry get through all of the Linksters and ReTweets it is three days later.
There are those who do play it smart and have an ‘A List’ of people they Tweet to on their BB. The Social Media value becomes relevant especially if they are at the Masters and just saw something nobody else saw. There are some great opportunities that makes Social Media work well with mobile phones, but there is a limit.
What kills the deal with mobile Tweeting is the ‘no responses’ to the people who are following them.
Name Droppers
Yep. there is no way of getting around running into the guys and gals who drop a name or two or fifteen. Some of the names you know but most only are names of people known by the person or a few others in a tiny circle or click. What makes this type of Tweeting one of the worst things to do on Twitter is it turns off a large number of people who COULD be the perfect follower and if you are tweeting for a business (like millions are doing) that follower that was turned off could be someone wanting to write a check.
Most of the time the name dropping is made from people who are in the PR business or other marketing industry related fields. In the very few who respond to me, or who I have cornered over on LinkedIn or Facebook where they lead more professional lives, I get feedback that precluding a remark with the name of someone they know received more attention than just posting information or their thoughts. So I guess it is all about them..isn’t it?
The Best of the Worst is the …
Linkster RTer iBerry Dropper
Yes, you have seen these tweets also…they tweeter that pound Twitter with links, RT’s and dropping names all while they are on their Iphone or BB. To these tweets it is all about them. Many of the debates and conversations I have had with many of these people who use these methods of tweeting resulting in them telling me they don’t see Twitter as a platform for conversation, yet do feel Social Media is an effective form of marketing their needs. They also feel that those who do use Twitter as a meeting place or chat room are in the way of those trying to get vital consumer information out to potential buyers. They go on to say that since they have accumulated zillions of followers on Twitter it confirms they must be using Twitter effectively.
However, when I ask how many tweets they are following and if they can tell me how many of the zillion followers are porn or spammers I usually get a hang up or some lame remark equivalent to a school yard sulk. The fact is they do not screen who follows so most of the people following just follow to follow..never read their posts. And they only follow a few who are in their intercircle. What value is that?
Social Media is effective and Twitter can be effective if it is used effectively. Getting to know people, following only real people and making sure that real people are following are the mainstay of how Twitter works best. The other stuff just doesn’t show much of who the person is and reflects poorly on what the product or service they do will be offered.
Keep Twitter Real and let me know how I can help.
