I’m not here to point any fingers, but lately there has been several conversations about how to engage on Twitter in some of the groups I participate in (on Twitter). It seems as though people have forgotten how to interact with each other so I thought I would revisit an old blog post from November 2009 and re-post some of the rules and tips I gave back then and add some new ones based on some behavior I have observed.
Don’t Spam!
Don’t spam! Yes, you can get spam on Twitter too! Sending unsolicited mass tweets trying to sell something gets on people’s bad side just like spam e-mails.
DO reply to tweets
Try to reply to tweets when appropriate. Engage your audience. This doesn’t mean you have to answer 100% of tweets. This helps to keep people following you and can gain you new followers as well. Also, tweet often. I’m not saying send 50 tweets a day or anything, but only tweeting say once or twice a month can result in the loss of followers.
DO Retweet! The people you are follwing appreciate it!
If someone you are following tweets something you think others would like to know about, retweet it! Retweeting is essentially forwarding a message sent by someone else to your followers. Retweeting lets others know their content is appreciated and can also help you (and the original tweeter) gain followers. Retweeting is done by adding RT at the first of the tweet. [Or clicking the appropriate icon in the tweet]
Treat others like you want to be treated
Interacting on Twitter is the same as interacting “in real life” (IRL). Treat people with respect. If you disagree, then that’s fine. Don’t take on a holier-than-thou, I know better than you attitude. If you asked for feedback and don’t agree with the response, that’s fine, but don’t argue the point and say you’re right over and over until your appearance in the Twitter stream causes you to get the cold shoulder. If you must argue, take it to a direct message (DM) where it’s private, or even e-mail. Also, when you ask a question again later and get the same response you’re just beating a dead horse. It won’t get you anywhere.
Don’t blog about it
If someone offends you, going on a public rant about the person, even if you change their name or hide their avatar (Twitter picture) is just plain rude. It’s like your parents said, “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” This can be tied back to my previous point.
Remember This!
Remember, Twitter is similar to being out in public. Unless you have a locked account anyone can see your tweets (except DMs), even tweets directed to others using @username. Especially others who follow that person as it shows up in their followers’ streams as well as it is considered to be a public tweet. Also, you can always go to twitter.com/username and read someone’s tweets even if you don’t follow them or the person they publicly tweeted.
Your online reputation is at stake.