With its 140 characters and millions of users Twitter can seem quite intimidating for the new user. New terms like “tweets”, “hastags”, “@ mentions”, and “retweets” are entering into the everyday vocabulary of society and it can be difficult to keep up with this always-changing environment.
When discussions on social media inevitably lead to Twitter, people are always curious to know how I use it. There are three common questions I hear most often.
1. “What do you Tweet about?”
My area of focus lies in finance and economics. I share news, links, and other related material as well as retweets of others. Sure, I include non-finance related stuff all the time but my primary focus is finance.
When you focus around an area, it affords you the opportunity to be considered an expert in that field – someone they can trust to provide good, reliable information.
2. “What does Twitter do for you?”
A relatively simple and straightforward question. For me, Twitter allows for influence – how many people can I influence? By sending links and sharing information with my followers I become an influencer and that allows me to share quality content with people.
By staying focused around my specific area, I can influence a large number of people to act on my Tweet (either through a link click, @ mention, direct message, or a retweet)
3. “How do you get followers?”
This question is important. Does the consumer want your product? A time tested economic question that applies to Twitter as well. If you aren’t providing content people want to read or share, you won’t get followers. Quality content is the best way to add quality followers.
As a courtesy, follow people back who follow you otherwise its like a one-way conversation.
