The C&M Guide to Twittiquette (or Online PR vs Twitter)
Twitter is an requisite part of daily life and communications here at C&M (check out @rowstar, @rogerwarner, @contentmotion for example); we couldn’t imagine life without it.
Back when we first started Tweeting it felt like just another time-wasting online diversion – a rant into the void. But with millions of people now connecting with others all over the world through Twitter, it has evolved into a powerful networking tool in which friendships are formed, ideas aired, deals brokered and information shared.
As veteran Tweeters and PR gurus, we have come up with five simple steps to building a loyal Twitter entourage without becoming a Tweet-bore. And whilst we are clearly coming from an Online PR perspective, these rules could just as easily apply to MrsAnyone as to MrIAmPromotingSomething.
1) The Language of (Twitter) Love
Right, I’m going to get all teacherly on you now, but bear with me. You wouldn’t (or certainly shouldn’t) send out a press release or business letter with poor spelling and grammar, so why do it on Twitter? Don’t make yourself look like an idiot (because, er, obviously you’re not…ahem) by neglecting to proof read a Tweet before hitting the ‘send’ button. At a maximum of 140 characters to scan, this is hardly an arduous task, so get in the habit.
Abbreviated SMS-style-speak should also be avoided as it a) comes across as tacky* and b) makes your content far less searchable.
Adhering to the simple brief set by Twitter, to answer the question: “What are you doing?“ will result in a reader-friendly Twitter stream – more like a micro-blog than a dreary list of random proclamations. For example, instead of saying: “check this out: www.whatever.com” try something more along the lines of: “Recommending: www.whatever.com for excellent gig reviews”. Sticking to this discipline will increase the readability of your Twitter page, making it a more appealing destination for potential followers.
2) Style AND Substance
So, you’ve got the wordage nailed, but what about the actual content of your Tweets? For individuals, this can be as abstract or trivial as your innermost musings or the daily shopping, as long as you make it interesting, or at the very least amusing. The same rule of thumb applies to Twitter as a PR tool – it’s fairgame if there is something of value or interest on offer, but they are not going to be fooled by your self-congratulatory puff. Think of yourself as a performer on stage, reaching out to your audience; who (apart from a certain niche market perhaps) would want to go to the theatre to watch a bunch of actors standing about boasting? To pull in a regular crowd, you need to offer something engaging, meaningful, memorable and perhaps a little thought-provoking.
The plethora of Twitter-feed and posting tools now available (TweetDeck, Twhirl etc) means that it’s easy to forget about your actual profile page. Don’t. Checking in to read through your own Twitter-stream once in a while gives you a sense of how it reads as a whole to potential followers, and might make you think more carefully about what and how you write.
3) Know Your Audience
Just the other day, I was ‘followed’ by a shamelessly self-promoting singer, who introduced herself by saying: “@Rowstar You seem to like ambient music, i would like to offer you 2 free new age music songs from my website. Feel free! Thanks!” Now I am not, nor have ever professed to be, a fan of ambient music – so at first presumed it to be a random spam-attack. Then I remembered mentioning Enya in a recent Tweet, which presumably triggered an alert that prompted her to target me. But if this gung-ho muso had done her homework, she would have discovered that it wasn’t a favourable reference, so her ill-founded PR efforts were not only falling on stony ground, but actively irritating me in the process.
In case you were wondering, this rather self-indulgent vent does actually have a valid message. It goes to demonstrate the need for Twitter-based promotion to be well-researched in order to reach an appropriate audience. If you use Twitter alerts to identify potential followers, it’s worth checking out the lead; steam in blindly and you will (best case) rub people up the wrong way and (worst case) get yourself a reputation for being an annoying spammer.
4) Who Lives in a Tweet-house Like This?
Another way to engage with your fellow Tweeters is to inject plenty of personality or identity into your Tweets, just as you would with a personal blog or business website. A good case in point is national treasure and Twitter convert Stephen Fry (@stephenfry), who has notched up an impressive 47,411 followers in a relatively short amount of time. Rather than have his PR people relaying contrived content on his behalf, Fry’s Tweets are clearly direct from the horse’s mouth – making them a much more appealing prospect. The same goes for other successful celebrity Tweeters such as @Wossy (aka Jonathan Ross) and @JohnCleese, who, like Fry, make the effort to interact with their followers by responding and contributing to relevant threads rather than simply spewing out shameless self-promotion.
The parallel between celebrity Tweeters and brand/marketing tweets was nicely summed up on the Off Madison Avenue blog: “Give us some insights into your world. Make us feel a part of it. Be approachable. And most importantly, keep it real.”
Using an actual picture of yourself (or a logo if you are representing a non-person brand) on your profile, rather than an abstract image, will also help your personality to shine through.
5) Where do we Tweet From Here?
A good measure of Twitter-success is how often your posts are being ‘re-Tweeted’ by others. When you come across something interesting/amusing/useful via Twitter, it is considered good form to name-check the originator when passing it on, although you are free to add your own commentary. E.g.: “Retweeting (or simply ‘RT’) @MrBrilliant who recommended this genius website: www.blahblahblah.com”.
Re-Tweeting is a powerful (and free) distribution tool and a brilliant way of sharing information, so we should all be doing it more. Get yourself onto the radar of other influential Tweeters by acknowledging and passing on anything you find inspiring from them (they will know when you have). Check out www.retweetradar.com and www.retweetrank.com to see the sort of stuff that is being re-tweeted the most at the moment.
***********
And just in case you thought I was just making this stuff up, here are some verbatim Tweet-hates direct from the Twittersphere…
@jwatton: “bon mots” reaaaally annoy me. i’ve opted out of a few follows based on that alone
@meeware: People who put exactly the same thing in their personal and proffesional tweets with a 2 minute lag. Journos are the worst for it.
@abigailrieley: people who only post to self publicise. All the time. And give nothing back!
@Emclaug: ‘icanhaz’ thing annoys me – feels like people are trying to be too cool when it just seems lame.
@catnip: people only talking about work.
@ryanatmghwom: I hate Twitter auto-messages. “I look forward to connecting with you.” “Thanks for being my associate.” Really? Reeeeally?!
@joshmccormack: I dislike people who do no replies, essentially treating twitter as a 1 directional broadcast.
@sheenashe: really dislike wrong spellings on twitter. it’s hard to read.
@AnnetteElton: I LOVE when people post valuable links and info – Dislike when they use Twitter for blatant self promotion:-(
@pawsforlavender: Dislike being preached to; sales pitch; self/peeps promotion in disguise.
@SethGrimes: I dislike the non-personality of corporate twitter accounts.
And a few of our own…
@Rowstar: People who follow but never Tweet creep me out. Bring something to the party, weirdos.
@Rowstar: People who hold lengthy two-way conversations via Twitter instead of switching to DM. Get a room!
@rogerwarner: people who Tweet about ‘getting up’ ‘making tea’ and ‘watching telly’ …..LIKEIFREAKINGCARE (o really? earl grey?
Further reading:
- Ben Ayers on how ITV is using Twitter to engage its audience
- More on the joys of re-Tweeting from Immediate Future
- We Are Social’s thoughts on why people are using Twitter
- A recent Telegraph article aimed at Twitter beginners
-
Sheila Fogarty
What’s a Social Media Agency?
Rocket science not included. Proceed at ease...
Get the Scoop on Social Media PR…
Been there, seen it, bought T-Shirt, wrote it up....
What the Hell is Social SEO?
Clue: it's not spammy and it adds value to users....
ONLINE PR & SOCIAL MEDIA AGENCY KNOW-HOW
Online PR & Social Media Blog /// MORE
Say Hello to Paul, Our Very Affable New Head of Accounts
As our original ad for the role stated, Paul’s job is to be more Mad Men than IM, Twitter, Foursquare and the rest. His job is to talk to all of our clients – preferably at a distance of three paces, and to get the Martinis in whenever they’re needed. Oh, and to always have a glowing report to hand.
Why do 95.769% of Social Media Projects Fail? PLANNING!
In C&M’s experience, failure to deliver value on Social Media projects is 95.769% down to the lack of a plan. Why? Because 95.6579% of the time Social Media is seen as free
