Twitter is an exciting, cool, and potentially profitable social network site. Millions of people are now using the site to talk about various subjects. Indeed, it is a micro-blogging site for those who can’t stop talking. It is fairly easy to use, but there are a few common mistakes that most new users commit on Twitter. Before you start sending tweets, you must be aware of these common mistakes.
1. Fake ID. The picture on your avatar is not yours. Most new users don’t post their real picture. They often use the generic egg, cartoon pictures, company logos, their baby’s picture or their pet’s pictures. Although the pictures are quite cute, most Twitter users will appreciate a real picture of you. When you post your true picture on Avatar, others will think that you’re real and that you’re confident enough to let other people see you. If you’re going to upload a photo, choose the ones where you give a beautiful smile. A smile can easily brighten the day of others.
2. Automating Direct Messages (DMs). Sending direct messages automatically through an AutoDM. is impersonal and often perceived as overly pushy. If you send this type of message, you will lose followers. TweetLater is another tool that sends automatic messages. When you use these tools, messages are automatically sent to those who follow you. A message saying ‘thanks for following me’ is fine but sending automated messages promoting your business or product is not a good idea and most people will just frown at them, and not click on the links you supply.
3. Not following. Do you have any followers? If you want to have followers, you need to follow some people of the people who have chosen to follow you. You can also get followers by creating an interesting profile page. You can get followers, and keep them interested by regularly posting updates. If you keep on following people and yet you don’t make updates on your page, you can’t get followers to stick with you. You can post what you’re doing for the day or where you plan to go for the night. Tweets are great for starting conversations. You can also re-tweet other users or send them comments.
4. Watch your numbers, especially in the beginning. Check your numbers regularly. It doesn’t look good when you are following a lot of people and very few individuals following you. Try to achieve some type of balance. Use tools like Buffer, Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, to name a few, so that you don’t need to stay online all the time. Through these applications, you can divide your followers into groups. This makes it easier to track them especially when they send direct messages and replies.
5. Over-promotion. If you spend most of your time on Twitter promoting your business, people will first, ignore you; then “unfollow” you. No one likes a person who talks about himself, his business or his product most of the time. You must learn to respect others. Don’t forget that Twitter is a social network. You must learn how to communicate and build good relationships before you start bombarding them with promotions. Even if you already have a good list of leads, it is still not a good idea to barrage them with promotions. Promotional tweets should be sent in limited numbers only.
These are the common mistakes committed by new and old tweeters. Take note of them and don’t commit the same mistakes.
Thoughts?
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/3383916444/sizes/o/in/photostream/
