It’s difficult trying to be more than just another face in the crowd on Twitter. The reason for that is simple: Twitter makes it easy to stand out.
Wait … what?
Think about it: What are some really simple things you do that seemed difficult at first? For me, it was learning how to put in and take out my contact lenses. Putting them in was a pain. Not being able to get them out was scary. Now, I can do either in about 30 seconds flat. It’s a learning curve. For you, maybe you equate it with learning how to ride a bike. It’s a simple thing that anyone can do, but it’s a learning curve. You have to find your balance.
The same thing is true on Twitter. You have to find that fine balance that sets you apart from the sea of other users. So here’s the learning curve: Forget what you think you know about Twitter. Forget about keeping track of how many followers you have (a huge number of followers does not a successful Twitter account make). In this article, I’m going to show you how to put your focus on the details that actually matter. Follow my lead, and you will truly shine on Twitter.
1. Post Meaningful Content
Twitter is no different than any other online communications medium, and it follows all the rules associated with social media. If all you ever tweet about is what you had for breakfast, you will never gain anybody’s attention, even if you’re a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and you post food pics of your white truffle omelets with crème fraiche reduction every day. People will pay attention to just so much of that.
Yes, post about your breakfast. Yes, post the occasional food pic. It’s all good. Just remember one thing: If that’s all you’re posting, nobody is ever going to care. (Ouch!)
2. Offer Your 2 Cents on Your Competitors’ Tweets
Your competitors can actually be a hugely effective mouthpiece for you. You’re probably already looking at their feeds to see what they’re doing, so why not make that time work to your own advantage? If you want to become more visible, retweet their content (don’t try to duplicate it — more on that later), engage them, answer questions. Being a Twitter helper should be part of your daily posting routine.
3. Take Every Follower Seriously
What are you doing to connect with your followers? It’s one thing to talk at them constantly. It’s quite another to post content that means something to them. How many of your followers are you actually watching? What do you know about any of them? The more you learn and the more you engage, even if it’s just a core group of followers, the more you will begin to stand out. Take an active interest in your followers by engaging them directly and sharing content that means something to them.
4. Make Some Connections
When was the last time you recommended another user to one of your contacts? Keep in mind that this isn’t all about you. Find two people who need to get to know each other, and make the connection.
5. Inspire!
What is it about you that makes people want to pay attention to you? What do you do to make people smile? You don’t have to scour the Internet searching for inspirational quotes or funny pictures. Be witty. Be charming. Be interesting.
6. Share Your Perspectives
By this I don’t mean churn up controversy. Be insightful. Moreover, know what you’re retweeting. I can’t emphasize this enough. Have the presence of mind to know what you’re saying. Just because an opinion looks good or you think you agree with it, understand that you actually have a broad range of personalities, ethnicities, and races following you, so be transparent but tread lightly.
7. Remember the “Little People”
Don’t engage only the influencers. Remember that core group of followers I mentioned? It’s easy to fall into the trap of only engaging the influencers. Avoid that temptation at all costs. Every follower matters.
8. Be One of the Influencers
Build your own reputation. Why try to follow on the heels of someone else’s influence? You have a unique voice. It’s time to make it heard and make people take you seriously. Now, in order to do that, you need to be able to show you have a head on your shoulders and you have to develop certain successful habits that will naturally give you that posture (and believe me, it comes out just fine in text). Give people a reason to want to listen to you. Who knows? Your impact may be more profound than you can envision right now.
9. Ask For Help
Are you tweeting on behalf of your company or industry? If so, you might need to invest in a little help from a professional firm that specializes in social media communication to get the plane off the ground. Watch, learn, and don’t be too critical of the content you get back. Remember, you hired these people to do something you couldn’t. As you develop your own ideas and start seeing the rhythm of how your content flows, you might decide to take back the reins and make your own mark.
As a final note on this point, most people will look at the competitions’ social media accounts and try to mimic them. “Hey, it works for them, why wouldn’t it work for us?” Here’s why: Their content is unique. Yours is a cheap knockoff. Unique, meaningful content is what it’s all about.