What Should You Be Tweeting About?

Q: What should I be tweeting about? There seem to be so many rules – something engaging, valuable, funny, interesting, social – that most of the times when it comes to posting actual updates I just draw a blank.

A: The blessing of Twitter – the 140-character limit – can also be a curse. To write succinctly one needs a lot of time – for all the revisions and editing, for chopping off all the value-less content and crafting a focused unambiguous message.

Having to come up with no more than 140 characters seems so easy! Until we realize how hard it is to write something of value that fits within this limit. Mark Twain’s famous “I’d write a shorter letter if I had more time” has never been more true. Especially since we all are constantly pressed for time.

First, lets take some pressure off of tweeting. Yes, it’d be great to continuously pump out hit one-liners. But it is not realistic. Don’t approach tweeting with an idea that every single one of your status updates MUST be a home run. Spending hours crafting a tweet is simply not worth it since very little rides on any single one of your tweets.

This is not to say that you should resort to “filler” tweets of a “I’m eating a PB&J sandwich” variety. But if your lunch selection, current or expected weather and occassional Twitter (or Gmail) slowdowns are off-limits, then what do you have left?

What should you be sharing with your followers? What is it that they want to see? They (your followers) want to…

• Have a great conversation -Give them a statement worth replying to. Reply in kind and open the lines of communication.
• Get to know the person behind the tweets – Give them the opportunity to get to know you, your personality, as well as your company and services.
• Find out about great sites, videos or information – If you find it relevant and useful, chances are someone else will appreciate the resource as well – share links.
• Share tweets that are worth sharing – Whether that comes in the form of a particularly humorous quip or a great article you have read, give them something they can retweet.
• Engage you as well – Don’t be afraid to jump in and get involved yourself. Join in on the conversations, thank a fellow Twitterer for sharing a resource you found helpful. Retweet their posts as well.

Give them what they want and what you will get in turn will be invaluable to you and your business.

Technorati Tags: Twitter, social media marketing

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