Are You Making These Twitter Mistakes?

Does this describe your experience with Twitter? You’ve heard that you’re supposed to be on Twitter in order to build your list and get more sales. You’ve signed up and try to get involved and post updates, but it doesn’t seem to be working out. You wonder what the hype is all about – it’s certainly hasn’t helped your business the way that you expected it to.

A lot of people jump on Twitter each day and expect to see instant results from their efforts. However there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to using Twitter effectively. If you’re not happy with your results, make sure you aren’t making any of these Twitter mistakes.

1. Not getting actively involved.

Don’t start a Twitter account just to leave it empty or barely populated. If your account looks empty, people are less likely to follow you. Just maintain a consistent posting schedule (2 to 3 per day) to begin with and grow from there.

2. Tweeting too much.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are people who Tweet way too much. Tweeting too often can discourage followers. Just like you wouldn’t fill your list member’s inboxes with lots of messages during the day, you shouldn’t abuse Twitter. Start small and then see what gets responses or retweets. Build on that and do more of the same.

3. Being overly self-promotional

I can hear your complaints already – “Why am I on Twitter if I’m not supposed to promote myself?” Keep in mind that there is a line between promotion and over-promotion. It’s important to Tweet about your new products, new blog posts and new websites. Just make sure to balance that with posting other people’s links, responding and retweeting others.

4. Not communicating with others.

Twitter is not a one-way conversation. Make sure to reply to others and comment on their Tweets. Ask questions, retweet important messages and respond to people’s questions. The more you get involved, the more likely that other people will return the favor and pass on your messages. Watch your replies and thank people for retweeting your messages. It will help build your reputation and your follower list.

5. Not customizing your Twitter background.

Although Twitter offers some great looking backgrounds, they really aren’t personalized at all. Twitter backgrounds can be customized in order to display information about your business, tell people what you’re all about and encourage your visitors to visit your website. Look up instructions for creating your own Twitter background or hire someone to do it for you on Scriptlance.com or VWorker.com.

6. Using automated direct messages.

There are programs that will allow you to automatically direct message someone when they follow you. These may seem helpful, but a lot of users find them annoying. It’s better to be safe than sorry and avoid the automated direct messages entirely.

7. Following more people than are following you.

In order to maintain a good balance of followers and those you are following, you should avoid bulk following tons of users at a time. Build your list naturally and you’ll find a good balance.