Tips for Better Tweetin

Twitter is evidence not only of the inherent power of language, but also illustrates approximately 600 times per second (http://bit.ly/9ImDbz) how quality conquers over quantity.

I wonder if the very first group of minimalists who coined the phrase “less is more” ever imagined just how much more less would be; a quantifiable string of characters: one hundred and forty to be exact. Today, this is called the tweet.

Twitter is revolutionizing the way that we communicate – and changing traditional business models with it. T-Mobile’s current campaign has adopted Twitter’s character model in its latest campaign, “Straight Talking” by challenging business owners to submit a 140 character pitch explaining what makes their business so great for a prize of £2000. Not only is this T-Mobile Biz campaign an indication of changing times but highlights the importance of clear, precise and quick communication in the information age.

In order to celebrate this shift, I have included a few tips to help you maximize the effectiveness of your tweets and help you become an expert amongst the “short form” generation.

Hash tag: Keywords prefixed by “#” dress up your tweet. They put emphasis on particular words, classify your tweet and make it easily searchable.

For example: #HurricaneED

Link: Provide helpful links to supplement your tweets and share more information.

For example: Hurricane causes £10M worth of damage in CA is not as effective as Hurricane causes £10M worth of damage in CA http://bit.ly/hurric #HurricaneEd

Be Retweet Friendly: Retweets are the Twitter’s highway through the online sphere. When someone retweets you they broadcast your tweet to their own social community. This gives you visibility beyond your own community so that you can get noticed by new potential followers.

Take advantage of this by making it easy for someone to retweet you. Don’t use your full 140 characters, so when others go to re-tweet you they can add the prefix RT (re-tweet) to your original tweet.

For example: RT@username Hurricane causes £10M worth of damage in CA www.bit.ly/hurric. #HurricaneED

Retweet Others: If someone you follow has said something interesting don’t be afraid to share it, but give them credit. When you re-tweet include prefix RT with their @username (RT@username) and share it with your followers. You can re-format the tweet but make sure you give the credit where it is due.

Communicate: Interact with the community by replying to their tweets and directly interacting by using the @ function. Example: @username you make a great point. Have you seen this? http://bit.ly.natdisaster

Tweet Often, but Don’t Pollute: Do not tweet continuously but do tweet often. Share information that is valuable and helpful. Remember: Quality vs. Quantity. Have a presence without the “noise.

Participate in Follow Friday: Every Friday acknowledge your favourite Twitter accounts with the rest of your community by sharing their usernames and hash tagging Follow Friday. This is a nice way to demonstrate your appreciation for their effort and share with your existing community. The more you recommend those you follow, the more chance there is that they will recommend you.

For example: Thanks for the great music reviews @username @username @username @username #FollowFriday.

If you are a business owner don’t forget to enter the T-Mobile Business Pitch competition here and practice your tweeting skills – and the next time you tweet, remember less is more!