A couple of weeks ago, Twitter announced that they are now seeing an average of 155 million tweets per day on the site. With only 140 characters to work with, it’s difficult to get anyone’s attention in the midst of all that noise. The experts say you must post frequently, but not too frequently. You must post at peak times, but not always at the same time. You must retweet quality content, but not too often.
It sounds as if there could be a perfect algorithm for Twitter success. However, following these rules too closely can leave your Twitter feed feeling robotic.
Have you ever noticed that you follow certain actors or athletes, even though you’re not a fan of their movies or team? Dwight Howard has a tremendous amount of followers, but Shaquille O’Neal has nearly double the amount of Howard. Why is this? Both are future Hall of Fame players, have larger than life personalities, and promote products outside of basketball, but more people are drawn to Shaq by a landslide.
We are drawn to Twitter feeds that have a certain “human” element to them. Shaq does a fantastic job at this, and so can you.
The Bio
Twitter gives us 160 characters to tell the world who we are and why we’re here. Take advantage of this. Use the bio to not only explain your business or product, but also tell us something about yourself that makes you unique.
The Background
Twitter gives you plenty of great options for the background of your Twitter page, so you should simply use the one you like most, right? Wrong! Use this opportunity to go beyond the 160 characters in the bio and show people what you’re all about. It should be a reflection of your product or business, and your personality.
Retweets
Often, we find ourselves becoming lazy and either taking advantage of the newer retweet format, or simply slapping an “RT” on the front of someone else’s post and calling it a day. How do we know that your retweet wasn’t simply the action of a bot? Add your comments to the post, compliment the originator, or simply tell us why you thought it was worthy of a retweet.
You can follow a precise recipe for attracting followers, and it will work to a point. However, the real influencers on Twitter never let people forget that there’s a human being behind their posts.
Tags: Twitter