{"id":2540,"date":"2010-01-11T15:20:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-11T23:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=2540"},"modified":"2010-01-11T15:25:39","modified_gmt":"2010-01-11T23:25:39","slug":"using-twitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2010\/01\/11\/using-twitter\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Twitter"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. FAME<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s what it’s based on.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe only personal fame, your friends and family, but in a cacophonous world, we only want the tweets of those we know and care about.<\/p>\n

Let me be clear here.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not speaking about Twitter power users.\u00c2\u00a0 Power users use Twitter as an overall information platform, searching for breaking news utilizing hash signs and search functions.\u00c2\u00a0 It is possible that the general public will embrace this way of acquiring up to date information, but your goal now is to further bond people to you, so start with the basics.<\/p>\n


2. WHAT TO TWEET<\/span><\/p>\n

Your personality.\u00c2\u00a0 First and foremost.\u00c2\u00a0 If your identity does not come through, you’re not doing it right.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, stating an opinion might subject you to abuse, but welcome to the Web, where too many powerful people used to having their asses kissed are confronted with criticism for the first time and hate it.<\/p>\n

And speaking of hate…\u00c2\u00a0 There are pure haters out there.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re getting no negative feedback, you’re not doing it right. The key isn’t to take the edges off your tweets, but to build up your armor to the point where the negativity doesn’t penetrate.<\/p>\n


2. a. THE TWEET MUST BE YOU<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe it references your location, your birth place, your career, but assume that people already know a lot about you. Hit the ground running.\u00c2\u00a0 Twitter is for fans, not casual listeners.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s the opposite of terrestrial radio.\u00c2\u00a0 If people don’t feel like insiders reading your tweets, you’re doing it wrong.<\/p>\n

2. b. CONTENT<\/span><\/p>\n

Both personal and informational.\u00c2\u00a0 What you’re doing is cool.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you’re tweeting the mundane, you’d better be truly famous, worthy of TMZ coverage.\u00c2\u00a0 Otherwise, put a hook in it.\u00c2\u00a0 You went to your fave diner and suddenly it sucks.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re at the beach and the visuals are mindblowing.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re eating Chunky Monkey at Ben & Jerry’s (illustrating your favorite flavor.)\u00c2\u00a0 It’s the opposite of traditional corporate music marketing.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead of "Hello Cleveland", it’s the Motel 6 next to the venue SUCKS and where can I get a good western omelette!<\/p>\n

2. c. QUESTIONS<\/span><\/p>\n

If you really want to know something, nothing is better than Twitter.\u00c2\u00a0 But don’t ask if you don’t want to know.\u00c2\u00a0 Where can I get a great hamburger here, the lock switch on my iPod is stuck, how do I fix it, has anybody seen this movie and is it any good?<\/p>\n

People want to be your friend.\u00c2\u00a0 Treat them as friends.\u00c2\u00a0 If you ask a friend a question and then ignore him, he’s pissed.<\/p>\n

2. d. INSIDE INFORMATION<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re in the studio, tell a story about it.\u00c2\u00a0 Or sent a twitpic.\u00c2\u00a0 Especially if it concerns something funny or someone famous.<\/p>\n

3. FREQUENCY<\/span><\/p>\n

Every day is more important than ten tweets in a row and then none for a week.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t see tweeting as an obligation, do it upon inspiration.\u00c2\u00a0 Some people love to tweet, that’s fine, tweet away.\u00c2\u00a0 But don’t feel guilty if you suddenly have nothing to say.\u00c2\u00a0 But don’t self-edit to the point where you say nothing.<\/p>\n

4. ANSWER QUESTIONS<\/span><\/p>\n

Who is this person in the credits?\u00c2\u00a0 Let your followers know.<\/p>\n

5. FIX PROBLEMS<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the number one way to bond Twitter followers to you.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only do you look good to other followers, the person whose problem you solved will tell anybody and everybody how great you are.\u00c2\u00a0 If someone got screwed, say you’ll get right on it.\u00c2\u00a0 And then have your manager or another team member address it instantly.\u00c2\u00a0 Yes, speed is of the essence. These are your fans, don’t make them wait, the same way you’d never arrive late for a hot date.<\/p>\n

6. SIGN UP<\/span><\/p>\n

Stop hemming and hawing, stop debating the inevitable march of the future, stop lumping Twitter in with MySpace and Facebook, stop making excuses why you can’t play.<\/p>\n

You’re afraid to play.\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, that’s the truth.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re afraid of looking like an idiot, like you’re not hip, like you’re boring.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you start on Twitter, you’ll get the hang of it very quickly.\u00c2\u00a0 And you’ll begin experimenting, finding what works for you.<\/p>\n

7. ARC<\/span><\/p>\n

At first you’re thrilled, you live to tweet.<\/p>\n

Then a lull occurs.\u00c2\u00a0 Why am I doing this again?\u00c2\u00a0 How come my follower number is not increasing exponentially?<\/p>\n

Maybe you’ll stop for a week.<\/p>\n

But continue to play.<\/p>\n

It’s a new world.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t see this as direct to dividend.\u00c2\u00a0 See it as a living, breathing procedure.\u00c2\u00a0 Kind of like making music. Twitter should not be calculated, but an adventure.<\/p>\n

And it does pay dividends.\u00c2\u00a0 Both career-wise and emotionally.<\/p>\n

8. CONCLUSION<\/span><\/p>\n

Not everybody wants to follow you, but your fans are dying to.\u00c2\u00a0 Because fans want more.\u00c2\u00a0 And the more you reveal, the more unique you are, the less corporate bland you are, the more people will follow you and feel good about you.<\/p>\n

\n
Start here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Use your real name, or a reasonable facsimile there of.\u00c2\u00a0 This is not AOL in 1995, where you adopt an obscure handle that only you know the derivation of, you want to be able to be found, and followed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. FAME That’s what it’s based on.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe only personal fame, your friends and family, but in a cacophonous world, we only want the tweets of those we know and care about. Let me be clear here.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not speaking about Twitter power users.\u00c2\u00a0 Power users use Twitter as an overall information platform, searching for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-online"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-EY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2540"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2542,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2540\/revisions\/2542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}