People have different reasons for going on Twitter: To make friends, expand networks, promote products, establish branding, kill time, share information, receive information and to support a cause.
No matter what’s the reason, we (I’m talking about normal people here) all want to be comfortable, adequate and likable.
To help you go no further from achievable that, here are 10 common Twitter errors to avoid.
1. Getting Emotional
No matter where you are, getting emotional normally switches off your rational mind causing you to do silly things. There are tons of different people out there on Twitter from different backgrounds with different goals. Encountering a personality clash is not unusual. Be mature and avoid taking criticism too harshly.
2. Overly ROI oriented
Being too engrossed in monitoring ROI can lead you to overlook other important components of social media. Although social media marketing is arguably measurable, it does not mean you should track it 24/7 and only improve on the measurable indicators. What matters are the intangible assets you’re gaining from relationships and customer satisfaction.
3. Not ROI Oriented
About 80% of tweeps use Twitter for business purposes and you’re probably one of them. If you don’t have tools to measure your social media effectiveness, it is as good as using the tools blindly.
4. Handling Too Many Social Media Accounts
Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, Plurk, Digg, Reddit, Delicious, Mixx, Technorati, StumbleUpon and the list goes on. Choose only the tools that will help you engage your target customers effectively and give the rest up. Track each tool’s effectiveness by measuring ROI and observing overall response.
Bottom line: Don’t get stuck onto Twitter.
5. Boasting Expertise
There are many people online who claim to be a guru of a certain area. But can we trust what people say about themselves? Can we see behind the display pictures and usernames and find out if who they are is real. Sometimes we are tired of discerning information and we are just looking for an average joe who speaks with sincerity and personal experience. If your materials are good, people will acknowledge them sooner or later.
6. Spamming
Alright, you have a great link to share with your followers but ONE tweet is really all they need. Don’t go about spamming, as it is an eyesore to see multiple status updates by the same person all at one go. Repeating the same update after some time is fine because followers tend to miss valuable tweets along the way. Do it with discretion.
7. Not Being Social
Don’t turn into a robot on social media. Try sticking to being a human and spark conversations with your friends and followers. Listen and help them with their problems if possible. Twitter is called a SOCIAL media for a reason.
8. Inconsistency in Style
We all adopt an unique style of own when we interact with others face to face. It is no different in the digital world. Don’t try to be someone else or lose your personality just because you are online. For the record, people can feel the difference. Spare yourself the torture.
9. Annoying Auto Status Update
Nothing can be more annoying than people who artificially schedule their tweets to last for the entire day. Which means, they are basically not there. Worse of all, these tweets are most of the time a clone of the previous one. It is not cool to spam or have ‘API’ linked to your tweets.
10. Not Leaving Enough Room for People to Retweet
Someone loves your tweet and wants to retweet it. Guess what? You have skillfully packed everything into exactly 140 characters. Before you feel all proud of yourself, think about the hassle others have to go through removing unimportant characters and shortening your tweet before they can retweet with your name in it. Chances are, they wouldn’t even bother doing it. Make retweeting and sharing convenient for your readers.
