Using Twitter: The Importance of Being a Leader & Follower

I’m still fairly new to twitter, but I’ve picked up a few things in the year I’ve been micro-blogging. In fact I’m even starting to have friends and clients come to me first when they have questions about how to use twitter.

I’m admit, there are times I feel like a graduate teaching assistant, trying to keep myself a lesson ahead of the class, so I think it’s time for a basic review. Here’s one of the recent questions I’ve been getting:

I want a lot of people following me. Do I need to follow a lot of people back?

Short answer yes, long answer no. The goal is to build a network. It can’t be a one-sided relationship, but it’s it’s essential to find a balance that works for you.

Show Your Personal Side

You’re judged by the company you keep. Potential buyers want to see the personal side of your organization. The bios on Twitter are really short. Who you follow lets people see what you’re into and who you hang with. If I’m checking out someone’s account I want to see who they’re following.

I look at their ratio. A user who follows thousands of people but has very few followers, will often be a spammer or a wallflower. Either way I’m usually not interested.

Find Like-Minded People

Every few weeks I like to spend a morning taking a closer look at who I’m following. I visit their time-line to see who else is following them, because chances are, those folks have similar interests to me. If I follow them and jump into the conversation, hopefully they’ll return the favor down the road. Especially if I’m sharing content that benefits them.

Instant Authority

Twitter is all about making connections and sharing information. It’s never been easier to find and spread awesome content to your followers. Bringing them fresh info makes you an instant authority and they’ll come looking for you often.

The question is, where will that content come from? Those you follow are a great source for instant information you can share with your potential customers. Helping others spread content hopefully means they’ll do the same when your promoting your next blog post or product launch.

Customer Service

Following your customers lets you respond to their concerns quickly, which is just good customer service. Staying involved lets you hear all the great things they’re saying about you and your brand. It’s also a great way to share your success stories. Retweeting praise is an simple and free way to let everyone know that you’re keeping your customers satisfied.

More importantly, you can respond quickly if they aren’t happy. The bottom line is that you’re interacting, showing that you care.

Identify the Influencers

Twitter is essentially a giant cocktail party. At any party there are some people that do a lot more talking than others. Maybe they have the best stories to tell, or they’re great at small talk, but it’s important to target those folks that bring a little more influence to the party.

These are usually folks that have hundreds or thousands of followers but don’t follow that many themselves. They’ve already put in the work to generate a massive following, and they’re obviously providing great info or people wouldn’t stick around to hear what they had to say.

Go ahead and join their conversations. The key is to always bring something useful to the party. Influencers are a great resource if you can interact with them in a way that benefits them and their followers. Getting an influencer to comment on one of your tweets means getting your brand in front of thousands of eyeballs, which can bring a slew of new followers.

Quality Vs. Quantity

I don’t follow thousands of people. I just can’t keep track of that many people. I’d rather keep things a little more intimate. For me a close circle of friends sharing usable info is better than thousands of people tweeting about how they burned their eggs or why their boyfriend is a jerk.

There are no hard and fast rules for using twitter and there are entire books devoted to techniques designed to help you build a strategy. It’s essential that you pay attention and find a ratio that works for you and your brand.

Chris Vanasdalan is a full-time writer and part time PR honk who would love to talk to you about developing a social media strategy. You can follow him on twitter here... or check out his website www.writenowindy.com.

Indiana County Council Hopeful Involved in Car Crash: Opponent First on Scene

Chris Vanasdalan

Henry County, INDIANA -A Democratic candidate for Henry County Council was involved in a car accident last night, and his Republican opponent was one of the first to spot the crash.

Steve Duggar (R) tells WXIN-TV in Indianapolis he was picking up his nieces from their home in Caddus, Indiana last night when he spotted a damaged car stopped along the road. Duggar says he was “the first one there to look in on the person, and it was my opponent, Steve Holmes.”

Duggar told WXIN, “You know, I recognized him, but it was such a... such a surprise. You know, of all people to see, it was my opponent.”

Duggar says one of his nieces called her mother, an EMT, who drove to the scene and stayed with Holmes (D) until emergency crews arrived. Duggar says Mr. Holmes was not seriously injured, but WXIN is reporting that a victim from another car involved was air-lifted to an Indianapolis hospital.

Witnesses say Holmes may have attempted to pass someone and hit an oncoming car head on.

The crash is still under investigation.

Are You a Vampire Power Slayer?

One of the scariest things you see this Halloween might just be your electric bill. When cold weather comes, utility bills go up, terrorizing your bank account. But there is an easy way to cut down on energy use around the home and save you cash in the process.

There’s no trick to cutting energy waste, in fact it’s a treat. I’m talking about hunting down “vampire power,” just by unplugging electronics and appliances while you’re not using them.

About vampire power

Even when they’re switched off, electronics use energy to power things like remote control sensors and lights. That means day and night, energy vampires are sucking away, drawing energy from your home and money from your wallet.



This waste really adds up. In fact, your electronics use most of their energy when switched “off.”

Around 10% of the typical home’s electricity bill goes to feeding these vampires. In total, vampire power costs Americans more than $10 billion every year.

The most wanted list

Focus your slaying efforts on the thirstiest energy vampires in your home. The worst offenders can be found in your home office or entertainment system. Computers, monitors, speakers, TV’s, DVD players, video game systems and cell phone chargers are some of the worst offenders.

Be a smart slayer

These energy vampires don’t have to terrorize your family. attach them to a smart power strip, or unplug them when not in use. With all the money you save you’ll be able to go out and get yourself some candy.

Your electric bills don't have to be so scary

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more easy ways to save money on utility bills, or to download these cool Halloween decorations, check out Repower at Home, a project of the Alliance for Climate Protection. They’re dedicated to empowering communities to save energy.