I recently helped my CEO dive into the wonderful world of Twitter. As I sat in his office explaining retweets, favorites, direct messages, at replies, and all the other lingo and actions that go along with it, I was forced to think more about Twitter and how I use it. Twitter is not a social media site that just happens, you need to understand it in order to use it well. And in order to make your efforts worth it, it’s crucial that you DO use it well. With that being said, I wanted to take a moment to share my discoveries on Twitter as a personal asset for networking and building meaningful relationships.

When I first heard about Twitter years ago, I was pretty skeptical. Like many people today, I couldn’t wrap my mind around why people would care to read little tidbits about my life. Who actually cared enough to receive a play by play of my day on their cell phones, or sit at a computer following my updates?  It just seemed bizarre that anything of worth would come from it. However, I reluctantly made an account,so I could “keep up with the Jones’s.”  At that time I had no grasp on Twitter and how I could use it to benefit my personal and professional career. Over the years (and after lots of ridiculous tweeting) I feel I have learned enough to master this new form of communication, and I even feel confident enough to label myself a “Twitter Professional.”  Please hold the applause! With that being said, I’d like to establish some of the important do’s and don’t’s of the effective Twitter user. I know I know, there have been like…a MILLION blogs written about Twitter, why write another? Well, I believe I have some insight to offer that is a bit different than most…

For those of you who don’t know I am more than just the Marketing Associate for Pakedge Device & Software. I am the Youth Pastor for The Sacred Church, Founder of Ignite 300 Ministries and Conference and an Avid SF Giants baseball fan. I do not have multiple Twitter handles for the different industries and ministries I’m involved in, instead I Tweet about all topics and engage with many different types of people all under one handle. I have been asked questions like, “Why would the #AVTweeps continue following you if you are Tweeting about a church event?”, “How do you engage your #SFGiants following if you are Tweeting about tech devices?”, “Don’t your ministry followers get offended when you Tweet things that aren’t God-related?”, and many more! My answer to all of that is…it’s all about being intentional. Because I engage with so many different industries and groups under one handle, I am being transparent and offering up all sides to my followers. In turn, they can pick and choose which Olivia they want to engage with. So here we go…

The very first step to being an effective Twitter user is your “handle” aka your Twitter username. This is how you will be identified on Twitter, direct messaged, @mentioned, and referred to in discussions. So as you can assume, this is a key part of being successful. Lucky for you (embarrassing for me) I found my original Twitter account that I created back in 2008. Apparently I thought I grew up “in the ‘hood” Tweeting things like:

“Hotttt tuuubbb yyaaaa boooiiiiiiii”

“Wooo ready to take on the day, Africana studies test, eat, econ, woorrrkk 1130 2 800 pm holllllaaaaaa”

“Heading tooo work yay for 8 and a half hours at sbux hollaaa”

“Listenin to le crea yaaaa boiiiiii”

Apparently I really enjoyed the “Hollas” and “Yea boiiiis”. * Shakes head in embarrassment*

Anyway…. I chose the Twitter handle “LivyDumanovsky” — I used my nickname and full last name. Right off the bat you can see why this name wasn’t the best idea. My last name is long…and Russian…and complicated. It makes it pretty impossible for people to search for me. Most people probably wouldn’t remember how to spell it therefore making it hard to engage. So tip #1: Create a simple yet sassy handle, one that encompasses who you are, and is easy to remember.

Another mistake I made right from the start was choosing to leave off my picture. I thought it was “putting myself out there” and dangerous. The thing about our society is we want to know who we are engaging and building relationships with. If you don’t have a current picture, you will most likely receive less followers and participate in less interactions. So, Tip #2 is upload a current picture of yourself.

Looking at my old account I had only 16 followers and followed 6. Today I have 826 followers and follow 563. What caused this tremendous difference? I engaged. You can’t expect to Tweet your head off and make no effort to show interest in others. Seek out like-minded Tweeters, people who have the same interests as you, and follow them. For example, my main Twitter categories are marketing, technology, ministry and the SFGiants. I search for other Tweeters that are passionate about any of those four topics and follow them, I then reach out to them and initiate a discussion. THAT is how you gain followers and can begin developing key relationships. So, tip #3 is ENGAGE.

On my old account, I never once used a hash tag. What’s a hashtag you ask? It’s basically a way to link together many tweets on one feed. For example, the latest phrase is YOLO (You only live once). There’s a trend of Tweeter who are writing their Tweets and adding the hashtag YOLO to it. For example, “Terrified of heights, but I’m forcing myself to try skydiving #YOLO”. This then connects this Tweet to one social feed with all the other people including #YOLO in their Tweets. This develops a sense of community and connection between strangers. Hashtags are another great way to gain followers and find like-minded people. So, tip #4 is use hashtags!

It’s hard not to cringe or burst into laughter while reading my old Tweets, but they are the perfect OPPOSITE of my 5th and final tip. Take a look at my old feed (www.twitter.com/livydumanovsky). What’s the one thing I’m NOT doing? I’m not being intentional…at all. I have a ridiculous amount of spelling errors, typos, and boring statements of what my location was or what I was doing. There was no point or thought put into what I was Tweeting. So, tip #5 is to be INTENTIONAL. It’s especially crucial to do so when you are like me and have many different types of audiences to engage. If I only ever Tweeted about technology I would be of no interest or benefit to my ministry friends and vice versa. Obviously not every tweet needs to have tons of depth and significance, but it still needs to be thought out. Mentally create your Tweet before you send it out. Ask yourself a few questions:

• “Will this engage my audience and provoke discussion?”
• “Can people relate to this and find it of relevance?”
• “Does this offer up helpful information and skills?”
• “Will someone find this humorous and get good laugh out of it?”

Regardless of the purpose there needs to be a purpose!
I think that’s enough Twitter talk for one day! I hope my crash course on Twitter will give you the necessary tools and confidence to jump head first into this magical (haha) world,  or to perfect the account you’ve already started! Have fun, engage, build relationships and remember…may your Tweets be ever intentional!

Warmest Wishes,

Olivia

PS: Check out my tweets here: twitter.com/Olivia_lyn