Twitter Tips: What To Tweet

You have an account on Twitter and use it to read stuff that people have to say. You look at their tweets and wonder how they can think of something clever and deep to say every day. Then you sigh and log off because you have never figured out what to say on Twitter. Then this article is for you.

Useful or Interesting?

There are two kinds of people on twitter who get noticed - the ones who say something useful or the people who say something interesting. The stars are of course the ones who say something which is both useful and they say it in a manner that is interesting. They turn out to be the influencers. Of course, if you are a star like Lady Gaga (@LadyGaga) it is not surprising that she has 45.8 million followers. Or like Barack Obama (@BarackObama) who has 58.2 million followers.Think of yourself like a roadside magician in a large plaza where lots of performers are showing off their skills. You first have to get a few people to pause and listen to what you have to say before you can show them what you have. These are people with short attention spans. The ones who are interesting or entertaining start to get more people to watch them perform. A large crowd will automatically attract more people. Twitter is no different.

Being Useful

I tweet about topics that I care about – technology, design, films, books etc. Between being interesting and being useful, it is much easier to be useful. Ideas and suggestions that will teach people how to solve a problem fall in this category. Follow curators and experts who share their own writings and videos. Leverage your expertise and experience to tell people things that they will benefit from and that does not mean surreptitiously plugging your product.

• Tips, how-to advice, life hacks etc.
• Sharing statistics that people can use in their work
• Add a comment to the video or article link that tells people why it will be useful
• Share your own experience about your hobby or passion
• Retweet what the expert or curators have shared that you have used.
• Live tweet the interesting ideas from a conference.
• Ask a question to seek a perspective or gather new ideas

Being Interesting

Tell people what you think people will care about. So stuff that is mundane and that includes sharing what you are wearing today, or that you are stuck in traffic do not instantly become top of the mind items that your followers are dying to hear – unless you are a celeb. It is OK for Katy Perry to say, “All packed and ready for ASIA” and leaves her fans gasping in anticipation. Such a statement from most others will not make others stop in their tracks. Anything that evokes an emotion falls into this category.

• Share an inspiring quote
• Share something funny (this one is hard)
• Applaud someone who is brave or fighting against odds
• Share a photo from an event others would have wanted to go to, but can’t.
• Thank someone. On a Friday, tweet the Twitter id of someone you wish to endorse and add #FF to the tweet
• Share your dreams
• Share a song that resonates with your philosophy or describes your life perfectly.

Finally, how often should you tweet? Tweet as often as you eat is a good tip to follow.What else could you add to the list of useful or interesting things that you tweet about? Don’t forget to add your Twitter handle in the comments below.------------Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduriHow to be more interesting?Are you an Analog or Digital Leader?