Twitter is an invaluable tool for bloggers, but there are a few rules you should be following as you network and share information. Believe it or not, I see these rules being broken almost every day, and it drives me a little crazy! So I’m putting a quick post together to help you with some dos and don’ts for navigating Twitter successfully.
- If someone mentions you, RTs you, or favorites one of your tweets, respond or say “thank you.” It means someone took time out of their busy day to acknowledge you and they should be acknowledged in return.
- Use hashtags sparingly. More than three in a single tweet is overkill.
- Put a “.” in front of the @name if you want all your followers to see it. If you start a tweet with an @name, only that person and people who follow both of you will see it!
- Do not copy and paste someone’s tweet as your own. Use the RT function or put quotes around it.
- RT = Retweet; MT = modified tweet. If you’re retweeting someone’s tweet word-for-word, place “RT” at the beginning so your followers know it’s not your tweet. If you are retweeting someone’s tweet and changing the wording in any way, use “MT” at the beginning.
- If you send someone a DM, tweet them to let them know. Not everyone has it set to get DMs in their email box.
- Responding to #FF – type something at the start of the tweet or else your followers can’t see your response. A major benefit of the #FF hashtag is to introduce your followers to new users. If someone is kind enough to tag you in a #FF post, be sure to not only respond, but respond in a way so your followers can see it.
Do you have any Twitter tips to add to the list?
