The Great Twitter Project - Big changes!

October10

So after relentlessly adding zillions of people to Twitter (marketing and social media enthusiasts) I have ended up with the following results:

I’ve gotten plenty of visits to my blog, some valuable feedback (thanks for the posts!), 75 direct messages, and hundreds of @replies. I’m at just over a 2:1 ratio of Following:Followers - and I’m learning so much already!

Some of the interesting things I’ve seen:

some people have set up Twitter accounts for their pets (I thought this was only a Facebook phenomenon?). I guess dogs really are still man’s best friend!
people are very quick to offer their help - I’ve had dozens of offers to help with my Wordpress problem, and my Facebook media buying project has gotten plenty of advice. Great showing of community on Twitter!
networking is King - my Facebook and LinkedIn profiles are growing by the hour with like-minded, internet-savvy, marketing and social media enthusiasts. Exactly the kind of people I want to associate with!
Twitter is a great traffic pusher, I’ve had lots of people check out my blog and it’s helping to keep the momentum going!

I’m interested to see how my Following/Followers numbers will change. I’m going to change my approach and go at it organically from here on in - no mega-adds - and get off the Twitter steroids (thanks eromedome22!).

I’ll use the following tips/feedback that I got:

Keep your Twitter background simple, so that it doesn’t take away from your Tweets (EarlC)
Always thank the people who follow you, “let them know they matter” (vincenthunt)
Tweet, tweet, and keep on tweeting! (benlucier - who has to date 2,049 updates!)
Keep your content interesting, and then it really doesn’t matter what your Following:Follower ratio is (martinjy)

Thanks to everyone for your feedback and your comments on this - I’ll post again in a little while to see where I’m at.

Does anyone have any other tips to add on best Twitter practices?

posted under Social Media

7 Comments to

“The Great Twitter Project - Big changes!”

On October 10th, 2008 at 2:30 pm Jenny McCutcheon Says:
Hi Tiffany! These are some great observations about Twitter.

I am new to Twitter and am totally blown away by the effectiveness of this networking tool. I have already met some amazing people, and have connected with so many people in my field (eMarketing, social media, digital communications).

This is an interesting project you have going. Please tweet any updates!

Jenny McCutcheon
@jennymccutcheon
http://www.JennyMcCutcheon.com
On October 10th, 2008 at 2:42 pm Austin Aaron Says:
Ratio mos def does not matter. Twitter is about quantity over quality. It’s not myspace! There’s no popularity contest. Focus on what you publish. Be YOU, and people will show interest. And if not, do you really just need them to increase your “followers”? The answer is “no”.

Make credible contacts. People that are of no use to you, are of no use to you. Next!

@AustinAaron
http://www.twitter.com/austinaaron
On October 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pm Sarah Rasmussen Says:
Hi, Tiffany, this is interesting - I’m new to Twitter and trying to figure out the balance between connecting with old/former friends/acquaintances and how to use it now for professional benefits - all without being totally overwhelmed and getting Twitter-ed out. I wonder how long it’ll take to figure out.

Thanks,
Sarah
On October 10th, 2008 at 3:35 pm Lyn Mettler Says:
I’m interested in following your Twitter project. I continue to experiment with Twitter myself and finding it very valuable. It does work wonders to actually respond to everyone who follows you and check them out. They often do it in return. Interesting that it’s building your Facebook and LinkedIn network. Has that happened on its own or are you asking people to go there? Thanks!
On October 10th, 2008 at 3:41 pm Leah Mullen Says:
Hi Tiffany,

Thanks so much for this post. I’m also new to Twitter. At the same time I just started up my regular blog again, created a shelfari page, started doing amazon reviews, set up a myspace page etc….I haven’t even begun to measure the effectivenes of all of this yet, but I’ll keep the numbers in mind.

For me Twitter is a FANTASTIC source of information. I probably click on three or four links posted by followers and followees every day. I’d click much more if I had the time.

I’m definitely interested in your project, thanks for keeping me posted.

Leah
http://ww.leahmullen.com
http://mylifeisapageturner.blogspot.com/
On October 10th, 2008 at 4:11 pm Simon Says:
Glad Twitter is working out for you. And, just for the record, I would have been glad to help with the WP problem if I knew anything about WordPress!
On October 10th, 2008 at 7:16 pm Dani Says:
Try to leave a relevant comment and a pertinent link with most of your posts. That will help increase your traffic, and gain you a following. I agree that Twitter is the fastest and best way to get the word out about your other sites.

Dani
@blogbooktours