Twitter is a powerful tool if you use it correctly

Twitter is becoming more popular everyday. If you are a new twitter fan then do not make these common mistakes.

1. Not setting up your Twitter page properly:

Make sure you have a decent photo that people can connect with. This is one of the first things I look for before engaging with a new person. Like you, my time is valuable and I scan photo’s because it’s easy and fast, if someone doesn’t have a decent photo I move on to the next one.
Use your name instead of your @twitter username in the name section. I like to use a persons name when sending out tweets. Having a name is a great way for people to connect with you on a first name bases.
When filing out your bio use quality words, these words are searchable through many of the 3rd party tools that integrate with Twitter. Focus more on key words then sentence structure will give others a greater chance of finding you.

2. Not following up:

Follow up with the people that tweet you and send them a tweet back. This only takes a few minutes a day and by doing this will help you build a strong following.
When someone retweets your tweet send them a thank you or compliment. Retweeting others that retweet you will help you spread quickly into other people’s followers.Check your @replies and DM’s at least once per day.

3. Trying to get a large number of followers:

When I first started using Twitter all I heard about was you need to get followers. This is true, however; I quickly discovered that the quality of followers was much more important then having huge numbers of followers.
With all the 3rd party tools out there that help you auto follow people, it’s hard to focus on the quality of followers you are following. Make sure you focus on keywords that will locate the type of people you want when using these types of programs or tools.
Using keywords and the hashtag is a great way to locate people in your niche. Use alerts and key word tracking to locate people and save time.

4. Self promoting:

I see many people sending out tweets with links that are trying to sell something. Remember, people hate to be sold but love to buy. Sometimes I see tweets with just a link with no description to what the link is, talk about a waste of time.
If you are going to send out links in your tweets you should send them out in moderation. Send out other tweets in between the tweets with links. Providing value in your tweets is the key to getting people to trust you. Don’t send out to many tweets per hour. When someone fills up my twitter page with tweets going out every 3-5 minutes it doesn’t take me long to un-follow them. Using your DM is a great way to keep the twitter stream from getting over crowded.


These are just a few of the Twitter mistakes I have either made myself or have seen others make on Twitter. Just use a little common sense and you will do just fine. Ask yourself, am I tweeting to others like I would like to be tweeted to?