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I’m not an expert on SM, SEO, or Internet Marketing.  I’m actually a techno-dummy doing my best to be involved with 21st century technology.  I found Twitter by accident. 

To begin with, I only tweeted with family, and kept my tweets private.  After awhile, I jumped into public tweeting. Until I was following over 100 people, I read every single tweet.  Then there came the breaking point when I could no longer keep up, and let me tell you, it made me very anxious!  Who might I be accidentally ignoring? What great bits of information was I missing? 

I’ve read quite a few of the “Top 10 Ways to Use Twitter” and similar posts made by those who are Internet experts of one kind or another.  Now that I’ve been tweeting four about 4 months, I’m offering my own non-expert opinion of how to use Twitter for the everyday person.  My opinion, for what it’s worth:

1. Follow your Followers.  This is not only polite, but you never know who you’re going to meet.  With very few exceptions, I follow all of my followers.  The ones I don’t are either spammers, someone who rarely posts updates, or someone that I really just have no common interest with after I’ve followed them for awhile.

2. Don’t auto-DM your new followers.  This is considered bad manners in Twitterland, so go with the consensus and be polite.  If you want to greet your followers, look at their profiles, find something interesting about them, and send them a personal @ tweet.

3. Follow people who interest you.  Don’t be a twitter groupie, following someone just because they have a high ranking, regardless of whether or not you are interested in their tweets.  I will read through the twitter stream, find a tweet that catches my interest, and look at that person’s profile.  If they sound interesting, I follow them.  If they don’t follow me back, that’s ok.  As long as I find them interesting, informative, inspiring, or amusing, I’ll keep following.  I have built up a fantastic collection of tweeple to follow, from @Scobleizer (to improve my techy knowledge) to @GlobalHugTour (an ambitious project to hug the globe), @RobertGirandola (an artist), @SteveOuch (a children’s book author), and @HolisticMamma (an amazing woman who is not only holistic, but knows what she’s doing on the Internet).  I’ve made some wonderful connections, found people to network with, gained a LOT of knowledge through links, and had some good laughs too.  I can’t mention everyone here, as I now follow more than 400 people from all over the world.

4. You can’t read every tweet, so don’t try.  Do your best to read all of your @replies and DMs, and always answer back. (Auto DMs are the exception, don’t feel obliged to respond.) Dip into the twitter stream as much as you have time for, but set a limit.  It can be very easy to get lost in tweets and not get your work done. 

5. Participate in a meaningful way.  Answer questions, join in conversations, retweet, give compliments, post links.  Posting general tweets is ok, but realize that only a relatively few people will see them, the stream just moves too fast.  Make as many @replies as you can, that way you are having interaction.  If someone asks a question that you can answer, do it.  I had the really fun experience of writing a book review for @SteveOuch just by answering his request.  It wasn’t something I’d ever done before, but I loved it. And don’t be afraid to ask questions either, you’ll get great feedback.

6. Don’t only tweet about stuff you sell.  I’m not offended by sales tweets, but if that’s all the person ever tweets, I’ll most likely stop following.  Throw in some personal conversation so I can get to know you.  Then I might want to know about what you’re selling.

7. Use TweetDeck. It divides the twitter stream into columns. There is the full stream, then all your @replies, your DMs, and tweets you have marked as favorites.  You can also make groups to follow, so it makes it easier to see tweets from your favorites that you don’t want to miss anything from.

8. Be polite.  Show good manners, say please and thank you, and don’t use profanity.  Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say in person, or that you would not want your mother or your boss to read.  Remember, once something is in cyberspace, it’s there forever for anyone to see.

9. Complete your profile.  I want to see a picture, or at least an avatar other than the default.  Not only does this personalize your tweets, it brands them too.  I often scroll through looking for a particular picture to find that person.  Also, make sure you have a link to your web site.  That’s how I find out about who you are, confirm that you are legit, and decide if I want to follow you.  No link means no follow.  Be creative with your bio, don’t just list your business info, put something personal in there too.

10. Be yourself.  In the end, Twitter will be what you make of it.  Aside from basic etiquette, don’t worry too much about what you are “supposed” to be doing with Twitter.  It’s a great big informal party.  Some people are talking business, some are sharing tidbits about their families, some are discussing the latest news, and others are just telling jokes. Join the party – have fun.