A Beginner's Guide to Tweeting: Engage

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What do I Tweet About??

Take a lesson from this tweet by @partyalamode: Don't focus on promoting yourself.  #EIR your followers instead - that means  Engage, Inform and Retweet your followers.  Here is a brief rundown of the entire #EIR strategy from a post I did last year.

In honor of the upcoming BizBash Social Media Lounge that Lindsay Fultz and I will be hosting in two weeks, we will be posting tips for beginners.  And this week we will focus on Engaging because it is probably the most important thing you can do to start building relationships on Twitter. 

1 - Mention People

The @ sign is what you put in front of a Twitter handle to make sure that person is alerted to your tweet. It lets them know that the tweet is either directed at them, or contains information pertaining to them or that they would be interested in.

In the conversation here between GregRuby and PlannerWire, you see that PlannerWire starts off by posting a link to his LinkedIn page while giving Greg a shout out for the original idea. Greg saw the tweet and a conversation ensued. 

This is a great example of the kind of warm, light-hearted dialogue that is common on Twitter.

2 -  Ask a Question

It might be about the upcoming football game on TV or it might be a question targeted to your community about a common business issue.  If you are curious, tweet it out there. You may have to ask the question twice, but this is a great way to get a dialogue going. 

3 - Answer a Question

Even better than asking a question is answering one.  No one wants to be that lone voice crying in the wilderness.  You can be the hero by answering back, and thus beginning a dialogue that can lead to a friendship.

4 - Say Thank You, OFTEN!

If someone answers your question or retweets you (you'll know they've done this when you see the RT followed by the @ and your Twitter handle) make sure to say thank you and ask them how they are or start up a conversation some other way. Make sure to use their real name (usually you can find it on their Twitter profile.)

5 - Comment on a Great Link

Did someone just post a link to a blog article that helped you? Let them know. Or if they post consistently good content, give them some postive feedback. Anytime you can reach out and say something nice, that is sincere, take that opportunity. You will make a positive impression.

6 - Join a Chat

There are opportunities to join Twitter chats on many different topics.  You can see a schedule of most of the Twitter chats here.  This is a WONDERFUL networking opportunity that will help to educate you at the same time.  Just do a search for the chat hashtag (ei #eventprofs, #engage365) and then follow the stream at the appointed time.

Twitter chats can go pretty fast - but don't be intimidated.  Lurkers are usually welcome so you can just watch the chat a few times to get a feel for it and then join in when you feel comfortable.  If you are an event industry professional, I highly recommend the Eventprofs chat held every Tuesday at 9 pm eastern and Thursday at 12 pm eastern; and the Engage365 chat held every Friday at 1 pm eastern.

Happy Engaging!!!