Cindy King's International Business Blog » twitter list

12 Tips to Engage People on Twitter

Cindy King — Sun, 16 May 2010 23:00:46 +0000

Here is my article which was first published on Social Media Examiner:

Are you a newcomer to Twitter? Do you need a little help crafting tweets to engage people in meaningful conversations?

You can start a conversation on Twitter in many different ways, but they all come back this: be yourself and find the right tone to engage with people you want to get to know better.

In this post I’ll explore some easy ways to start Twitter conversations. You’ll see just how easy it is to take this first step in networking on Twitter in fewer than 140 characters at a time.

Social Media Examiner’s Facebook fans recently shared some great ways to engage people on Twitter. Based on their recommendations, here are 12 tips to better engage people on Twitter:

#1: Publish Useful Tips or Facts

One of the first ways you can contribute to the conversation is to share useful information. This is always welcome when it’s given from a fresh perspective. And it’s a great way to grab the attention of the people you want to reach.

Cyndy Hoenig offers about five PR tips a day… Notice how she used the word you in this tweet to grab readers’ interest.

#2: Retweet to Acknowledge Others

Retweeting other people’s tweets is a form of acknowledgment. Why not add a comment at the same time and add more to the conversation? Simply being social is a great way to get people to notice you and begin making connections.

Jonathan Saar is simply being social.

#3: Reach Out With Follow Friday

Although Follow Friday (#FF) has been around a while, it can still be a good way to initiate conversations when you put a little thought into it.

#4: Answer Other People’s Tweets

Another easy way to engage people is to respond to others’ tweets. Whether it’s a question or something that grabs your attention, try to respond in an authentic voice. People recognize sincerity and are more likely to respond to it.

Janice Campbell shows us how natural conversations can be on Twitter.

#5: Respond When Something Grabs Your Attention

When responding to something that interests you, show it. Show you care about what people have to say.

Cheryl Garrett adds a personal touch to her professional Twitter presence.

#6: Introduce Yourself to New Followers

Give your new followers a personal welcome that shows you care about getting to know them better. Some people do this in the public Twitter feed and some people prefer introductions in direct messages. Find out what’s best for your audience.

#7: Introduce Yourself at Twitter Events

You’ll notice people following live events on Twitter with a hashtag. When you attend your first event on Twitter, don’t get distracted by the tools and forget your social manners. Remember to introduce yourself to everyone. And why not follow up personally with a few of the other attendees after the event? This is a great way to meet new people with similar interests.

#8: Let People Know When You Add Them to Your Twitter List

As you add people to your Twitter lists, give them a shout-out to let them know. Everyone enjoys this small sign of recognition.

#9: Ask For Help

Many other people on Twitter are also looking to engage in meaningful conversations. Make it easy for others to respond to you and tell them what you are looking for.

Daniel Casciato uses Twitter to find sources to interview for his articles.

#10: Say Thank You

You’ll find many different reasons to thank people on Twitter.

Notice how Amy Porterfield is connecting with this person on both Facebook and Twitter.

#11: Say Thanks When Others Add You to Their Twitter Lists

The people who add you to their Twitter lists are often good connections because you share similar interests. Reach out to thank them and introduce yourself personally.

#12: Ask Questions

Questions work wonders on Twitter. With a little thought you can come up with great questions to find the people you want to engage with on Twitter.

Katie Fox asks a specific question to engage conversation of interest to her.

As you can see, it’s easy to start conversations on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. What other Twitter conversation starters do you use? Please share your comments below.conversation starters do you use? Please share your comments below.

Social Media Networking With Twitter Lists

Cindy King — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:00:08 +0000

International Networking On Social Media

For various reasons I have only just got around to setting up my Twitter Lists. They have been active for several weeks, and although I have tinkered with them a little, I had not really taken to the time to think about how I wanted to use them. You see I already have my own hand picked list of people I recommend you follow to develop your Cross-Cultural and International skills. I use this list to network with peers in related industries. And lately I’ve been having lots of fun doing Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews with the people on this list.

My Twitter List Strategy

Now, I’ve read a few articles on how to use Twitter lists, but I have to say there are too many social media cheerleaders out there and very few business savvy people who know how to apply social media to business goals. So I decided to spend some time sorting out the Twitter Lists on my @CindyKing profile and deciding on the best Twitter list strategy for my own business.

And this is what I decided:

My own list of Cross-Cultural and International People published here on this blog is expanded to include links to everyone’s blogs, websites, Facebook and LinkedIn pages. This is a much stronger networking tool for me than the Twitter Lists found on my Twitter profile and it deserves the extra special attention. The relationships I have with most of the people on this list are now also very much outside of Twitter.

For my blog readers, this is still probably the most valuable list of the three. There is also a link to my TweepML list, which has the same people listed as here on my blog. The TweepML list makes it easy for others to follow everyone if they want to.

Public Twitter Lists – I came up with 4 public lists and I will try to keep them limited to this small number.

Culture Tweets – On a wide variety of cultural topics
Interesting Tweets – Places to go to open your mindset to different points of view
International Business – From professors, active professionals and other various experts
International Social Media – Social media savvy people with cross-cultural networking skills

Everyone on the main Cross-cultural and International people list on my blog is also here on at least one of these Public Twitter Lists. And I also follow a few more additional people. These are the people I’m currently checking out before adding them to the Cross-cultural and International people list on my blog.

Private Twitter Lists – This is where I have many different lists. These are for my different networking buddies and they are separated by group.

Authority Bloggers
Bloggertone friends
Probloggers
Product Launch Managers
Remarkable Marketers
Special sales expert friends
Special social media friends
WishList friends
and a few private group projects

My Two Main Twitter List Objectives

A Branding Tool – I decided to keep my public lists limited to 4 very easy to follow lists that represent why I am online. Let’s face it, international business is a vast area, and when you mix this with soft cultural skills it can be confusing to passers by.

When Twitter friends want to find out more, they get lots more detailed information on my list of Cross-Cultural and International People over on my blog. They find this as soon as they click on the link in my Twitter profile.

With only 4 Twitter Lists it also makes it easy for people on Twitter to choose whether they want to connect with me or not. This short list positions me more strongly. It’s a good sign post for people who do not know me very well.

A More Efficient Networking Tool – I like networking with a variety of different groups online. Where the public groups are limited in numbers, I decided to go for a large number of Private Twitter Lists. So I separated people into very specific networking groups in these private lists. This makes it very easy to dive into these private Twitter Lists for a quick 2-minute visit: “let’s see if there is anything new happening in this group right now”.

I also use the FireFox Bookmark feature for networking with these groups. This allows you to open all the windows in a bookmark group at the same time. This is great to follow what others have been up to, but it takes up more time. With the Private Twitter Lists I can have a quick look at the latest news and be in and out within a few very short minutes.

Developing My Business Network

My primary business goal is still to develop my business network on social media within a manageable amount of time. This is why I chose to set up my Twitter Lists like this. But it’s not the only way to set them up…

What about you?

How have you set up your Twitter Lists?
How do you use your Twitter Lists for your social media networking?
What other ways do you network with your Twitter Lists?