Twitter‘s a great way to promote your business or stay in touch with friends. But it can also be one of the fastest ways of losing their respect and interest. Many twitter updates are, well, stupid. And the problem is that many of us don’t really think about our Twitter image. Do we seem boring? Vindictive? Lazy? Sloppy? We type the first things that comes to our minds, without anticipating how the message can be interpreted.
Why good tweets go wrong
There are several reasons why a tweet can go wrong. One of the most common is that we don’t provide a context. Our followers get no other clue than what they can read, so be extra careful if your message can be misinterpreted on its own.
And sometimes there’s peer tweet pressure—’Everyone’s updating, so I have to say something too!’ And then this eventually leads to sloppiness. Speed, not substance, rules the Twitter game. Nobody else cares about the status quo so you take on that blasé approach.
But remember: your Twitter updates are public messages. Anyone can read them: your date, your boyfriend, your ex boyfriend, your clients. Do you want to really risk looking like an idiot? And why bother updating other people if you have nothing intelligent or productive to say? What’s the point of being visible if nobody cares or respects your messages?
Twitter tip # 1: Turn off predictive text
You, not your cell phone’s limited software, should be creating your message. Besides, forcing yourself to type out each letter puts your brain on ‘think mode.’ And that means you put more care into what you say and how you say it.
Twitter tip # 2: Don’t spam your social networks
If you’re on Twitter, Facebook and a number of other social networks, don’t make the mistake of using the same status update for all of them. Write a unique, shorter message for Twitter, and then take advantage of Facebook’s longer wordcount to provide a better context for your message.
Twitter tip # 3: Don’t be high faluting
Twitter’s 140 character maximum limit makes it really difficult to say profound things without sounding 1) weird or 2) totally incomprehensible. That’s why it’s better to leave the abstract, complex messages (like how you finally understood the sound of one hand clapping) to a blog, where you can explain what you mean, and use Twitter for more concrete messages (like a recommendation for a good book)
Twitter tip # 4: Beware of accidental plagiarism
You can share other people’s quotes, but do mark it with quotation marks to avoid sounding like you are ripping off their ideas and trying to steal credit for them.
Twitter tip # 5: Edit yourself
Ask yourself, ‘Is this tweet worth sharing?’ Blurting out inane things or sharing bad content only makes you look like an idiot. And if you do this regularly, people will just ignore all your tweets, even the good ones.
Photo from jaisaldajeno.wordpress.com