Violet Mae Lim

photo credit: jonny2love

As more brands are jumping on to Twitter, I’m starting to notice one thing: how poorly their Twitter bios are written. This is a detail that is often overlooked, which means brands are missing a big opportunity.

Let me give you an example: Say I casually mention that I happen to like Brand X over Brand Y. Brand X is active on Twitter, monitoring their brand (as all brands should be). Brand X sees I mentioned them, and they reach out to me by tweeting something back. I see Brand X in my @ replies tab, click on their name and check out their 160 character Twitter bio. Their very short bio says something like:

We are Brand X, the best something something. Founded in 1820, we’re the oldest Blah Blah Blah, serving original Blah Blahs to over 500,000 people.

Basically, Brand X just gave me some copy they took from the “about us” section on their website. I’m completely uninterested and that’s the end of that. Brand X just missed a huge opportunity — the opportunity to gain a vocal follower who shows an affinity for their brand. What would have been a better Twitter bio for their brand? Something along the lines of:

We tweet about blah blah, our exclusive discount codes,  and give away blah blahs every Monday and answer all customer service questions. We’re funny too!

What’s the difference? The second example entices me. I read the bio and I know right away what Brand X is offering, what value they will be adding to my Twitter stream and what kind of tweets I should expect to see.  Sure, I want exclusive discount codes. Yes, I want to learn more about office supplies and tips on how to clean my house organically; so yes, I will follow your brand’s Twitter account. If a brand simply writes a short bio on their history, their location or nothing at all, the chances of someone following that brand may dramatically decrease. I imagine that the average person glances over a Twitter bio for a couple seconds and either clicks “follow” or clicks the little X in the upper right hand corner of the browser or tab.

Soooo, in conclusion…Be clear with what your brand or business is offering through Twitter. Entice your followers. Take some time to think about it. Answer one question: Why would anyone want to follow my brand? And please, oh please, don’t just use pre-approved copy off your company website.

Twitter continues to be a hot topic and the social media darling. More mainstream users are joining Twitter and people are proving to be very passionate about the micro-blogging, real-time, communication platform. You know how the old saying goes: with great power comes great responsibility. 2 days ago, Twitter caused frustration, anger and even disappointment in many users.

Twitter decided to make a “small settings update”. This update meant a Twitter user would no longer see the conversations their friends are having with people whom they are not following. People went nuts. The following morning, Twitter was overwhelmed by all the feedback they got. Later that day, Twitter explained their reasoning behind the changes and assured users they were coming up with something bigger and better. They continued to get push back from Twitter users (tweeple? tweeps? twitterati? twits?) and published yet another blog post further explaining the changes and technical difficulties behind the original setting.

Whew! What a story! Now what can your business or brand learn from this?

Ask for Feedback BEFORE implementing change:
You know you’re brand is adding value, doing good and changing the world (I would hope so, anyway)… that’s why you have such a strong community around you (once again… I hope so). Asking for feedback not only will help you figure out who your most passionate users are and what they are saying but also give you a chance to actually listen to what they think about your service and see what they value about you. A reality check, if you will. These passionate users are your brand evangelists. They are the ones spreading the word about you, wearing your t-shirts and bringing you up in their everyday conversations. Listen to them.

Communicate:
After the round(s) of feedback, either thank your loyal users and let them know you appreciate them OR let them know you’ll be making some changes. Explain why you’re making the changes. Explain clearly and frequently. In Twitter’s case, they could have easily sent out public tweets, put a notice out like they do when they are planning a scheduled maintenance in addition to blogging about it. This would have eased the minds of many users.

Stick to Your Decision:
People in general, do not like change. They want what they are most used to and will probably kick and scream all the way home. There is also a mob mentality that can take place (especially with Twitter and the ease of visually seeing the top trending topics). Let’s face it. Some people just like complaining for the sake of complaining. Assuming you’ve done your research and you have a competent team behind you, you know ultimately know what works and what doesn’t work behind the scenes or on the back-end of your service.

Twitter promises something bigger and better. Those guys are smart; I trust they will implement a social discovery system that will not only reduce noise but be smoother and more efficient. Nonetheless, opening up the lines of communication would have eased the minds of many and simply put, a better experience for users. Really. The last thing you want to do is piss off your community.

There are two kinds of people on Twitter: those who use it as a platform for status updates and those who see the “hidden culture” behind Twitter. Those who use it as a channel for status updates will Twitter about their morning coffee or going to the mall. Those who understand the culture of Twitter do much more- engage, share, network and solidify their online relationships with offline meetings. It should be noted that at this point, surveys have shown that most people on Twitter are early-adopters or tech-savvy. Though we keep hearing about Twitter in mainstream publications, it is not nearly as popular as other social networking sites like Facebook or even Myspace.

Most of the people I know are very intelligent and educated but they are not early-adopters of technology or social networks by any means. Whenever Twitter enters a conversation, the most common question I hear is, “wait… so Twitter is just status updates like Facebook and that’s it right?”

Based on all these conversations and observing the intersection of the mainstream users and the early adopters on Twitter, I am starting to wonder whether or not Twitter will bring enough value or content to the everyday user. Status updates (a la Facebook) and news feeds from mainstream channels like CNN can be interesting but are they enough to sustain an entire social network? Are these basic uses enough to monetize? Will mainstream users adopt the Twitter culture? My gut reaction says the everyday, average user will answer Twitter’s prompt “what are you doing”, very literally. And that the only thing that will keep Twitter running is the sheer fact that Facebook will eventually jump the shark and people will want a new social network to play on.

However, I’ve been wrong before, though that has never stopped me from musing.

Twitter is growing in popularity among brands, marketers, social media experts, celebrities and everyday, average Joes alike. I’ve had my fair share of interaction among the aforementioned “tweeple”. Some people are a pleasure to meet and others are not so pleasant (surprise! like real life!). Based on my different interactions and observations, I’ve come up with 5 easy ways to be a jerk on Twitter. Follow these easy steps and watch your “follower” count drop like a fly in the winter time.

1. Send one-way DMs

When you get a new follower, acknowledge them by sending a one-way direct message but do not follow them back. Not only are these completely useless (because the person cannot direct message you back) but borderline insulting. One way DMs are the equivalent of someone striking up a conversation with you and you handing your business card to them, turning around and walking off.

2. Retweet links but don’t give credit to the person you got it from

When someone tweets a link to something you found interesting or worth sharing, take the link and tweet it without giving proper credit to the person you got it from. Most people use some variation of “RT: @___name here___ ____link here____”. Don’t do this. In fact, you should avoid giving credit where credit is due at all times.

3.  Spam people through DMs

When someone follows you, follow them back and quickly send them a direct message containing a link to your newest get-rich-quick scheme, ebook or blog post. Don’t engage in a conversation with them first, don’t even bother waiting to see if they are interested. Get them when they least expect it!

4. Follow then unfollow to gain more followers

Once people check out your profile and decide to follow you, your follower count will increase, while your “following” count will remain the same. Doing this enough times will improve what is known as your Twitter “ratio.”

5. Never, ever under any circumstances respond to replies

When people reply to your tweets, don’t ever respond. No matter how many times the person tries to start a conversation with you, answer your questions or ask you questions, don’t bother talking to them or replying to their tweets. Doing so positions you as someone who is uninterested in what others have to say and your Twitter stream as a one-way communication channel.

Twitter isn’t a place for meeting new friends, building relationships, sharing information or learning. It’s another communication channel you can use to solely syndicate your blog posts and spam others with your self-promotional links.  Carefully follow these 5 steps and everyone will think you’re a jerk in no time!

Qwitter is a new web application that is creating a stir among Twitter. The concept is simple: sign up for Qwitter and it will notify you when one of your Twitter followers unfollows you. Qwitter also claims to show you the specific tweet that caused the tragic unfollowing. I won’t get into the technicalities, but this is not entirely accurate.

I signed up for Qwitter to test it out (how else would I get the research I needed for this post?!) and I have to say I’m not too impressed. People want different experiences from their use of Twitter. Thus, you shouldn’t be offended or take it personally if someone unfollows you. They may be unfollowing you for different reasons that have nothing to do with your tweet (another post for another day). What is the point of knowing who decides to unfollow you? Will you hunt them down and ask them why they unfollowed you? Will you cry into your pillow at night? Will this affect what you tweet? Will you stare at your following/follower ratio and contemplate life in 140 characters?

Ask yourself one thing when you tweet: are you tweeting for yourself or to please others? I am 100% myself on all the social networks I’m on. If someone wants to unfollow me or unfriend (defriend?) me through a social network because of something I said, we probably wouldn’t sit down for a cup of coffee offline anyway.