When I first began on Twitter, I remember seeing people debate whether or not you could build meaningful relationships on Twitter. Now, a year later, I don’t think very many people who are active on Twitter can deny that it is a powerful platform for relationship building.
In my opinion, it is more important to make people feel special in social media than to share great links of information. Both are important of course, but people always come first.
No matter how great the information that you tweet is, eventually, people will forget that. They will not as easily forget how you treated them, especially if you’ve gone out of your way to make them feel special. On Twitter, making others feel valued is the best way to make a lasting impression.
Just like everyone else, I learn new things from my Twitter followers every day. I’m humbled to part of such a strong Twitter community. I pay pretty close attention to what happens in my Twitter stream, and I have noticed some very significant things I want to share with you today. If you are one of those people who enjoys bringing sunshine into people’s lives and giving out free hugs, but you are unsure how to do that on Twitter without getting mushy in your Twitter stream, then this article is for you. Here are 7 ways you can use Twitter to bring sunshine to your followers:
1. Remember that followers are real people with real feelings
Sure, there are some bots out there. I saw a funny bumper sticker the other day that said, “Twitter bots have feelings too.” For the most part though, Twitter is full of real people. It’s easy to forget that sometimes when we only communicate through text. Remember that even though it’s just a tweet, our words are still very powerful.
2. Retweet… Retweet… Retweet
@Jason_Pollock tweeted a quote by @earthXplorer that read, “A tweets life is short & sweet so if you enjoy, please re-tweet” If you are not retweeting people on Twitter, you are truly missing out on an opportunity to share the Twitter love. The power of a retweet is truly incredible and your RT can make a real difference for someone!
3. “Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
This is a Plato quote that I have seen so many people tweet including @iconic88, @Flipbooks, @Minervity, @mistygirlph, @joycecherrier, the list goes on and on. It’s so true. Just be nice, always, whether you feel like it or not. Since so many people do not practice this, when you do, you will certainly make a difference in someone’s life. There are so many people out there that are lonely or sad and when you are nice to them on Twitter, it makes them smile. It’s worth the effort.
4. Read blogs, tweet blogs and comment on blogs
Aside from retweeting, one of the nicest things you can do for a Twitter follower is tweet their blog. I only believe in tweeting content that my followers might find fun and/or useful, so I don’t tweet anything I haven’t read myself. If you are going to go to the trouble of tweeting that blog, you might as well take one extra minute and leave a supportive comment. It will really make that person feel special that you took the time to do that. It’s these little things that can really make a difference in your online relationships and in the lives of the people you touch.
5. Be genuine!
You won’t be able to make an impact on anyone’s life if you aren’t being yourself. People think that they can fool their Twitter followers, but what they don’t realize is that you don’t have to be on Twitter long to be able to pick up on who is phony and who is genuine. Just be the same person you are in your non-Twitter life and remember to make others feel important. It’s really that simple. “Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck that says, ‘Make me feel important‘” ~Mary Kay Ash
6. Be a non-discriminating tweeter
I know that we each have the right to tweet whoever we want, and that is one of the beauties of Twitter. However, sometimes I see people with a lot of followers that almost appear like they are ignoring the tweets of the people with only a few followers. I’m sure that is not what is really happening, but perception is reality. Imagine how that other person feels. Maybe those people just can’t keep up with their tweets and so it appears that it happens. I have 28,000 followers and I know how busy it can get in the stream. If you want to bring some sunshine to your followers, you have to show them that they matter which means sending a special @ tweet or even just a DM every now and then. You know which followers I’m talking about.
7. Use manners
Say please and thank you. Respond to questions and be helpful. Try to use the person’s name in the tweet. Just extend the same common courtesies that you would in your non-Twitter life. Simply using manners on Twitter goes a long way in making your followers feel important and special. I know at times you may be busy and not have time to respond to a tweet, that happens to me a lot. I use my “favorites” for that. If I could, I would rename my favorites column and call it the “storage bin.” I store tweets there to remind me of things, and after I’ve done them, I remove them from my favorites column. If you do that, you won’t forget to respond later when you have time.
All of these things are so simple and easy to do. It really just comes down to remembering the Golden Rule and practicing it every day. Twitter is such a gift in our lives, and I’m happy that we all have an opportunity to give back by adding our own dose of happiness, helpfulness and gratitude to the Twitterverse!
Thank you for the fabulous pictures!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brendaatje/3527356732/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drfreezo/2748276763/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandyhonig/3898720416/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raisinsawdust/3238986038/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/traumlichtfabrik/2893929585/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/northernstarandthewhiterabbit/860738564/
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