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How to understand and apply Twitter etiquette
There’s nothing worse than being the individual who utters embarrassing phrases at a dinner party. Business works in exactly the same way and unless you understand the rules that apply to using Twitter and other social media, you could quickly find your products and services ostracized. The reasons for your disgrace will be shared quickly across the Internet. How do you stop that happening? By knowing the rules, and following simple etiquette. Follow these guidelines to not embarrass yourself on twitter.
Confusing rules
A brief search of the Internet will provide you with too much information (frequently conflicting) advice about how to tweet and what to say without upsetting the world in 140 characters.
For those who believe the rules are there for breaking, you may be the exception. Occasionally, or even more rarely, individuals are able to break all the rules and say whatever they like and suffer no consequences whatsoever. Twitter is not big on rules and prefers fun and entertainment to a night out with the Queen of England, but there are some basics that you must consistently get right. This will help you avoid being the one who makes the disastrous indiscretion of behalf of your business.
Don’t SHOUT!
This simple rule applies in Twitter, as it does with all social media activity. It is better to use a standard capital letter at the start of a sentence and lower case characters for the remainder of the sentence, because it is easy to read – like this one. When you forget and use capital letters for your entire 140 characters or less, it is as though you are SHOUTING OUT LOUD AND ARE UP AGAINST SOMEONE’S FACE, appearing aggressive and threatening.
This will quickly work against you and will prevent your message from being received successfully. Your business will stand out for all of the wrong reasons and people will quickly unfollow you, so they can live a happier life.
Be real
Your success rate will dramatically increase when your readers and visitors feel there is a real person writing in the Twitter account, as opposed to a business machine using 140 characters as a company advertisement.
Understanding and showing the real people that exist in your business will help you add value to your posts and attract further followers.
Although it is the hashtags that will help businesses and individuals find you and your subjects easily, should you over use hashtags, people will lose interest in your tweets and you will have failed in your targets and goals Do not do this: #peoplewillloseinterest #inyourtweets #andyouwillhavefailed #inyourtargetsandgoals. Individuals are more likely to retweet your comments when they feel they are sharing something of value, rather than a paid advertisement.
Do not cheat or steal
Retweeting a good tweet is far better for your company’s image, as opposed to stealing another account holder’s tweet and publishing it as your own. This will build an element of trust in your business. Where anyone catches you cheating, they will be quick to tell all of their followers, who may reside in your industry.
Be Positive
Where you are able, avoid as much negativity or criticism as you can, within your tweets. People and businesses see and receive sufficient negativity on an hourly and daily basis, and certainly don’t require any more.
Although you will need to talk occasionally about negative actions, think about the positive words you can provide after some bad news. This will ensure that you will not be struck off from being followed, because people do not like to follow too much negativity.
Think about how you wish to be treated yourself and apply that to your Twitter account. By avoiding spam and adapting to some basic rules of etiquette, you will encourage people to follow your branding, rather than click away and never read your content again.
