Twitter Etiquette Boot Camp for SEOs (and other social media-handicapped professionals)

Twitter is typically used for one of two purposes:

1) To have fun, connect with friends, local businesses and keep up on topics of personal interest.

OR

2) To promote one's business, product, service or personal brand.

While it's certainly not the case all the time, it seems that most people who join Twitter for reason #2 are joining Twitter for the first time. In other words, they're total n00bs. I know I was. #andhow

It's great that businesses are using the latest social media platforms to market themselves. As an SEO, I always love to see businesses that have active social media strategies; it's great for SEO, brand awareness and it indicates a well-rounded campaign.

But oftentimes, it can be difficult for individuals and businesses coming from an advertising standpoint to really GET how Twitter works. Any monkey with a keyboard can create a Twitter profile and start shooting links out into the void, but leveraging Twitter to increase brand awareness, leads and sales - that takes a skilled, very intentional strategy - a strategy which many business Twitterers fail to develop.

As a result, they end up exploiting the platform to push out message after message, without ever engaging in conversation. SEOs, who tend to see the digital world in terms of link building, are particularly guilty of this; many of the Twitter streams belonging to SEOs that cross my path blatantly push links, with little other strategy.

Most social media experts will tell you there's no wrong way to use Twitter. We've all seen enough spamalicious and borderline spam accounts on Twitter to realize that this isn't really true, so I'd like to amend the rule of Twitter relativity:

There's no wrong way to engage on Twitter.

To explain what I mean, I've drafted a list of Twitter Do's and Twitter Don'ts.

Twitter Don'ts

Don't use Twitter just to build links. SEOs, I'm looking at you. Wipe this thought from your mind. The value of the links you could build in your Twitterstream if you use it only for this purpose are going to be absolutely minimal, because no one will be linking back to your Twitter page. You also run the risk of having your account axed by Twitter as spam. Because that's exactly what it is. Plus, it's just tacky.

Don't use Twitter only to push your blog posts, products or services. There's nothing wrong with the occasional bit of self-promotion on Twitter, but the name of the game is moderation. If you have nothing in your Twitterstream but "Click here to buy my awesome ACME PRODUCT X!" or "New blog post: Insert Unoriginal Title and Topic Here", no one is going to follow you. Except for other Twitterers that are using Twitter to blast out information without taking the time to listen and engage.

Don't sent unsolicited replies or DMs pushing your link, product or service. Seriously. Getting a random DM or tweet from an unknown profile commanding me to try app XYZ pisses me off, just like it does everybody else. The rest of us who are actually conversing on Twitter flag that crap as spam every time. If you insist on cold Tweeting, be polite: follow first, then send a polite DM inviting me to try what your selling, being sure to tell me how/why it's relevant to me. E.g. "I saw your Tweet about ___, and thought this ___ might interest you."

Don't fill your "thank you for following" DM with CAPITAL LETTERS TELLING ME HOW AWESOME YOUR FREE CRAP IS. It's like grabbing a stranger on the subway who smiled at you and shouting at them. People don't like to be shouted at.

They also don't like to be aggressively sold at when they're not expecting it.

When people follow you back, it's likely because they found some kind of value in your Twitterstream and profile and want more of the same. So say "thank you for following", tell them what they can expect from your Tweets, and let the selling happen organically.

Don't automate your tweets. Businesses or companies that put their Twitterstream on autopilot are obviously not engaging with the rest of the Twitter community; they can't even be bothered to customize their tweets into 140 characters. The cut-off sentence and ellipses are a dead giveaway. Facebook users interact differently than Twitter users, and linking the two accounts is only going to make you look lazy.

Twitter Do's

Do listen. Twitter is a place for you to send updates to followers, yes, but it's also a place for you to listen to your customer base or fellow industry professionals. Just think: millions of consumers and industry experts are freely sharing their opinions about products, services and business management every day. Follow topics, hashtags and groups that target your customer base, and use that data to your advantage by listening.

Do have conversations with the Twitterers you're following. Answer a question.

Compliment someone on a job well done, or a great blog post. Ask a question. Put your two cents in on a trending topic - you know, have a conversation. You might try making it your goal to interact with one new person every day. People will value your participation and willingness to engage and will be more likely to see you as an expert or resource of information

(read: brand awareness and industry expertise).

Do follow Friday. Every Friday, Twitterers around the world pat each other on the back for engaging, creating great content and being interesting in general. The best way to get yourself on someone's #FF list is to start creating lists of your own. Choose 3-6 profiles each Friday which you have found valuable and interesting, then Tweet about how wonderful they are using the #FF or #FollowFriday hashtag. This can be a great way to get key industry professionals or influential leads to take a closer look at your business, and it's completely spam-free.

Do Tweet links to sites other than your own. People who are great at what they do are constantly learning from other organizations and professionals. If you want people to view you as an industry expert or resource on Twitter, you need to be pointing to relevant information that other people have written. This could be as simple as retweeting great article links, or tweeting top picks from your RSS reader.

Do relax and CTFO. Twitter is a place for informal communication, partially because you're restricted to 140 characters and partially because informality is just the general vibe. So loosen that tight business bun a little and try to have some fun. People appreciate an honest, "real" voice - it demonstrates there's a real person on the other end of those Tweets.

When in doubt, locate a group of well-respected Twitterers who are your peers or who work in similar industries and learn their strategies. See what has worked for others. Once you master the basic rules of Twitter etiquette, you can begin creating your own unique ways of promoting your brand, products and services. It's like any other kind of writing: you have to master the rules before you can bend and break them.