Often I am asked is it possible to truly build relationships on Twitter. Yes, Twitter is a great tool for connecting with others online and building relationships. I have connected and developed great relationships with people I likely would never have met were it not for Twitter. These relationships have been rewarding personally and professionally.
Here are 5 tips for building relationships:
- Retweet - A retweet extends the reach of digital content, builds brand awareness and increases followers. When you retweet someone’s content, you not only help them, but you share content that you are genuinely interested in. If someone thanks you for sharing their content, it is important to acknowledge them to begin to build a relationship. If someone shares your content, be sure to thank them which shows them you noticed and appreciated the share.
- Favorite a tweet - When you favorite a tweet, you notify the person that you liked their tweet, but didn’t share it. It still provides validation that you liked their tweet. The person may view your profile to understand more about you and even follow you.
- Mention someone in a tweet - Mentioning someone in a tweet is a great way for them to notice you. It also links to their profile which makes it easy for your followers to easily connect with that person. This helps you begin to build a relationship with the user you mentioned.
- Reword a tweet and credit the user - Adding your own thoughts by rewording a tweet and sharing to your audience is a nice way for them to get to know your thoughts on a subject. If you do, be sure to credit the original user who posted the tweet. For example, add a “via @username” somewhere in the tweet. This establishes credibility and develops a relationship with that user.
- Follow Friday - Every Friday is #FollowFriday or #FF on Twitter. This is the day you can recommend people to follow. Not only do you let your followers know who posts really good content and engage on Twitter, you also will get noticed by those you recommend. It is important to tell your audience why you recommend to follow them.
Twitter is an incredible platform for listening, learning and sharing. It is a community that thrives on participation and interaction. Your experience will be shaped by what you share, learn, discover, what and who you follow and spotlight and how you give back to others. Follow these 5 tips to gain the opportunity to develop relationships with those whose paths may never have crossed with yours.
What other tips would you recommend? Let me know. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.