In my previous post, I addressed how Twitter can be a powerful tool in being found.  To illustrate that power of connecting with people hundreds or even thousands of miles away is the friendship I have built with Josh Quintero, author of today’s guest post.  Josh and I connected via Twitter over a conversation about the diversity of the Latino community in the United States.  Both of us sharing a Latino background and in the marketing/advertising professional space, we kept in contact sharing updates, articles, posts, and opinions.  I appreciate the balance between professional, personal, and personality he dedicate to his Twitter posts.  I have learned so much from him and am so happy to have someone hundreds of miles away that I can network with, seeks advice, and learn from.

Josh’s wit, experience in the advertising field, and personality certainly bring a lot to the Twitter community.  As with any new trend, Twitter and social media, is full of naysayers, those who take advantage and some who just don’t get it.  Josh and I were sharing opinions on the matter a few weeks ago, when he posted one of the most clever lines about the symptoms one might encounter when engaging in social media.  I asked him if he could elaborate on his thoughts and below you will find he has put together one of the most accurate and clever descriptions of what you may encounter while engaging in the social media space as well as some helpful hints to avoid such situations.

With that, I introduce Josh Quintero (@joshuaquintero) today’s guest blogger and great social media friend.  Thank you very much Josh, for lending your incredible writing talent and voice to my blog.

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Using Twitter Effectively

Guest Post by Josh Quintero

Is Twitter only for social media “gurus” and uber-communicator marketing types? No, but maybe Twitter should come with a warning label:

Twitter may not be right for everyone. Ask your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms: Nofollowitis, Reduced RTs, and Listedlessness

Ok, a spoof, but you get the general idea. So you’re on Twitter but how exactly do you create an effective presence? How do you use it for the greatest benefit for yourself and others? Here are a few suggestions:

Problem: Nofollowitis. Cure: Foster conversation.

Twitter is the breakthrough communications product of 2009 that fosters communications between brands, businesses, clients, vendors, and just ordinary people. So why spend time engaging to secure your future audience? What other sales or communication channel is freely open to all and lets you talk to people you would normally never get to talk to?

My mantra is to learn from everyone. Twitter is about conversation and it starts by following. You should search for followers (search.twitter.com, wefollow.com) to find people that share common interests, or find people you know that may already be on Twitter. You can even follow companies that you buy from or organizations you belong to. Chances are if you follow them, they will follow you back, and you’re audience just grew to include others you don’t talk to today.

Your followers should be able to glean value from your tweet stream. You now need to focus on sharing something worth being shared.

Problem: Reduced RTs. Cure: Share something worth sharing.

A retweet means you pass on a good tweet by someone you are following to the people following you. Retweeting (or RT) shows that you value others, that you share and give back. You become part of the new social media fabric of conversations, simply passing something good on for others to enjoy. Good Twitter etiquette also means you thank the person that took the time to retweeted your tweet. Thank them for giving your tweet a little more mileage.

Retweeting is also a way to gain followers and become a connected resource willing to share with others. I try to stick to positive, news-worthy, witty, interesting tweets rather than mundane, racist, politically-charged, or inflammatory.

Problem: Listedlessness. Cure: Create lists to filter tweets.

Lists are a great way to show people that you value their tweets. Start by creating a list and adding people to it. When you follow a lot of people, lists are a good way to follow a filtered set of tweets, possibly from just clients, employees, family, or news. Lists help you focus on building community and fostering dialog with people that share common interests with you. How do you get added to a list? Be yourself and or say something that others find worth sharing with their followers. Tell what you do, what skills you have, where you go, what you buy, what you think. You just might get added to one of their lists.

Happy Tweeting!

I’ve highlighted just a few ways to unleash the power of Twitter and to use it effectively. The point is that Twitter is here to stay and it gives you unprecedented communications power. It’s just up to you to  reach out and extend your sphere of influence! Good luck in 2010.
Josh

Twitter:  @joshuaquintero

LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/in/joshquintero
Personal blog:  jquintero.com

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