Five ways to screw up self-promotion on Twitter

Part of my day job involves managing a business’s social media presence, and now I’m wading into the social media world as an author, too. I’m by no means an expert, but the more time I spend on Twitter, the more misguided self-promotion techniques I encounter. So please allow me to present:

Five Ways to Screw Up Self-Promotion on Twitter

1. Use an @ reply to direct strangers to your website. I always check my @Mentions to see who’s talking to me. Sometimes, I’ll find that there are people talking at me instead. People who have no idea who I am or what I’m interested in, but who want me to buy their product, visit their website, or sign up for their newsletter.

Real-life equivalent: Standing in the street and yelling out your URL to passing strangers.

Instead, try this: Make it personal. For example: Do you sell wine? Follow as many wine enthusiasts as you can. Ask them to tweet what they’re making for dinner and you’ll tweet them a wine pairing. It’s better to have a personal conversation with five interested people than to yell your message at five hundred uninterested ones.

2. Include a link to your own blog or website in every tweet. I’ve seen a number of variations on this: people who only tweet when it’s to post a link to their latest blog post, people who add a link to their blog/website at the end of every tweet (no matter what the tweet is about), and people who post each link multiple times with different headlines.

Real-life equivalent: That person who makes every conversation about them.

Instead, try this: Put your website or blog URL in your profile, where it belongs. Then go out there and network. If someone finds your tweets interesting, they’ll probably check your profile… and now they want to know more about you!

3. Don’t comment on anyone else’s tweets. Pretty self-explanatory.

Real-life equivalent: Going to a party and talking only about yourself, then ignoring anyone who tries to join the conversation.

Instead, try this: Pretend you’re hosting a party. If someone asks a question, throw in your two cents! If someone says something hilarious, or something you agree with, re-tweet it to your followers. Participate in some of those hashtag trends. In short: remember to keep the “social” in “social media.”

4. Beg people to RT (re-tweet). If people think your tweets are important or funny, they’ll pass them along to their networks. Don’t try to work the system; it comes across as fake or desperate. (It’s fine to add “please RT” now and then, but you’re asking for a favour, so do so sparingly.)

Real-life equivalent: People soliciting donations door-to-door.

Instead, try this: Tweet hilarious, inspiring, or interesting things and the odds are that at least a few people will re-tweet them. Or, approach someone directly, if you feel that they’d be interested in your message, and ask if they’d mind re-tweeting.

5. Only tweet other people’s words. Ok, some people genuinely enjoy following Twitter streams of affirmations or inspiring quotations. And that’s fine; good for them. But unless you’re trying to sell self-help books or promote your quotation website, your Twitter account should reflect your personality or brand. After all, you can’t have a conversation with a one-liner.

Real-life equivalent: People who only speak in puns or aphorisms. (It gets old quickly.)

Instead, try this: Develop your voice. Are you funny? Thoughtful? Supportive? Well-informed? What kinds of information do you share with people: jokes, news items, charities/causes? Figure out what you can offer to your followers, and stick to it.

Now that you’re armed with at least five things not to do, it’s time to get out there and start tweeting! Good luck!