Networking via Twitter allows you to gain friends, clients, traffic and brand recognition. As I mentioned before, there is not many ways to network in Twitter. The success of twitter networking lies in your efforts and techniques. In this article, we will take a look at four ways through which you can gain traffic, friends and/or clients while building your brand.
1: Answer Questions
Well, that seems obvious. This is one of the best ways to find new people and network with them. You could use it in two different ways. The first method is to use Twitter. Just search for the specific keyword (that belongs to your niche).Find people who have different problems and help them solve the issue. Be sure to keep in touch with the person whom you helped (Consistency is the key). Answering questions is a great way to build traffic and reputation for your site (Especially if the person you helped solve the issue is interested in your niche – or if the issue is related to your niche).
2: Reply to Retweets and Shares
Another method is to reply to Retweets and shares that you get. I am not telling you to tweet a standard old boring reply that reads Thank you for the RT. Instead, make it unique. Try something like: Hey, Thanks for the thumbs up. By the way, How are you? How is your blog/project/work going? Try to be more interesting with your replies.Write replies that can motivate others to reply. It would be easier for you to write better replies if you know more about the person you are replying to (Check out their Twitter stream, blog and other places to see what’s going on).
Now, another important thing to mention here is that you need to be active in reading blogs and sharing others’ content, to use this technique. Like many other networking techniques, consistency and uniqueness are the key elements that help this technique to work effectively.
3: Start a Casual Conversation
Another way to network is just to start a casual conversation. It is easier for you a start a casual conversation if you know a lot about the person. For instance: If you know that the person is working on a new blog, you could check it out, see what’s going on and ask him/her about the progress they have made so far. Casual conversations are easy to start, if you are in touch with the person (consistency). |
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Tip: Direct Messages
Well, you don’t always have to use Twitter mention feature to network with someone. You could use the direct messaging feature, instead. Another tip: Here is how I would look onto it. I would use the mentions feature to answer questions and other stuff. And I would use the direct messaging feature to have casual conversations. This is a great way to keep casual conversations apart from other replies and mentions.
4: Twitter Hash tag Chat
The Hash tag chat is a great way to network with a group of people (while discussing over some topic that is related to your niche). Hash tag chat is easy to start (the only problem is that you have to be consistent with it).If I were to start one, I would probably set a schedule, inform my readers, conduct the first chat (to make sure everything is alright) and then keep on doing it (conducting the chat according to the schedule). It would be also wise to inform my readers about each week’s topic (If I were to run a weekly chat) before the actual chat.
The Twitter hash tag chat is a great way to network not only with you friends, but also with your readers :-)
Conclusion
All of the techniques mentioned above are not that new. Most of the bloggers today know about it. The only problem is that either they don’t have the time (consistency) or they just don’t care. The key to Twitter networking success, as I have already mentioned, is Consistency. Be consistent. Be Unique. Be Yourself. Simply put, Just Network.
Craig AudleyAbout the Guest Author:
This guest post is by Craig Audley, a full time blogger. Craig blogs on a number of topics mainly in the finance, PPI claims, tech and health niches.