How can technical writers use Twitter effectively?
Twitter is about publishing.
Twitter is about writing.
And it’s about having fun, making connections and sharing things.
I’ve made a focused effort to use Twitter a little more strategically since May as it tied in with some other business aims. And it’s started to work. Here are some ways I use Twitter and some ways I don’t!
Do’s And Don’ts For Using Twitter
Please don’t …
- Thank me for following you. I don’t read DMs as I get over one hundred and fifty every day and it’s just not possible.
- Get angry with me for not thanking you for following me.
- Send me get rich quick schemes or introduce me to ‘Natasha.’ I’m fine thanks
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- Tweet every mundane details of your everyday life. Some is fine but I don’t need a running commentary of your daily life. No one does! No, really, they don’t.
- Tweet embarrassing (for me to read) private details of your significant relationships. And your partner may not want it in the twittersphere either.
- Moan, especially about Microsoft Word. You try and build a better office suite and see how far you get.
- Start flame wars with people in twitter. They’re out there, just ignore them.
Please do …
- Tweet things that are interesting. Such as… pictures, articles, websites, news items, exhibitions, shows, tutorials. You get the idea. Share, share, share
- Help others. Reach out to those who ask questions and see if you can point them in the right direction.
- Tweet your own blog posts. I’m still amazed that technical writers write so little. C’mon, folks get a blog like these guys.
- Share quotes, sayings, and interesting thoughts.
- Share jokes and humorous items. We all need a laugh during the day. I use Twitter at short breaks and catch up with friends. If you share something funny, I’ll pass it on to them.
- Use Hootsuite or Tweetdeck so you can track by keyword, monitor things, and share information quicker
- Create lists like this http://twitter.com/ihearttechdocs/technicalwritingtips and follow all of these wonderful technical writers as they tweet.
- Follow other lists like this http://twitter.com/Arroxane/techcomm from @Arroxane
- Retweet others tweets. This is the fastest way – by far – to increase your number of followers
- Re-write tweets to make them more interesting. You’re a writer, go on, give it a go! Think of it as a challenge. How can I make this tweet more interesting?
- Add hashtags like this #techcomms. But don’t go overboard. One is fine.
- Track your Twitter stats on http://twittercounter.com/compare/ihearttechdocs/month/followers. This is my list. See how it’s grown in the past 30 days.
Write, re-tweet and be interesting.
What else?