Top !0 Ways to get Twitter Klout

The next 2 months are such a great, festive time of year. As I sat down to create lists of invitees for my holiday parties, I realized there are similarities between choosing party invitees and choosing people to follow on Twitter. So here’s my:

Top 10 Ways to Get Twitter Klout by Treating It Like a Party

1.
Bring something to the table no one else is bringing.
I do a Christmas holiday party every year and friends love it because there’s great food, drink and a very eclectic mix of people. I follow people on Twitter (and invite people to parties) who are interesting, considerate, engaging, talented and add something to the conversation. Party highlights always include something out of the ordinary; the talented classical guitarist who plays Rodgrigo y Gabriella, the grappa brought in from Tuscany, the special Kahlua pig from a family recipe. If you just come to the party to gossip and add nothing new, it doesn’t make for a very interesting party.

2.
Define your goals.
When you’re going to a party, the goal is usually just to have a good time. But having a Twitter account (at least one that achieves a goal) takes a little planning and it starts with answering the question “Why am i here?” If the only goal is to have fun, that takes less planning. For my Twitter account @mediafortemktg my initial goal was to stay abreast of search engine news.

No matter who I follow, I choose to have one stream that is my top favorite accounts for search engine and online marketing news. Whether your goal is education or awareness for your business, making that goal is important to your Twitter success. Remember Twitter isn’t a marketing strategy it’s a venue.

3.
Understand the dress code.
I live in Hood River, Oregon and standard issue town attire is sporty clothing (often fleece, often with words). I have one holiday party that states “Semi-Formal Attire”. It’s fun to see my friends gussied up. For 3 years in a row I had a guest who refused to even make an attempt at the criteria set for the party (needless to say I quit inviting him). You’re welcome to dress as you’d like and to Follow whom ever you like, but if you want me to invite you or Follow you, be respectful of the tone.

4.
Don’t spend the whole time complaining.
I had one attendee who never brought a dish or a drink (requested on the invitation) and always complained that I didn’t serve beer or that there were too many men. Needless to say he’s no longer invited. People don’t just want to hear diatribes, share solutions. Parties and Twitter relationships are about give and take, not just take.

5.
Don’t make it all about you.
I often decide to follow someone because of their Profile bio. If it’s missing or super salesy I pass. This person’s bio reads:

SEO Manager 4+ years Exp and PMO Executive 3+ Years, Per hour rates = $10 to $15 (Price negotiable if projects r long term)

This person followed me and I was tempted not to follow for several reasons.

First, because it was so self-motivated “I’m here looking for a job”, second because a good SEO can make a lot more than $15 an hour and third, because he shortened “are” to “r” which just pisses me off (but that’s another story).

I decided to follow this account because at least he’s being honest about why he’s here. I actually had a friend come to a holiday party and say, “I have to go to a family event and can’t stay, but wanted to come by to try the food.” Fair enough.)

I’m also following this account because I’m interested to see the outcome. Clearly this is a short-term goal and limited outcome and when he gets a job he’ll change his goal (and profile).

That said, don’t make it all about you. Relationships are give and take and no one wants to read your Twitter posts that only advertise a widget or beg for a job. There’s not value for both parties.

6.
Don’t be a Ho.
I can tell when Tweeps set up a bunch of auto-tweets and just push their agenda. If you’re not engaging with others your just talking to yourself and people get tired of that fast. Even if you’re sharing great info, you may get followed for awhile but it won’t last. Twitter success is about engagement. If you just want to hit it and forget it, go spam somewhere else. You’ll eventually be called out as a Twitter Ho. (Unlike parties, unfortunately, you can’t be uninvited but you’re not likely to get much out of it.)

7.
Don’t be cliquey or desperate.
If you go to a party with your spouse or friend, it’s considered rude to sit in the corner and just talk to each other. It defeats the purpose of the party.

It’s totally fine to Tweet to just one person about something particular just to the two of you, but doing this all the time makes people feel like they’re listening in on a conversation they don’t belong in. If it gets too personal or cliquey, DM or take it offline. I don’t want my stream littered with posts about where Bob & Jane want to meet up for dinner. If you want to engage the crowd and get advice for a restaurant, that’s better because other Tweeps can learn from your experience.

Crashing a party you clearly didn’t get an invite to or begging for retweets is, usually, in poor taste. Have some self respect and be interesting so people will want to retweet you.

8.
Create a gathering that makes sense for your goals and interests.
Choose quality over quantity. Don’t just go to a Top 1000 Twitter Accounts list and follow everyone on that list. I know a lot of people, but I wouldn’t invite ALL of them to a party. Select your Follow list on your interests or needs. I love Tara Bloom’s @maternitique messaging for pregnant moms and I keep her Tweets in a List for best practice engaging. She’s an expert in the new mommy space; she’s gracious, funny and offers great advice. However, my kids are 20 & 21 and I just don’t need that particular advice so that account isn’t part of my daily interactions.

I go to a lot of parties with kiteboarders and find a lot of discussions very fun and interesting, but if I get stuck in a corner with someone who can ONLY talk about kiteboarding, I’m out. If you can get something out of a conversation because of the conversationalist, that’s great. If not, move on.

9.
Know what you’re getting.
There are some fantastic accounts with millions of followers (love @ShitMyDadSays). That said, the chances that you’re going to have some meaningful one on one engagement with @AshtonKutcher is unlikely. Twitter relationships (my favorites anyway) should be a two-way street. Deeper engagement with a smaller base can be very valuable, don’t make the mistake of putting quantity above quality.

10.
Use tools to know how you’re doing.
There are some great tools for getting a sense of how influential you are on a particular topic. Your Klout Score can be an interesting way to understand how you use Twitter (as an Informer, Influencer, Specialist or Thought Leader) but at the end of the day a Klout Score doesn’t mean a whole lot. It’s one way to quantify your social media efforts. Other tools such as MentionMap, Hash Tracking (in closed beta) and Qwerly are super helpful. These tools are a great way to seek out the accounts and conversations that will add value to a particular topic. Google + is great for making it easier to have different “tribes” based on interest so you can share different things with different groups more easily.

Using tools can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses. It’s easy to be in a bubble on Twitter because your communicating from your computer or laptop. It’s great to ask others how you’re doing. But, just like a party, ask yourself, “If I got invited back to this party, would I come.” If the answer is yes you’re probably on the right track.

Morsel of the Story – If you want to get invited to a great party, be a great party guest.

Announcing the next tweet up in Hood River March 31st 5:30 pm @DoubleMountain

Check out how Ford does Tweet Ups

What’s a Tweet Up?
It’s a Twitter Meeting, an offline meeting for Twitter friends.

Why go to a Tweet Up?
It’s a great way to meet Twitter followers you don’t know offline and to get better acquainted with Twitter friends. It can also be a great way to learn Twitter tips from each other and to share each others’ business and philanthropic ideas.

What to Bring to a Tweet Up?
Business cards (preferably with your Twitter Name), money for a happy hour beer and a smile.

What’s the Value of Twitter?
This is different for everyone and just as in real life, you get out what you put into Twitter. If you go to Twitter to hock your wares and not add value to your followers, you’ll likely get squat. If you participate in the conversation and add value for your followers it can be a great place to network, share, learn, widen your circle of influence and even have fun.

I have had one new client and two speaking gigs (Digital Journalism Camp and CRGVA) from Twitter.

I read reviews for a play I wasn’t sure I would attend, bought tickets and loved it
(thanks @pcsghost).

I keep up to date on my industry news (thanks @LisaBarone for the BrandsinPublic tweet).

I found a new recipe for turning all my lovely tomatoes into freezable marinara.

I learned about a scholarship for my daughter.

A client, Successworks, began sharing speaking presentation tips with potential customers.

But maybe as importantly, I feel connected to the people I like that I don’t see often due to busy schedules. I love learning that my favorite coffee friend, a tech friend (@Mettadore) and one of my son’s friends are all in the same play. That @toddmintz has interesting, exceptional taste in music. That @MatthewRayScott has a wicked, dry sense of humor. That boiling tomatoes and placing them in an ice bath is an easy way to remove their skins. That @TonyRobbins is as optimistic in 2 sentences as he is in presentations. That the Syrah I’ve wanted to add to my collection but couldn’t afford is at the local wine store.

How can people do that with just #140 characters? Join twitter and you’ll see.

Hoping to see some friends and meet some new people at the next tweet up in Hood River at the Double Mountain Brew Pub March 31st 5:30 pm.

Best to you, @mediafortemktg

A couple of years ago, Tweeters were a little more patient with newbie Tweeple, maybe they didn’t quite understand the concept, maybe they’d been given bad advice. But enough is enough, Twitter is mainstream now, it’s not just a communication tool for techies. Approximately 25% of adults have Twitter accounts, there’s just no excuse for bad Twitteretiquette at this point.

Hence the list of Top 6 Things You Can Do to Make Me Un-Follow You

1)
Talk AT me (rather than to or with me)-Twitter is not your personal soap box, don’t give me blow by blow updates of your meals or fun cat pics (unless you’re @CarrieBugbee). Have a conversation with me, even talk TO or WITH me, but talk at me and I hear “Blah, blah, blah” #Fail. Unless you’re @iTunes, @ToddMintz or have exceptional taste and education in music, I don’t care about what you’re listening to right now.

2)
Sell to me-If I become interested in your product/services/brand and I reach out to you to learn more, by all means give me your best elevator pitch. If I start following you and you instantly ask me to buy one of your bullshit widgets I will un-follow you, put you on a “beware of this jackass” list and incant a nasty curse on you and your first born. It’s the offline equivalent of meeting at the coffee shop and asking me to help you move. Not gonna happen.

3)
Talk about Yourself-I don’t care about what shirt you’re wearing today or what you’re doing for dinner or how your daughter is doing in college (unless you’re @LisaBarone, @portentint or @MatthewRayScott because they’re bright and funny and even their insignificant 140 character updates can add sunshine to my day.)

4)
Retweet without reading-If I like your content and updates and find your sharing valuable I’m likely to read and retweet your content or RT’s. If you retweet dumb shit nobody cares about for an affiliate program, we’re done and I rarely give second chances.

5)
Spam me-I’ve been doing online marketing for 13 years. Spam is now and always has been the most unpleasant part of the business. There is so much great content, knowledge and perspective to share that I’m amazed that there are businesses who feel okay making money from the philosophy of, “Who cares if I only get a 0.0001% response rate if I send it to 12 million people.” You’re too good for this, get off your ass and do some real thinking about who you are and what you want to do with your life. If you can’t tell your Grandma proudly what you do for a living (I send emails that advise 6 million women to buy a pill they can take to have a bigger penis) take a step back and rethink your approach. There are better (and, yes, more profitable) ways to make a living.

6)
Keep it online, when it’s a conversation for offline-Okay, this is a little scary for me because the people to whom I’m referring are my heroes (and they may un-follow me just for writing this.) Yes @GrayWolf and @DannySullivan, you stand up to Google and @MattCutts and that makes you brave and pioneers, but you don’t have to back and forth about every detail of a technical disagreement on Twitter when it’s a conversation better suited for another medium. There is a lot of great stuff and a lot of BS written about SEO and if I’m ever confused about an issue I go straight to Danny’s Search Engine Land because he gets it right. It’s not just because he’s the Godfather of search. It’s because he does his homework, he knows his stuff and he’s a great writer. But we get it, sometimes you know better than Google, take it somewhere else.

Bonus Tip:
Be forthright-Care about something, have a philosophy and stick to your guns. It’s okay to be swayed about an argument, in fact it’s one of the things that makes debate so fantastic. If you Twitter that Tide is the best detergent in the world and you really prefer the cheaper Arm & Hammer detergent because you think it works just as well for less money, don’t fib about it. My favorite Twitterers are people who stand up for what they believe in, even when it’s not convenient and they’re wise enough to admit when they’re wrong. Be as forthright as you can in your communication as possible or it will come back to bite you on the ass.

I told a friend I really liked her dessert and Twittered that I thought it was not so great (something about the pears being murdered in their sleep rather than baked). I had forgotten that all my Twitters went to Facebook and she knew I was talking about her and it hurt her feelings. That was an asshole thing to do. I should know that if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything. Just because I have Twitter friends who think it’s funny when we haze people, it’s not nice and it could hurt someone’s feelings.

So what’s the moral?

*Be a friend, good citizen and communicator. Have other people’s best interest at heart and you’ll ultimately serve even your own needs.

*There are always exceptions, for good reason. But HAVE a reason if you break etiquette, and it better not be just because you think your f@#%ing special.

Comment here to vote for your favorite and give an example of how you’ve been wronged on Twitter and be entered to win a basket of goodies.

Follow me on Twitter

Thank you to friends for sharing their Twitter do’s and don’ts. Please also read “10 Things You Need to Stop Twittering About”

If you’re on the fence about Twittering, here are 15 reasons to get off and get started:

1. Your customers are on Twitter (one of the fastest growing sites ever)

2. People are talking about your brand and your industry on Twitter

3. You’ll learn a lot about what people like and don’t like about your product on Twitter

5. CEO’s are getting slammed for not having Twitter accounts (watch this CNN video on CEO’s and Social Media)

6. You can share your valuable site content through Twitter

7. You can learn about what your competition is doing on Twitter

8. You can address product updates, recalls and issues on Twitter

9. Your customers will believe your listening if you address their concerns on Twitter

10. It’s a great way to share, not just 140 characters, but pictures, videos and other media with your twitterverse

11. You can only protect your brand if your conversing on the same medium as your customers (back to #1, your customers are on Twitter)

12. There are great guidelines now about helping your staff navigate Twitter

13. It’s a fun, interesting, engaging, transparent, powerful medium

14. You never know what will last in the digital world, if Twitter died next year do you want to spend the rest of your life being known as the company that never twittered;)

15. You can now get Twitter Analytics through Google Analytics to better understand value and ROI of your Social Media investment

Hood River Tweetup

BONUS
(I’ll share 3 Twitter tips I learned at Online Marketing Summit this week from @randfishkin @kentlewis and @kschnepp) Email me at lisa@mediafortemarketing.com for tips if you can’t make it