Twitter Etiquette

Is there such a thing as being rude on Twitter? Actually, the answer to that question is yes. If you aren't careful, you can actually do yourself damage by not being aware of what the Twitter community considers bad behavior. Here are some things to watch out for–and some things to try and include:

• You may want to reconsider if you have set up some type of "auto-reply" to people. Many users see this as cold.
• Don't try to be too formal. Twitter has a friendly vibe and most people that use it respond better to a bit of personality.
• Don't just tweet marketing material. Try to be helpful or share interesting information as well.
• If you retweet, give credit to the original source.
• Try to respond when you can to direct messages and other mentions, but you don't have to feel obligated to answer every one.
• Pass on "iffy" language and remember that tweets remain out there for all to see.
• Don't tweet constantly. This is a turn off for many people and can get you unfollowed.
• Promote others, not just yourself. This is a great way to create goodwill and get you noticed.
• Be sure to respond to follow requests in a timely manner, and if you can, thank them for the follow.

There are many ways to give yourself a social media education. Knowing the etiquette for sites such as Twitter is a good way to begin navigating the ropes and building a good online presence.

Tags: social media, twitter

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 11:42 am and is filed under Career Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.