I wouldn’t categorize myself as a Type A or OCD personality, but I might come close. I like to write lists to help keep myself organized, to make sure I don’t forget something when I go on vacation, and because I can easily retrace my steps if I need to. In social media, using Twitter lists keeps me from taking those extra steps. Let’s face it, it takes time to do this, and time is money. I’ve got four secrets that will teach you how to use Twitter Lists effectively.
1.) Naming Your List
There are two options for using lists. The first is to make it private or public. Determining the purpose of the list will help you decide which setting to use.
Whether you keep the list private or public, ANYONE that you add to that list will be notified that they have been listed. This is why the name of the list is important. It’s a wonderful idea to make a twitter list that includes the other competition in your list, but you wouldn’t want to name it “Social Media Competition.” Beware of categorizing in a negative or offensive way.
The second option is important is for when you make a list public. Other followers or Twitter browsers can view your list. This provides an excellent opportunity for you to become a thought leader on Twitter.
2.) Curates Content
The Twitter stream can be a very overwhelming place once you have 50+ followers or are following 50+. It’s hard to scan and catch all the valuable information streaming in. This is another reason to use Twitter Lists. Making a list will help you separate the material and know where to look for certain content. For example, I have a list called Social Media Authorities. This list includes people like @GuyKawasaki, @JayBaer, and @Smexaminer. When I want to find information and content that is specific to social media, I know that I can find it on my Social Media Authorities list.
3.) Personal vs. Business
You could go through the hassle of creating two different Twitter identities, one for business and one for personal use. I don’t recommend this approach because connections that you make on Twitter want to see that you’re a genuine person and not just a business. Using Twitter Lists to will help keep these two aspects separate.
Create a list that includes personal relationships, and then create one (or a few) for your business. This enables you to keep track of tweets to your friends and family, and you’ll simultaneously be making business connections.
4.) Using Twitter Lists via a Social Media Manager
My favorite social media manager for Twitter lists is Hootsuite. I highly recommend this one, but Tweetdeck or SocialOomph are other campaign managers that are quite acceptable and equally useful.
As you become comfortable with using Twitter Lists, you’ll enjoy the ability to view more than one list at a time. Hootsuite allows you to pull out multiple streams of lists, view, and compare them on one page. This is extremely helpful and a wonderful time saver because you don’t have to switch between lists and wait for the page to reload.
I like things organized because it keeps my thoughts and workday on track and focused. Twitter Lists is an effective tool that allows me to make headway. Do you use Twitter Lists? What are other ways to use Lists that you’ve found helpful?
