Getting Past “Twitter Block”

Twitter can sometimes be foreboding.  One logs in, takes a look at that ominous “What are you doing?” question and may think . . . “What am I doing?”  And that person may not have an answer.  Sitting there? Drinking water?  Procrastinating on a project?

Looking for something to discuss, the “Twitter-blocked” may browse through the main feed searching for inspiration.

Stanlopez forget about it.

Xfdgg TOP 10 WAYS TO GET 10000 FOLLOWERS IN JUST 1 WEEK!!!!

Ronmalone My 12-year-old is great at Photoshop!

Xfdgg TOP 10 WAYS TO GET 10000 FOLLOWERS IN JUST 1 WEEK!!!!

Mikehilton Time to close the laptop.

Xfdgg TOP 10 WAYS TO GET 10000 FOLLOWERS IN JUST 1 WEEK!!!!

Nothing.

The Twitter-blocked may look around the office hoping for something to tweet about.  Color of the walls maybe . . . or perhaps how quickly the coffee has gotten cold.  Nothing is clicking.

The Twitter-blocked is generally not using Twitter to talk about “coffee” or “sitting there,” instead he/she uses Twitter to build a brand presence.  The Twitter-blocked understands that endless tweets about the brand won’t work and that there needs be a genuine connection with the Twitter community. A trusted network builds meaningful relationships, thereby strengthening the brand. Sounds easy, right?

But what to tweet about?

When I have “Twitter-block”, I resort to my personal “C.R.A.S.H.” formula:

Comment
Reply
Ask
Share
Help

Comment
Every time you go into Twitter, tweet something.  Anything.  It could be “Good morning, Twitter,” or “Sitting down to start my day,” or anything benign.  Just write.  Once you do that, the rest comes easy. The hardest part of filling out a blank page is writing the first sentence. Just get something out and be natural.  Twitter isn’t always about broadcasting your brand; sometimes you can just talk. Casual conversation builds trust within your network and identifies that the brand is supported by real people. It is easier for people to connect with a person than it is for them to connect with a logo or product.

Reply
Reply to someone.  Find a tweet and reply to it.  It doesn’t have to be Shakespearean, just say, “@neatfollower Good point!” or “@hungryfollower Yeah, pizza sounds good now” or “@Xfdgg Why do I need 10,000 followers?”

Ask
Ask a question. The question could be something like: “How does one get past Twitter-block?”  Or it could be a discussion question about your industry. Or something personal like “What is going on with all of you today?” Questions encourage conversation and the more people that you respond to, the more conversations evolve. Check your @replies frequently and make sure that you aren’t missing out on connecting with someone.

Share
Share something.  Either tweet a link for a blog you’ve read or retweet something interesting someone else said.  You can pipe in many RSS feeds into FriendFeed and easily post them on Twitter straight from there.  You can even tie your blog into FriendFeed so that it tweets whenever there is a new post.  There are Twitter applets and Firefox apps that will help you tweet from wherever you are browsing. Make it a habit to simply share what you find as you find it.  Link retweets are the most popular type of tweet for a reason.  Most people are there to find news and websites, and if you post interesting things people will notice you more.

Help
Help people. Use Twitter Search (or some other 3rd party search system such as Monitter.com or any of the Twitter desktop applications) and find conversations that you can contribute to.  Search by whatever your expertise is and jump in – give advice, help people that are asking questions and peddle your smarts.

Use hashtags (#) on your topics so that they reach a broader base of people, such as: “Writing press releases is good for your SEO! #PR #SEO”. When you use hashtags the tweet shows up in a feed on Twitter Search, which many people follow.

Using the C.R.A.S.H. formula once a day keeps you a valuable and contributing member of Twitter.  Leveraging your own expertise and the benefits of your brand in each of those steps will build awareness. But most importantly, C.R.A.S.H. will help you get rid of that dreaded Twitter-block.

Mark Havenner is an Account Manager at The Pollack PR Marketing Group, a mid-sized, Los Angeles-based, consumer products-oriented integrated PR and marketing agency.

This post originally appeared on AriWriter.

Six Traits of a Top Tweep

As more people join Twitter – the free micro-blogging service that allows users 140 characters to answer the question “What are you doing?” – the potential for both amazing collaboration and mind-melting drivel increases exponentially. So, how do you avoid being a bore or worse – a spammer?

1. Um, what? While Twitter is gaining in popularity among many early adopters, there are still plenty of people who haven’t jumped on the bandwagon. If that’s you, don’t be ashamed – learn more about Twitter then use this basic tutorial to get started.
2. Snoop. When you first join Twitter, seek out interesting people to follow and see what they are saying. Look for local tweeps or those in industries you specialize in (here’s a good list of PR-related tweeps).

   Another huge component of snooping is listening to what the Twitter masses are saying about your brand or your clients’ brands. Listening can be as simple as using Twitter Search or could become more complex with a paid service such as Radian6, which monitors across several social networks.

3. Work that Profile! It’s your first impression, so use that space. Optimize your bio to make it easy for others with similar interests to find you.
4. Table Table Talk. It is tempting to let the world know just how tasty that yogurt was, but be strong. Unless there is something useful (you got it using an online coupon and here’s the link) or hilarious (there’s a typo on the container and here’s a picture) about the yogurt, you can be sure no one is listening (or they are and they are slightly annoyed).
5. Where’s the Beef? What to talk about if not your favorite snacks? Try linking to interesting articles, asking questions (Twitter can be an amazing substitute for a full-on focus group) and answering questions. Tweet about what is interesting to you and soon  people with similar interests will start to find and follow you.
6. Spam is a Four-Letter Word. Although it seems easy and low-maintenance, don’t allow your account to send automatic direct messages to new followers, don’t automatically pull blog RSS feeds into your Twitter stream, and don’t repeat your message over and over to an audience that doesn’t care.

   Twitter is a great promotion tool, but you likely won’t gain many followers if you simply blast promotional tweets and never engage your followers. Promote yourself or your business when it makes sense. You would never go to a party and start blabbing about how awesome your work is, you’d talk to people and the conversation would naturally evolve.

7. If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…Mom was right, don’t say anything at all. Many have gone before you and tweeted something they regret. Don’t be a statistic! If you wouldn’t want your clients, boss, spouse or Grandma to read it, you probably shouldn’t tweet it.

What other tips do you have for being a better tweep?