The Self Promoter

Some people join Twitter and have absolutely no intention of providing value or developing meaningful relationships.

They look for popular users and blast them with @replies about their own products and services.

I checked out one guy’s profile and he was doing nothing but sending self promotional @replies to me, Oprah and Barbara Walters.  (Well, at least I was in good company.) 

This is NOT the way to use Twitter. To me, it’s even worse than e-mail spam. If you want people to notice you, create value and people will come to YOU.

It’s bad enough when people promote their site/service in every tweet, but to @reply someone with an unsolicited offer is taking it to a whole other level.

Not cool.

The Obsessive Compulsive Return Tweeter (O.C.R.T.)

This is the person who rarely (if ever) comes up with content of their own and spends most of their time on Twitter RT-ing what other people tweet.

Certainly nothing wrong with an RT every now and then, but if you really want to gain a loyal following, you should also work on generating your own content.

The Stalker

This person will do anything to make contact with you, even if that means @replying to you multiple times per day about absolutely nothing.

Occasional small talk on Twitter is fine.  I’d like to think I’m a pretty friendly gal.   However, 8 tweets in a row from the same individual asking personal, irrelevant questions is not.  So stop.

(I’m not speaking from personal experience or anything.) 

Random Roger

Every now and then I get @replies from people I don’t know, about very random topics and articles. I’m not sure what the strategy is behind this, but it’s very odd.

Anonymous Andy

It’s 2009.  So the I-don’t-have-a-digital-photo excuse doesn’t fly anymore. Unless you resemble that brown square with the blue circles (which is a whole other problem) , you really should take the time to add a picture or logo.

If you’re using Twitter for fun or personal reasons, that’s one thing, but if you are promoting a business you must pay attention to the smallest of details.  Yes, even your Twitter icon (or lack of one) makes a huge difference.

The RT Begger

I don’t have a problem with people asking for a RT every now and then. If your tweet is useful, exceptional, or compelling, then it’s good to encourage people to spread your message once in a while.

However, adding “Please RT” to the end of every tweet looks a little desperate if you ask me.

Here’s the deal.   If you tweet good stuff, many people will RT without you even asking.  If your tweets are useless/boring, adding “Please RT” to the end won’t do you much good.

By the way, don’t forget to RT this post.

Just kidding.

JohnnyInArizona is having dinner

Helen12345 just got a traffic ticket

KristenWilliams is late for work

If you’re a Twitter member, these are the kinds of updates you might see when you login to your account.

Ahhh yes, good ole’ Twitter — the official place to spy on people you know (or don’t know) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

So what’s all the hype surrounding this free application and what does it have to do with promoting your Internet business online?

What The… ???

I’ll be honest.  When I first heard about Twitter I thought it was the dumbest thing ever.

However, I became more intrigued a little later when I saw other Webmasters and Bloggers talking about how they use it to promote their sites and blogs.

So if you are wondering about Twitter and how it can benefit your business, here’s a video demonstrating how it works and how you can use it.

By the way, you can follow me on Twitter here.