Don't settle for just tweep-watching on Twitter!

Don't settle for just tweep-watching on Twitter!

More and more, the use of social media applications is becoming a marketing and community engagement tool in even the most tradition industries. But just saying you know how to use Twitter, the web’s favorite microblogging service, doesn’t cut it. It’s all about showing, not telling.

That means a user needs to actually use Twitter. Sure, that makes sense in theory. But for the vast majority of Twitter users, they prefer to sit back and tweep-watch, according to a September 2011 post on the site’s blog.

Twitter said “40 percent of our (100 million) active users simply sign in to listen to what’s happening in their world.” (For the record, Twitter says its total registered users are north of 175 million.)

Fine for the average type on Twitter, but if you want to sell yourself to either a current or future employer as having a proficiency with the tool, you’ve got to give more, and no time is better than the present to get started.

How not to start? Allow me to offer my top three what-NOT-to tweets.

  1. I don’t know how to use Twitter.
  2. I don’t like/I hate Twitter.
  3. My job search/life/relationship/parents/kids stink/suck/contribute to my overall dissatisfaction with my sad/pathetic/dismal/dreary life.

 Before you shake your head and mutter, “no one would ev-ver post a tweet like that!”, I offer four words: I. Kid. You. Not.

I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. From current college students about to pursue an internship or enter the job force, starving for their first big break. Mid-career professionals who think snarky translates from the land of 140 characters. People who write “have a great sense of humor” on their résumé but actually don’t. You get the picture.

So how should you kick off your Twitter feed? Give these three a go.

  1. RT. See something you like on Twitter? Share it with your community. This is a great way to get started. Be sure to give credit where it is due, and once you get comfortable, offer a short thought on it.
  2. Share a link. Again, see something you like, this time elsewhere on the web? Grab the link, shorten it using a service like bit.ly (so you can see if followers and other actually clicked on the link), and click “tweet.” Again, give credit to the original source.
  3. Offer a piece of advice. This likely wouldn’t be your first tweet, but remember social media has as much give as it does take. Maybe your really know digital photography, or happen to be a stellar cook. Search a keyword or topic using hashtags (the little pound sign thing). Then, join in a conversation by offering to add to it. You’d be surprised how a simple gesture like that makes this social media thing feel, well, social.

You won’t find a voice overnight. And as it evolves, it will change. That’s a good thing. But keep posting, keep sharing and keep contributing to the conversation. As your confidence grows, so will your proficiency.
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