How and Why to TWEET S M A R T

Posted by Heidi on July 6th, 2009

Okay you may be asking yourself just does Tweet S.M.A.R.T. mean? It is a criteria I came up with to keep me focused on my overall mission on Twitter ~ to establish myself as a resource for social networking, marketing and growing small businesses.

Oh, you joined Twitter and don’t have a mission? Well, that’s okay if all you want to do is chit chat all day long with people around the world. Nothing at all wrong with that. However, if you are using Twitter for more than just small talk (and I am not discounting small talk as it’s a part of the “big talk” that can occur on Twitter), then you may need to define why you are there in the first place. Hey social networking sites are filled with people who just want to hear themselves speak, but are they really adding value to the people they interact with?

In my program, “How to Leverage Social Networking to Grow Your Business,” I share with my followers things that have helped me to become known in social media, grow a following of loyal colleagues and actually make a sale now and then.

So just how do I do that? Back to Tweeting S.M.A.R.T. Here is my definition:

S.M.A.R.T. TWEETS are:

S – strategic (think about what the tweet means to your overall Twitter mission). Are you building a reputation of adding value, of being a go-to person for SOMETHING?

M – meaningful ~ will what you have to say matter to anyone but you? If not, don’t post it. If all you want to do is promote yourself without any regard for “what’s in it for your followers,” you will build a reputation of another kind. And you could get banned from Twitter.

A – authentic ~ Be yourself. Your best self. My friend Paul has a phrase that I’m going to borrow here, “putting your best face forward.” When you are your best self, you will become known as a giver, someone who shares and adds value to other lives.

R – recommendable (and retweetable) ~ When you write thought-out posts, those that do add value for others they will be more likely to want to share your posts with their own followers.

T – timely ~ Have you read a newsworthy article that you found interesting or helpful? Share it! Have you just heard something in the news that can have a local or global impact. Share it! I subscribe to dozens of social networking, marketing and business publications both offline and on. When I read something in a print publication, I look online to see if it is also published on the publication’s site. If it is, I make a note of it, including the URL link and then share it the next time I’m on Twitter.

Every day, I create a Twitter file and throughout the day add articles, video links, hot topics, events, book reviews, thoughtful quotes, words of the day and more to the file. If the link is long I shorten it using either http://bit.ly or http://tinyurl.com . I make it easy as possible for my followers to then retweet the article. And I do my best to include at least one of the S.M.A.R.T. elements in every post. Of course, the best post will have all 5!

If you want to really make a difference on Twitter, maybe you should be Tweeting S.M.A.R.T. too. Of course, if you just want to hang out and have fun… and many Tweeple do just that, then just Tweet it!.
Here are some resources I also recommend to help you “Get Your Tweet On:”

Subscribe to a Quote of the day at The Quotation Page (Google quotations of the day for other sites).

Subscribe to a word of the day at Dictionary.com or other WOD site.

Subcribe to newsletters and ezines that match your genre, your message, your mission and your audience. I subscribe to SBTV.com, Success Magazine, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, iMediaconnection, Twitip, Twitter Watchdog and at least 2 dozen other resources that produce great articles and information.

If you are new to the Twitter scene and would like to know how to maximize your twitter start-up, check out my Tuesday Twitter Tutorials.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/heidirichards and @heidirichards

manage your reputation on twitter by following these 5 rules | Success and Then Some said,

July 6, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

[...] Post S.M.A.R.T. TWEETS. What are S.M.A.R.T. TWEETS? S – strategic (think about what the tweet means to your overall Twitter mission), M – meaningful [...]

Deidre Hughey said,

July 7, 2009 @ 11:54 am

Very well done! I enjoyed this post tremendously – it goes along with what I teach people everyday! Thank you.

Deidre Hughey’s last blog post..Twitter Research and Harvard Business School

Eileen Williams said,

July 7, 2009 @ 12:43 pm

This is FABULOUS information and so great to learn. I always describe myself as the “biggest twit on Twitter” because I still don’t get it. But, with your help, I’m going to forge ahead and start tweeting with the best of ‘em! THANKS!

admin said,

July 7, 2009 @ 1:20 pm

Deidre,

thanks so much for stopping by and your kudos. When a pro tells me it’s good it lets me know I am on the right track!

Eileen,

So glad you got something from this. I am a “processor” which means I like to have order to the things I do so creating this SMART TWEET system has helped me greatly. And I think it has improved my writing (except for the typos *SMILE).

Thanks both for your kind words!

Happy Tuesday,

Heidi

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