11 Ways to Start Conversations on Twitter
Twitter is the talk of the town, but if you’re new to it, it can certainly feel overwhelming. You may have heard it has potential as an effective publicity/networking tool, but how the heck do you get to know people on Twitter? The key is to jump in and engage in the conversation. If you are going to be a virtual wall flower in the social media arena, then guess what, you will not create the connections you seek. So take a risk, and start a conversation!
People use Twitter because they want to connect
People aren’t just tweeting for the heck of it. They have joined in and participate because they want to connect with other people. There are many reasons why people want to make these connections. Some reasons include:
- To learn new things
- Connect with people in their industry
- Publicize themselves or their company
- To draw traffic to their blog or website
- Create a network to disseminate information on a social cause (i.e. education, animal rights, etc.)
- To consolidate researching on the web by following people who provide links in a particular subject area
- To make friends
Starting a conversation on Twitter is not hard
People are Twitter WANT to connect, so don’t be shy! I think many new users feel they are some how intruding or “that person doesn’t really care.” But you would be surprised how much people do care, and do respond. Here are 10 ways you can start a conversation on Twitter. Take a chance, you might be surprised who talks back!
1) Retweet with a comment. Just a plain retweet (RT) is good too, but if you add a comment or question, it offers an opinion that can start a conversation. It’s even better if they have posted to their blog or website, and your RT comment refers to the site itself. For example, you could say:
“RT @username this information… <- really loved this, but do you think it works for everybody?”
Sometimes people don’t respond to a retweet right away, but if there is somebody you really want to connect with, continue to RT their tweets, and eventually they will respond to you.
2) Answer somebody’s question. They say only 15% of Twitter users actually read the tweets that are posted. This means you have a tremendous opportunity to shine if you reply to somebody’s question. People often ask for help on Twitter, so if you can offer assistance, this is a great way to gain a new friend! If there are specific people you want to connect with, put them into a Twitter list so that you can easily view their tweets without having to sift through everybody else. Stay on top of what they are saying, and then you will be prompt in replying to any questions they may share.
3) Ask a question. You can ask a broad question to all your followers, or ask a question to a specific user. Either way, this is an excellent method for beginning a dialogue. I often post questions on Twitter that go unanswered, but when I get an answer, I take advantage and begin a dialogue with that person. Sometimes my questions will create a dialogue with several people, and that’s when it gets very fun. I also make a note of the usernames for use in Follow Friday tweets, always noting that they are great conversationalists!
4) Share a controversial opinion. This works particularly well if the subject matter is currently being talked about in the news. Debates are an excellent way of engaging others. Just know that the conversations can become heated, so keep this in mind when using this tactic. At the same time, a 140-character-a-point conversation can be a quick way to engage a whole group of people.
5) Jump into a conversation. Twitter is a public conversation platform. If people wanted their words to be private, they would use the DM (direct messaging) in Twitter. So when people are conversing, it is okay to jump right in! If you feel you have something to add, then type away. This is an excellent way to observe others, then engage them. Often you can learn a bit about people by watching their tweets, and then you can jump in when you see a conversational opening.
6) Give thanks for a retweet. There are people following you that will RT your tweets. So don’t forget to thank them for a retweet. And make that thank you mean something by personalizing it. Either by coming up with a creative thank you, or by reading their profile and writing something about what they stand for. For example, when I get a tweet from a fellow web designer, I always let them know I am flattered that a fellow designer supports my post. Then that person knows I’m not only grateful, they are now on my radar as a designer. I may also throw in a question like, do you build your sites in Joomla?
7) Offer support in a crisis. People sometimes share struggles they are having. Recently one of my Twitter friends, @robertbravery, had a computer crisis — his entire website had gone done, and he couldn’t get it back up. While he was half way around the world from me, through Twitter I was able to offer emotional support. He genuinely appreciated it, and I was surprised a couple days later when he thanked me in a blog post. While you may not be able to “do” anything physically, a sincere, supportive tweet can lift somebody’s spirits.
Send the person a DM. Not all people reply to their DM’s, but if you are trying to reach somebody in particular, sometimes you have a better chance of them reading a DM than a tweet amongst the Twitter stream. Keep in mind that if you send anything offensive or too spammy, the person can block you. But a well-worded DM can certainly open a conversation. For example, I recently received a DM from a young man who does template optimization for Joomla. He knew I needed somebody, and he probably realized I may not see his tweet, so he sent me a message directly. It worked, and now we’re talking for business.
9) Reply to people’s comments. This one seems obvious, but it’s amazing to me how many people let a conversation drop after just one turn. You can use a tool like Hootsuite to track conversations between you and other people. This way you can be certain to know when you should come back with a reply. Also, with something like Hootsuite, you can see all replies you’ve received, so it helps you to remember the people that you have engaged with.
10) Do a Follow Friday tweet with a note. Follow Friday is all about recommending people you like to follow. But just posting a list of names doesn’t really say why you like to follow them. Personalizing your Follow Friday tweets will have a greater impact on the person you want to connect with, and also let others know that you engage on a personal level with Twitter. Follow Friday is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to let specific users know how much you enjoy reading their tweets. And once they realize that, it will be easier to implement items 1-9 and engage them in conversation.
11) Create a hashtag group. Hashtags are keywords preceded by the # sign (#webdesign or #twitter are two examples). Hashtags help to categorize information in the Twitterverse. If you have a group of people you enjoy conversing with regularly, consider creating a hashtag that defines you. This way it makes it easy for all participants to find all tweets related that group’s conversation. An example might be #techtalk – a hash tag for a group of people who discuss technical stuff.
A note on @reply with Twitter
When a person puts a tweet up, you can simply click the reply button to reply to their message. But take note, any replies that start with @username are only seen by that user and followers that are following BOTH you and that user. Yes, it’s true, unless other followers are following both of you, they won’t see an @reply. The solution to this is to reply, but put some text in front of the person’s name. For example:
Don’t do: “@username really liked what you said!”
Instead do: “I really liked what you said, @username ! Thanks!”
By doing this, all your followers will see the tweet, not just the ones that are following the @username too. This tells other people that you are a conversationalist on Twitter, and they are more apt to start conversations with you.
Want to start a conversation on Twitter?
Please put your Twitter username in the comments, and we’d love to start a conversation with you on Twitter! We do track our mentions, so if you send us a message, we will definitely see it. You can follow our company at @LandauDesign, or follow me at @BonnieLandau. We will tweet back!
Great article Bonnie… this is really good quality information on how to interact and build value on twitter.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the complement, Joseph! I really appreciate it, especially coming from you since I know you’re a Twitter aficionado!
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by landaudesign: Ever wondered how to talk to people on Twitter? 11 ways to start talking http://is.gd/7X2bu #twitter #socialmedia…