Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

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By now, most people are aware of how effective and lucrative Twitter can be for business. It allows you to interact instantaneously and you start to build relationships and keep building them. However, you can’t tweet all day long.

Your time is very important to you and you need to make sure that you use it the most wisely and efficiently. If you don’t, you won’t have any time to run your business. There are, however, many ways in which you can effectively manage your Twitter time and still have plenty of time left for the other important things that you need to do throughout the course of your day.

Tweet on the go: If you own one of several mobile devices, you can tweet from wherever you are. You don’t need to be tied to your home office or your desk. Responding quickly to clients and other people with whom you are connected online is critical to the success of your business. It is part of the customer service aspect of what you do. The more quickly you respond, the more people will want to continue interacting with you online.

Setting up a schedule: If you don’t have a business schedule yet, you should definitely create one as soon as possible. That is a great way to make sure that you fit everything into your business day or week that you need to without allowing anything to fall through the cracks. You need to make sure that there is a well-established and well-founded plan that works effectively for you and your business.

Keep an online journal: If you have all sorts of interesting ideas that you would like to tweet and you don’t have time to get to all of them quickly, you can keep notes in an online journal so that you don’t forget what you want to share. You can then go back to your notes at a later date and use those ideas over time (as long as there is no time sensitivity to those ideas). Because of the fact that each one of your tweets is limited to 140-character maximum per tweet, your ideas (if you have a whole list of them) will go far and will give you material for a long time to come.

Use other means besides words: People traditionally think about words when it comes to Twitter; however, your tweets can consist of audio or video as well as the written word. There will be times when your messages will be more effective in that medium.

Gather lists of Twitter followers: You undoubtedly have a lot of people with whom you wish to connect on Twitter. This is where lists come in. The more people whom you follow and who follow you, the more valuable lists will be to you. You can have a variety of different lists for different groups and you can draw from those lists for different topics and tweets.  You can also use lists that other people have created.

Commit to a specific amount of time: If you commit to devoting a specific amount of time per day or per week and you really stick with that amount of time, you will effectively be managing your Twitter time. All involvement with social media works best when you are consistent and committed to what you are doing.

Be selective: A lot of the tweets that you receive from other people will be interesting and useful to you and a lot of them may not be. You have no obligation to read everything that you receive. You should be able to tell quickly which ones you want to read and hopefully retweet. You should only follow people who you feel are worth following.

Conclusion

Twitter is a phenomenal social media tool for business. It allows you to provide important information to people in short and timely spurts. Between those messages and the links that you and others can share, you are building valuable and mutually beneficial relationships that will stand the test of time and that will allow your business to grow and to become more and more successful.

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Author

  • Michael Cohn

    Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has decades of experience in IT and web technologies. Michael founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their visibility and reputation. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility. Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

12 Responses

  1. Ward Walker says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: CXO Community
    Discussion: Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

    RGR; time is precious–on social media, I normally move fast. G+ has been a tough add, since more channels to monitor are not necessarily a blessing–although I tend to keep different "circles" via each social means. A friend recently recommended tools to help monitor the flow across means: http://www.hootsuite.com
    I haven't tried that yet, but may be forced to–and the idea of a "Social Dashboard" on a tertiary monitor appeals to me.
    Posted by Ward Walker

  2. Kristen says:

    Great post.  Twitter is very powerful, but can definitely take a lot of time.  I think that good time management skills are important so that you can constantly remember your goals and achieve them.

  3. Marlon Moore says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Business Writers of America
    Discussion: Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

    I feel that is key aspect of the social media and serves as a valiant gateway for oppurtunites.
    Posted by Marlon Moore

  4. Ryan Biddulph says:

    Hi Michael,
    Super tips.
    Be selective. No need to read everything coming down the tweet pike. Make sure you learn from each tweet to keep growing.
    I tweet at set times. I also use socialoomph to automate some tweets. Find the right mix between engaging and automating to become an effective tweeter, who still has a personal life 😉
    Thanks for sharing your insight!
    RB

  5. Traci says:

    Great post. I use twitter, but I do not think I am very effective at managing my time. I will try some of your tips.

  6. Doug Bedell says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Consultants Network | North America
    Discussion: Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

    Nice, focused approach to a great opportunity, and discipline.
    Posted by Doug Bedell

  7. John McCann says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Search Engine Watch
    Discussion: Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

    It's important to set a schedule and have clear goals about what you want to achieve using any social media – Using time tracking software like timedoctor.com or toggl can help you keep track of the minutes you are spending on every day tasks so you can keep them in perspective
    Posted by John McCann

  8. Sandee Hemphill says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: A Solo Business – Solopreneurs And Business Owners
    Discussion: Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

    Great insights. Just getting comfortable with Twitter; saw a few things I can change. Appreciate the tips; now I'm ready to grow!
    Posted by Sandee Hemphill, MarketWyze 365

  9. Bert Raymond says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: eMarketing Association Off-Topic Group
    Discussion: Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

    I would like to use my Twitter account but have very little time and Am no sure how to get there . Right now I am searching for employment I have a job but it is not the best
    Posted by Bert Raymond

  10. Darlene Hull says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: A Solo Business – Solopreneurs And Business Owners
    Discussion: Effectively Managing Your Twitter Time

    You have some wonderful ideas here, Carolyn. I also like to collect ideas that could be conversation starters and have them tweeted throughout the day with an autotweet program like Timely.is, or TweetSpinner. 
    Posted by Darlene Hull

  11. Ilene Rosenblum says:

    Great list!  I'd also like to add that a few more specifics about using lists.  When time crunched I'd focus on the list of people who fall into the category of what I'm using Twitter for at the time. 
    If it's entertainment, then I look at the funny or entertaining tweets.  If it's research for a project, then I look at related lists for that or, I use Hootsuite and check out a stream of people tweeting about certain keywords or phrases.

    I would say that using saved searches is the best at keeping me on task while on Twitter.  It keeps me very focused on the project at hand.

  12. michele says:

    Managing your time on twitter is essesntial to run a business.  Large companies have people dedicated to doing that.  The small company must set aside a certain time a day or week to use social media. Plus stick to your goals and not get lost in "Twitter Land" (as I call it:))