Twitter can be overwhelming at times. Each time you log in, you’re confronted with an endless stream of tweets that make their way to the top of your timeline faster than you can read them. As a PR pro, you know you should be using Twitter to engage with fellow tweeps – but the prospect of finding a relevant profile or conversation among all the noise can be daunting. So, today, I’m going to share how you can use Twitter lists to organize your incoming tweets and engage with the profiles who can directly impact your PR program.
But first…
Twitter lists are curated groups of Twitter profiles that you can create to group similar users together. Twitter lists allow you to see tweets from only that group of people. For example, I created a Twitter list of where I’ve grouped all my favorite writers and the publications they write for together. Now I can easily access these people’s tweets and profiles when I’m looking for great content to share on my own Twitter account.
You can choose to make your Twitter lists either public or private, depending upon whether you want anyone else to see your list. Public Twitter lists are great if you want to recognize the individual profiles on your list for being superstars – they can see that you’ve added them to the list, and others can subscribe to the list to receive content from those you’ve included. Private Twitter lists are better if you don't want your competitors to have access to the information; for example, if it contained customers or media friendlies.
The name of the game is engagement. View your Twitter lists on a regular basis and respond to tweets shared by those on your list. It's also wise to retweet their content so your followers can see too. Stay on the lookout for journalists and bloggers asking for subject matter expertise within their network – this will help you position yourself as the go-to person when that writer needs more information for a story. A simple way you can do this is by looking out for hashtags such as #mediarequest and #prrequest. Above all else, make sure you’re creating value for the journalist or blogger with the tweets and content you share. Moreover, by extending the reach of their content, or providing sources for their articles, you're better placed to build and maintain a meaningful online relationship that can be mutually beneficial for years to come.
If you're tired of seeing a string of irrelevant tweets, Twitter lists tidy up your feed so you can cut through the noise and read the tweets that will bring you the most value. Hopefully by now you have a better understanding of the importance of Twitter lists and how you can create them to nurture relevant profiles and build relationships on social media.