Here are ten common Twitter mistakes.

Many people do not:

1) Leave 24 characters blank when desiring a retweet. If you want people to retweet your brillance, leave at least 24 characters blank, so that no editing is needed. An edit decreases your chance of a retweet by at least 80—90%.

2) Realize that using a Twitter name as the first word of a tweet limits the reach of that Tweet. Many people do not realize that when a name is used as the first word of a tweet, it will only go to your followers and the named persons followers. It will not go to everyone.

3) Utilize URL’s for extra power. Many URL’s are the name of a person, product or thing, so why not use the URL as the name in your tweet. This saves you characters and provides an instant link. i.e. “Have you registered for the http://recreateconference.com ?”

4) Use the http:// preface in a URL reference. To make the URL reference instantly clickable, you must use the http:// preface. A www. will not make a url clickable in Twitter.

5) Utilize the power of the hashtag. Many people do not realize that to create a hashtag, you simply add a # sign in front of a word—any word. For example, a simple way to follow the Egypt crisis is to click the hashtag #Egypt or #jan25 and read the tweet timeline. Everyone who uses that particular hashtag will appear in the timeline. The hashtag is a powerful tool. A fun use that recently came into being is the sarcastic or comical hashtag. For instance: #arentyougladyourereadingthisblog

6) Utilize the power of Twitter lists. Twitter has always been fun and helpful. But it becomes a marketing force when you follow lists that have an affinity to your business, products, and thoughts. The business power of Twitter is not just a huge number of followers, it is a huge number of followers with affinity to what you have to offer. Simply find a list and follow all of its followers. You can find the lists following you by clicking lists on your Twitter home page. Chances are the lists following you are affinity groups. Follow them.

7) Utilize the power of the tab on your profile page: “Who To Follow.” This tab provides Twitter accounts suggested for you based on who you follow and more, it lets you browse interests and find friends. It is a powerful tool.

8) Realize that utilizing a third party Tweet addition program such as Tweetadder will get you banned from Twitter. Twitter expressly states that anyone utilizing these “fast” follow or aggregated follow and unfollow tools will be banned.

9) Talk about their “real” life. Twitter is a SOCIAL network. It was first designed to say what you were doing at that moment. Endless quotes, platitudes and Bible verses will eventually undermine your Twitter power and your ability to be heard. People will simply turn you off. They may not unfollow you, they will simply take you out of their feeds. Please remember, Twitter only provides what you give it. Be circumspect and wise, but talk about “real life” stuff at least 30-50% of the time.

10) Realize that overreaction, constant #FAIL hashtags, and predominately negative Tweets forms other’s perception of you. Be careful not to overreact. A restaurant manager once told me that he can provide a customer 50 great dining experiences and there is never a Tweet, but if the 51st experience is bad, they instantly Tweet that experience to the world. People like positive people. Tweeters like positive Tweeters! We get more than enough negative in the mainstream media. Lighten up on Twitter. My favorite Tweeters are the ones who make me laugh out loud every day. Yes, that would be you @SheilaWalsh and @liteNup ! Thanks for the fun. We need it!

Comments?

What other mistakes are commonly made on Twitter?

What did I miss?