As if we needed one more reminder that popularity as a social media site doesn't guaranty runaway financial success, Twitter stock swooned today. Shares dropped by 13% in afternoon trading after the company, which went public in November with much fanfare, reported weak growth in the fourth quarter and disappointing projections for 2014. The news gave no appearance of inhibiting late day tweets, though, about everything from New York City slush puddles to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Nor will it detract from the value of Twitter as a career building tool. In this guest post Lina Duque, a marketing and social media strategist who tweets at @LinaDuqueMBA, offers five ways to write tweets that will get noticed.
How To Tweet Your Way Into The C-Suite
By Lina Duque
Whether you’re planning the next career move or looking for new clients, establishing yourself as a thought leader on Twitter can give you an edge. But to take full advantage of Twitter, you need to get noticed by influential people. C-suite executives may be just a tweet away.
For example, last year after Sheryl Sandberg‘s thought-provoking book, Lean In: Women, Work, And The Will To Lead was published, a female senior executive whom I’d been following for a few months asked her followers to tweet about their "lean in" moment. I replied with a tweet about how I had my baby while completing my MBA. An exchange of tweets followed. Then I sent her a direct message, asking if she would be willing to continue our chat over coffee. I heard back within the hour and about a month later, I was sitting in her office chatting about leaning in and other topics, including social media, my area of expertise. Since then she has referred me to a department head in her organization to explore a consulting opportunity and become a great supporter of my career.
Sure, I could have set up my meeting with her the old-fashioned way – by networking or sending an unsolicited e-mail. But Twitter helped me bypass potential obstacles and removed hierarchical barriers. Here are some ways you can do the same.
1. Cultivate connections. Relationships on Twitter, like those in real life, take time to show results. Engage your target audience on topics of interest to them through tweeting, retweeting and direct-messaging. These Twitter tips will help guide you through your interactions. Make sure you have a solid Twitter connection with someone before you ask for a favor or reach out to set up an in-person meeting.
2. Do your homework. Research people before reaching out to them. Check their bio, be familiar with their blog and keep an eye on their tweets. Creating Twitter lists will help you organize the people that you follow and keep track of their tweets. To create a list, click on the “Lists” icon on your profile page. Then click on “Create list.” Enter a list name (for example, “social media experts”), add a short description of your list and click “Save list.” To add people to your list, click on “Add or remove from lists” from the drop-down menu under “User Actions” of their Twitter profile.
3. Add value. Retweeting is a great way to say that you like someone’s tweet, but you can go one step further by adding value. One way to do that is to say why the tweet is worth reading. Example: “Don’t be a jack of all Twitter subjects and a master of none. Plus 30 other #Twitter tips by @kenkrogue http://tinyurl.com/o5rzkk2” This can result in retweets from the original tweeter and perhaps some of his or her followers.
4. Be consistent. Position yourself as a thought leader through good content and genuine interactions that are consistent with your personal brand. For example, if your area of expertise is entrepreneurship, make most of your tweets on that topic so people who follow you know what to expect. You can still share some random thoughts once in awhile, but generally stick to your beat. Consistency on Twitter, and across other social media platforms, will earn you credibility and make it easier for you to network with executives.
5. Strike while the iron is hot. You can set up Twitter to send notifications to your cell phone when a particular person tweets. To do that, click “Turn on mobile notifications” from the drop-down menu under “User Actions” of their Twitter profile. By sending someone a direct message on Twitter when that person is online, you increase the chances of a prompt response.
