Learn From My 4 Twitter Mistakes

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The Enabler: Helping Moms Get to Work

By Heather Boggini

Twitter: @psdnetwork @hsboggini

I write with intention. My intention is to enable moms to get to work. I write about the experiences of women returning to work by becoming entrepreneurs. These experiences are diverse, ranging from tackling social media to how to nail an interview. But the underlying theme is common – entrepreneurship is hard enough when done alone, never mind with the added responsibilities of managing a home and parenting.

My blog makes it a little easier by learning best practices from those who are already doing it. My Working Mother blog "The Enabler: helping moms get to work" will inspire, inform and propel women towards their next big thing.

Contact me at heather@psdnetwork.com and tell me about your next big thing. Learn more about me at www.psdnetwork.com.

Learn From My 4 Twitter Mistakes

Posted on September 12, 2013

In my post Twitter Starter Kit: 6 steps to tweet without fear I describe my relationship with Twitter as evolving like this:

First date: “I don’t understand you. You intimidate me. I hope you go away. I’m ignoring you.”

Second date: “You are a necessary evil, so I’m forcing myself to use you even though I’m afraid you will waste my time and I’ll look like an idiot.”

Third date: “I love you, Twitter. You are easy to use, you are free, and you are an effective way to communicate.”

The 6 steps in my Twitter Starter Kit were drawn from my personal experience tackling this wonderful, but previously feared, social tool.

I am not a techie. I am not a social media expert. Social media was new to me when I started to tweet. I am a 40-something, working mother and business owner.

If you are interested in learning more about Twitter, start with my Twitter Starter Kit and then read the following “Learn From My 4 Twitter Mistakes” to avoid the pitfalls I fell into:

Learn from My 4 Twitter Mistakes

1) differentiate personal and business Twitter profiles

I created 2 accounts early on. My personal account @hsboggini and my company account @psdnetwork. I didn’t think through how I wanted to use them differently.

The result was a lot of overlap, poor timing of tweets, duplicate content. Not fun for my followers.

2) use a social media management tool now

I waited too long to start using Hootsuite’s free social media management tools. It is a great convenience and time saver, it is easy to understand and reliable. Sign up today.

3) track results from day one

I jumped into Twitter before planning my strategy (see Step #6) and without having measurable goals. Not efficient at all.

Starting from day 1, figure out how to measure and track your progress towards your objectives from Step #6. For example, progress could be getting 100 followers or increasing your website traffic.

4) be selective in who you Follow

Don’t follow someone only because they follow you. First, check them out by reviewing their previous tweets, see who they follow and who is following them.

Think of your lists of Followers and who you Follow as part of your online identity and portfolio. So make sure it is a list of integrity and include only people who tweet interesting, relative, unique and inspiring information.

What Twitter tips can you share? How do you determine who to Follow? Leave a comment below or email me at heather@psdnetwork.com. And of course, follow me at @hsboggini!