As Twitter evolves, many things become either forgotten or ignored. There are mistakes that people make because they’re new or unaware, but sometimes people just don’t do certain things because they’re not reminded of their functions. Here are 5 common things people tend to lose track of.
1. Starting a Tweet with an @
This is definitely the top mistake I see being made on Twitter. They want to mention somebody by their Twitter name but they don’t realize that when you start a Tweet with an @, the only people who see it are the people who follow you and that person. This wasn’t the case before May 2009 or so when Twitter changed it.
To get around it, many people will start a Tweet with a period but I prefer when people rework their sentence so it doesn’t seem so obvious. Something like “So @somebody and I were at dinner….”
2. Putting your Twitter profile address in the URL field
All Twitter users have a few profile fields they can use for information like name, location, a short bio and website. Many people put their Twitter profile in the web address which serves no purpose. We already know that address because we are on it. Leave it blank or link out to somewhere else online – your blog, your Facebook profile, whatever.
3. Thinking the new RT feature is untrackable
The new RT feature has caused a bit of confusion but one of the things I see the most is when users say they don’t know who has RTed them using this new RT feature. A business once even held a contest recently and said “please RT us but don’t use the new RT feature…we can’t track it!” This isn’t true though. If you’re on Twitter.com, go to the “Retweets” link on the right side and click on the tab “Your Tweets, Retweeted.” Voila! You can see who has RTed you with the new RT functionality.
4. Asking all of Twitter to “DM for more info”
Businesses in particular seem to do this a lot. They have a job opening, for instance, and they say “we’re now hiring, DM for more info. Please RT” but here’s the problem: the people who read the message want to contact you probably won’t be able to DM you because you probably aren’t following them which leads to the awkward “hey, I’d like to DM you but you aren’t following me.” Just don’t say “DM for more info.” Use replies or something that all people on Twitter can do.
5. Not knowing how to favorite or “star” a Tweet
One of the handiest Twitter features is the ability to “favorite” a Tweet. You do this by clicking on the little star next to a Tweet. People use this for two main reasons: to bookmark links or to mark something they like.
When you bookmark a link, you can find them by going to the “Favorites” link on the right. Everything that you have favorited will appear there. I often favorite links when I’m using Twitter from my phone so I can go back and visit the sites later on my computer.
The other reason that people favorite Tweets is to “vote” for them. Twitter users who mostly use Twitter to entertain love to get stars (another term for favoriting a Tweet) as a means of approval. These users likely track their stars on a site like favstar.fm which displays your Tweets and the number of stars they’ve received.
Any other common mistakes you would add to this list?
@LindaThieman
Regarding point number one, if you start a tweet with an @, then what you say is true AND you also get credit (according to the Twitter analytics) for starting or taking part in a conversation. Do you happen to know if starting your tweet with a .@ still allows you to get credit for a conversation? It’s an important measure of influence on Twitter. I’ve been wondering this ever since the @reply change.
@GetPushing
Thanks for this synopsis, Shannon. I especially appreciated the RT tracking information. This is a great guide for people who are new to Twitter and a good reminder for those of us who have been at it a bit.
@BenSWoodruff
Some people see that they’ve been put on a mention list such as #FF or #WW and then to show gratitude for being mentioned, they RT the list as is. This is ok, but I’ve seen that most people get better results if they copy and paste that mention list into a new tweet, adding a personal thank you or other message. It’s pretty easy. Honestly, I never reply to RTs unless they are a RT of specific content I posted. But, even then it’s me saying thanks and that’s it. I think people should learn to use their RTs carefully, usually in conjunction with some other mention to get a conversation going. Remember, Twitter is for interaction!
@peekr
Great tips!
I didn’t know about #1 but I guess it makes sense. As for #3, I find the Twitter RT feature to be real hassle when trying to follow-up and thank folks for RT my tweets, I wish they’d rethink that aspect of the feature – I’m kinda “old-skool” and like to show my followers that I do read their tweets and appreciate their RT’s and stuff…
Isn’t that what it’s all about?
@astateofmind
Hey, thanks – I didn’t know about the @ thing, it’s definitely useful info.
@zagilas
Great info!
I also didn’t know about the starting a tweet with an @ tip.
Thank you Shannon
@ebodeux
I do not think #1, regarding starting with the “@” sybmol is correct. I just tested it by looking at items in my incoming stream from people I follow. I can see in their streams the tweets that start with “@” just fine…? Anyway…thanks for the tips.
@crazy_lady_me
You may want to clarify #1. Other people CAN see these posts in a search or if they go to your page directly. Putting that @ doesn’t make it invisible to others . . . it just doesn’t show up in their following feed if they don’t follow both parties.
Thanks for the article!
@ShannonAlbert
So glad you all learned some things. Now you can tell your followers too.
@markshaw
I just wanted to clarify the @reply… if you start a tweet with an @twitterusername, that is an @reply.. the only people that see that message automatically are….. 1 the sender… 2.. the recipient.. and 3.. anyone that follows both the sender and the recipient….
best
Mark
@SuzsSpace
This is great. I’d been wondering how to track my retweets.
@thecomplexmedia
Great tips – however the fact that Twitter apps still do not recognize the new retweet makes it a real nuisance.
@ShannonAlbert
@LindaThieman – you can still interact by using the @ sign to reply to somebody but if you just mention somebody in a Tweet and start your Tweet w/an @, your followers won’t all see it. So you should still interact and send replies and you’ll get “credit” that way. Only put a period in front if you want everybody who follows you to see it.
@geekiestnet
Didn’t know about the starting a tweet with @ tip, others i was used to do.
@mmatthewlyle
“DM for more info” is ridiculous. I never DM for more info, even if I want the info, because I usually CAN’T. Very misunderstood indeed.
@sarathym
The other thing that makes number 2 redundant is that tweet deck automatically provides a link to the Twitter page.
@rososusilo
people need to know from where, they do tweet. if from the web, we can retweet it. but if from twitterfeed, they will not respond. knowing where the tweet from, it is important to avoid misunderstandings occur.
@notjustthekitch
I keep looking for new ways to improve my tweeting. These are very good tips. Many thanks.
@topdogmedia
People who retweet the old way leave and the cut the end of the message off = very annoying.
Not been able to DM people because they aren’t following you is annoying. I think they only think there followers will reply.
I think fun when people reweet the old way and then it get retweet by someone else in the new way.
A thing i think is strange is the people you follow and they don’t follow you back. But you have lot of @ convos with them but the only ever see your replies to them because they aren’t following you back.
@loneplacebo
Number 2 is the biggest Twitter crime, apart from getting followed by @shellyryan.
@natalie
I’d like to add using @ instead of # – I get tons of these every Tuesday night when that “bad girls club” show is on and people want to say something mean about the “natalie” on that show, but they say “@natalie is a bitch” when they should maybe say #natalie or just natalie.
Oh, and on that same track… putting a space between first and last names in twitter handles, like @Natalie Grant or @natalie gulbis… I get both of those, not those ladies.
@tarjasovay
I just tried the function of looking at the RT on twitter and it doesn’t show anything current – only 2009. I know that I’ve RT and been RT since then.
I am confused on how this function works.
Thanks for all the great other information Shannon – I learned something new!
@lowrobb
The biggest misunderstood on Twitter to me is that more and more people are using RT for @ reply. So unlike #1, every followers are seeing the conversation.
The 140 characters real estate become a mess, people are seeing more and more irrelevant tweets (not every followers want to know what’s your conversation with someone else, especially if you don’t follow people that talk with you – i think that’s why Twitter changed it in the first place, so we can get relevant tweets on our feeds), and Twitter’s threads (in reply to) are gone.