Are you frustrated when your invitations to connect with people on LinkedIn get ignored? It may be because only 13 percent of LinkedIn users access the site daily, according to Pew Research, while 36 percent of Twitter users are on that site every day.
If you’re looking for another way to connect with people, Twitter could be your ticket to expanding your network. Twitter is an open network and therefore can serve as a better platform for connecting and engaging. Plus, it helps people find you when Googling your name.
If you are ready to hop on Twitter, here are 11 things you need to know to get started:
1. Don’t be an egg head. Using a photo of you instead of the default egg makes you look like a real person and can increase the odds of someone following your Twitter handle. Plus, an eggy avatar may convey your amateur status with Twitter.
2. Brand your bio. You only have 160 characters to tell the world what you’re all about, so make every character count. Jay Baer, a social media and content strategist, once wrote that you should “treat your bio like SEO copy” by including words and phrases you want to show up for in search results.
It’s not necessary to include a statement about searching for a job; in fact, that may work against you. Also avoid using words that won’t help with search results, like “professional,” “experience,” or any of what LinkedIn identifies as its 10 most overused buzzwords: motivated, passionate, creative, driven, extensive experience, responsible, strategic, track record, organizational and expert.
3. Leverage links. You can and should include a link to a personal website, social landing page or LinkedIn profile. Think about where you want people to learn more about you, and use the right link to send them there.
4. Tweet enticing content. When someone clicks on your profile, your bio and two most recent tweets are viewable. Be sure these two tweets represent the topics, content and activities you want to be associated with.
5. Consider a static tweet. You can flag one tweet to reside at the top of your Twitter updates. The tweet can link to a LinkedIn long post you wrote, an article that mentions you or maybe even a motivational quote. Chose something interesting and on-brand.
6. Find and follow. Now that you’ve got your profile set up, begin searching for people and companies to follow. Twitter is an open network, which means you can follow any public profile. You’ll be able to see all the information and news shared by accounts you follow.
7. Organize with lists. To improve your experience on Twitter and to keep things organized, create categories or lists, and plug accounts into the lists so you can easily keep track of what you are reading. For example, if you start following marketing industry movers and shakers, create a list, and add new people you follow into the right category. When you want news on marketing trends, all you need to do is go to your list of marketing peeps and view only the updates from those accounts.
8. Go from lurking to engaging. When you retweet interesting news shared by people on Twitter, it hits the radar of the Twitter account that posted the tweet. If you add your own commentary or thoughts to the tweet and share it, it shows up more prominently to the person who tweeted it. Which do you think is more valuable for brand awareness and making an impression?
9. Diversify your tweets. Twitter is part newsfeed, part marketing outlet and part social. Divide your tweets to address the various interests of your followers. Tweeting about something personal, including your job search, is fine as long as you don’t do it too often. The majority of your tweets should share news and upcoming events of interest to your followers (or potential hiring mangers).
10. Tweet with gusto. Add images to your tweets to improve views and shares. In research conducted by Buffer, a company that makes a social media management app, tweets with images received 89 percent more favorites and 150 percent more retweets.
11. Direct message with a link. You can send someone who follows you a direct message on Twitter. This message can even include a link to online content, such as your online portfolio or personal website. It is best to direct message someone who you have actually had an exchange with on Twitter; this will increase the likelihood of a response. Be sure to add a call to action in your direct message. Use this function cautiously, and never spam.
Hannah Morgan writes and speaks on career topics and job search trends on her blog Career Sherpa. She co-authored “Social Networking for Business Success,” and has developed and delivered programs to help job seekers understand how to look for work better.
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11 Tips for Job Seekers on Twitter originally appeared on usnews.com
