T is for… Twitter Lists

T is for… Twitter lists

Twitter lists can be used in many different ways and can make using Twitter more targeted (and generally easier to use) particularly within the native website or in app if you are on the go.

Twitter Lists to Create

Twitter lists can be used to boost your networking by being used in the following ways:

• List of Corporate Accounts

If you have multiple coporate accounts make a public list available of all the corporate accounts so that people can easily find you (and the relevant account they are looking for).

• List of Staff/Employees/Colleagues

I recommend that you have a list of your staff/team or colleagues on twitter. Depending on the size of your company you might have multiple lists. I have one list for general colleagues – this helps me to learn a bit more about them and keep up to date with what they are doing and what they are writing about. I also have a second list for colleagues on my immediate team who I am likely to retweet, tag or otherwise engage directly with on twitter. I also have a couple of colleagues in some of my Top 10 lists.

Some companies create a public list that you can simply subscribe to (rather than manually add yourself). Creating a public list can also encourage you and your colleagues to engage with each other and cross sell and cross share on a regular basis.

• Top 10 Lists

Sometimes the shorter the list the more likely you are to use it (and the easier it is to find the relevant tweets that you are looking for). Therefore I keep a couple of Top 10 Lists. One of these is My 10 top people to chat with. Another is Top 10 people to build a relationship with. Another is my Top 10 People to Retweet.

You can pick a top 10 list for anything.

• List of Friends and Colleagues from Other Organisations

Your Friends and Colleagues lists do not have to be limited to work. If you are a member of a professional organisation or networking group you may want to set up a similar list (or check if one has already been set up) for the organisation accounts and members accounts. This means that you can engage with them online not just at events. I have a list set up for the Local Events that I attend for this purpose.

This might also include Alumni groups and other interest groups.

• List of Event/Conference Attendees and Speakers

In addition to organisations specific lists you may also want to consider creating Event Specific lists. This works best for large events and conferences that you are attending. It also means that tweets that perhaps might miss off the conference hastag still get picked up.

• List of Accounts for your Hobbies and Interests

Twitter lists can be a great way to build up a community around common hobbies and interests. It can also mean that if you are looking for content on a particular topic you can tap directly into this without the noise.

• List of Twitter Chat Participants

If you use twitter chats you might like to curate (or subcribe to) associated lists with the twitter chat attendees / tweeters .

• List of Resources or Recommended Accounts

If you are a business account you might like to put together a list of resources for your customers or clients. You can also build a list of resources on a particular topic for your own personal use.

• IRL List

A list of the people you know in real life (not just online). You might choose to segment this into a couple of the lists already mentioned and mentioned below e.g. colleagues, friends and family, colleagues from other organisations and groups, clients, people you are connected to on LinkedIn, etc.

• Client List (private)

A twitter list of your clients (or target clients) can help you keep up to date with what they are doing, what they are sharing and what is important to them right now. It also make it easier for you to celebrate their successes.

• Customer List

If privacy is not a concern or you are a business selling a product (rather than a service) you might like to add people who follow you, buy from you etc to a dedicate list so show then some love /thank them for their custom. E.g. List of Awesome People.

• Competitors List (private)

Keeping a list on your competition (the people who do what you do) means that you can see what they are up to and take inspiration from what they are doing on social media.

• Industry List

Industry list is a wider than competitors  – this will also include people that work in the same industry and are not necessarily direct competitors. They might even be potential clients or referrers. You can also segment your Industry Lists into more specific lists (such as influencers or thought leaders) or particular hashtags.

• Location-Based Lists

You may also want to include a specific location specific list(s) for example there is always a lot going on where I live so I have a dedicated list for events (eg theatre, food, cinema, festivals etc .) Basically things I might be interested in doing in my hometown.

• Notice me / Follow me list

This is a list of Twitter users whom you wish would notice you and follow you. This might be pie in the sky influencers. this might be a specific client or colleague. By adding them to a list you can keep a closer watch on their updates and engage more frequently. I do this as a “top 10 list” (mentioned above) and limit it to 10 people at a time. Once they follow back and I have been successful in starting off that relationship they get moved to a different list.

• People who Retweet you

To build on relationships and encourage further engagement a useful list to create is a list of people who retweet you (and are not spam accounts of course). This means that you can continue to engage with them and they will hopefully continue to engage with you.

• People you engage with

If you are active on twitter it is also worth having a list for people that you regularly engage with (particularly if they are not included in one of the above lists). This means that you can focus on building those relationships.

• Journalists and Bloggers / PR

If you are seeking to raise your profile another good list to have is a list of Journalists and Bloggers in your network/industry for PR opportunities.

Other Tips for your Twitter lists

• Keep an eye on who is subscribing to your public twitter lists. You can then engage / follow up with your subscribers (and add them to a list if appropriate).
• Keep an eye on what lists you get added to / are a member of. Again you can then engage / follow up as appropriate.
• Include yourself to (relevant) twitter lists (e.g. Industry Lists) to boost your profile / following.
• Promote the public lists that you create and encourage people to subscribe /make suggestions.

Tools to help manage your Twitter Lists

In addition to the general twitter management appsx/platforms you might use such as Hootsuite and Tweetdeck there are a few additional tools to help you manage twitter lists.

• Twitilist – Add users in bulk to a list with easy-click buttons and a full view of those you follow
• TweetBe.at – View all those you follow, and add individually or in batches to your lists
• Twitlistmanager – A simple checkbox system for adding people to lists
• Tweez – web app for managing your twitter lists.
• Qweboo – general twitter management tool

Thank you for stopping by during the A to Z Challenge.

What lists do you use? Share in the comments.