Let’s Talk About Getting That First Reply On Twitter

When I first started on Twitter, as I have recounted many a time before, I thought that I was missing out on a really huge joke. I had been hearing about how great Twitter was for about 2 years, and I decided that I should at least be able to talk intelligently about why so many people thought it was great. I figured I might as well jump in and try it out. I expected that I’d send a few tweets out, people would start talking to me, and then I’d be all set.

Boy was I wrong.

First of all, as so many people new to Twitter do, I followed most of the accounts that Twitter suggested. Say hello to Rainn Wilson, Harvard Business Review, Yoko Ono, Fast Company, Mashable, and Michael Ian Black. I was sort of scratching my head. Do these folks reply to someone who is just getting used to Twitter? As I stuck around a bit, the answer became clear. No. No they don’t.

In the meantime, I had started to follow enough people that I noticed that there were conversations going on. In fact, some people had really fun conversations. Some people could say anything and it would get retweeted. Boy was I jealous of them. I couldn’t get a single person to reply to me. I tried everything. Since I was having the same problem on my blog, I was getting quite the complex. Was I doing something wrong? Was I just too new? How long did you have to stick around before you had cut your teeth enough?

In short, I was getting rather discouraged with the whole mess.

If you are here, or if you have been here recently, take heart. There are things you can do to get out of that hole.

1. Pay compliments: When you are new, nobody cares about what blog post you just wrote or the fact that you have a Facebook page. It’s brutal but true. In order to get to know people, you have to be the one that asks people if they want to dance. One of the best ways to do this is to compliment a person who wrote a post you like, or if you see good news streaming by, congratulate the person. This not only creates a warm and squishy feeling for them, but it also proves you are not a bot.

2. Don’t try too hard: When I was trying to get people to tweet back to me, I tried all sorts of approaches except for one – just being myself. I asked questions, I tried to be funny, I tried to do little comedic routines even. The best single approach is to be yourself. Be natural. You don’t want people to talk to you just to tell you to shut up 🙂

3. Go. To. Chats: Now, I’m not going to lie. When you are brand new to Twitter, chats can be pretty intimidating. There are a lot of people talking, and you need to figure out how to follow the conversation. Since you’re not used to being in or around conversations, this can be a bit awkward. Try it anyway. Even if you respond to just one person who is saying stuff you agree with in the chat, you will start to lay the foundation for getting to talk to people. The more people you talk to, the more people you will have the chance to get to know. And guess what? Once people know you, they tend to talk to you more!

When I attended my first ever #blogchat, I was on the verge of giving up on Twitter for all of the reasons I mentioned above. By the end of my first chat, I had what I now call “the #blogchat high.” Not only had people responded to me, but I instantaneously saw the value of Twitter – real-time exchanges of ideas, help, questions, and answers amongst people who have a common interest. Crazy!

If you’re not sure what chats are out there, go visit this massive Google Doc that represents the entire world of Twitter chats. It’s a treasure trove of opportunity!

Now, those are the things that worked for me. What have you tried so far? What worked for you?

Let’s talk about it!

Image by Julie Elliott-Abshire. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/je1196

23 comments

  1. good tips Margie. Is there a way to find people that are brand new to Twitter? I read a blog awhile back – may have even been yours – that suggested I engage with new people as an encouragement to them, and a means to find new people to connect with. There ought to be a way to search for new users (not bots) with a small number of followers. Just not sure how to do it. thanks and keep up the great content! JA

    1. Hi Jay, there are all kinds of ways. One of the best is to attend #blogchat, actually. Because it’s one of the biggest chats around, it attracts attention from a lot of people who are fairly new to the online world. You can also do searches for various words or phrases or tweet in such a way that newer people will find you as a resource 🙂

  2. Great post – one I’ll recommend to back me up when I keep telling my clients that I know they feel like the new nerd at school but that EVERYBODY feels that way when they start!
    Jay I se up a search column on hootsuite for the phrase ‘I’ve finally joined twitter’ and that shows me a fair few new tweeters, I don’t follow/engage with all of them as there are not enough hours in the day but I have met new tweeters through it – to set up a search like this look at my guest post on Birds on the Blog recently http://www.birdsontheblog.co.uk/what-is-hootsuite-and-why-should-you-be-using-it-for-your-social-networking/
    Best wishes
    Gem

  4. Margie, excellent article! It describes exactly what my own learning curve with Twitter has been. It is truly an art – like “real life” social situations are – to learn how to relax, not take things too personally, be genuine, not step on toes, etc. Your suggestion of chats is great – a new discovery for me as well. Sometimes I think that life on Twitter has it’s own personality – days when there are responses, days when no one seems to care, days when everyone is silly, days when it’s just the same-old-same-old. Perhaps it is all just projection on my part, but it also makes sense that if there can be a “political climate” there can be a “Twitter climate.” Helps in the “not taking it all personally” area.

    1. There are definitely tips and dips, Lois. No question. And they seldom make sense. All of a sudden you can’t seem to buy a reply, and then a week later you can’t say anything without getting retweeted. It’s truly bizarre and as you say, it’s seldom just about you. There are too many factors involved for it just to be about one person 🙂

  5. Chats can be a little intimidating? HA! Margie, you are way too nice sometimes. 😉

    Good advice though. I met a lot of great people through chats. I also gained a little knowledge in the beginning by following along with hashtags. I believe the first one I really played with was #DonateRIF started by Jason Pinter. There was quite a gathering around that event. Plus, unlike chats, they are easier to keep up with in the beginning. (Just food for thought to your new readers.)

    1. Great point, BD. Hashtags in general are great ways to see what people are talking about in regards to a topic that interests you. To that point, often you can visit a chat hashtag on a day when the chat is not going on so that you can start replying and getting to know people when it’s not so busy.

  6. Margie, I remember the very first time you and I exchanged tweets: the day (not that date, though), where I was sitting, what we were talking about, the mood of the morning. And you know the main reason I remember that? Because you were being your wonderful unique self with me, even though we’d never talked before. In just a couple of tweets your humor, intelligence and warmth came through. The way you give of yourself to ‘show the ropes’ to newcomers is only one of many ways you are a truly special human being. On top of that, you’re *wicked* smart, so you teach us lots. Thank you for being you. <3 🙂

  8. This was my exact experience with Twitter as well! At first, I just didn’t get it. I would throw questions out and hear crickets. I would write posts like the “social media” experts said that basically sounded like a used car salesman. Once I started to be myself, people responded. I’ve even had my favorite author (@TerryFallis) retweet my posts! I thought I would explode from the excitement within! Being generous with sharing, while doing it in a *real* way has been the secret.

    Thank you so much for starting up this conversation!

    1. So glad to hear you got up over the hump. Few things in the online world are more rewarding once you get that Twitter ball rolling. Thanks for the comment!

  9. Margie,
    Twitter maturity is a funny thing. I read your post and I thought back to how I have grown to understand and appreciate what Twitter can be…what it should be and how like anything you grow into it.

    I am going to take a chance and give you three links to posts I have written about Twitter. If you read them, you will see how I have grown up.

    2009 Following Twitter Posts Can Be Exhausting http://blog.webconsuls.com/2009/03/following-twitter-posts-can-be.html

    2010 New Twitter Home to Cuckoo Birds http://blog.webconsuls.com/2010/09/new-twitter-home-to-cuckoo-birds.html

    2011 Twitter Is My Virtual Birdfeeder http://blog.webconsuls.com/2011/02/twitter-birdfeeder.html

    Enjoy!

    Judy

  10. I thinnk this is a great post. Being a relative newbie myself, I can attest to everything you’ve said.
    One additional thing I’d add is that when you stop feeling like such an absolute dork yourself, you find that you can help others that may know a little less. We are all constantly learning.
    I met a new co-follower just last night. She has @ 2.5k followers and had never really tried a chat. After the chat we exchanged some info about what she was interested in. I referred her to the same doc you have linked above. I listed a few of the chats I enjoy (including one yours, of course), and left the door open.
    I have met some truly awesome, amazingly open, talented and generous people via Twitter. And now, after only a few months I can continue to pay forward the debt I owe them, 140 characters at a time.
    Great post Margie.

    1. I can’t believe you’ve only been on Twitter a few months. You’re a master at connecting people!

      Thanks for the comment – I’m glad I know you 🙂

  11. Thanks everyone. I too found Twitter way too complex. I’m a bit of a stubborn person, so I tasked myself this week to learn how to use it. I wish there was a site for newbees, I have learned so much this week but I’ve had to search for a lot of info. I now totally understand all the terminology that on Monday felt like I needed a dictionary! I will definitely add you to my favorites for some cool tips.

  12. Great post – yes been there (or perhaps still am a little?) – it does take time and patience. I’m far from the biggest in terms of follow/followers/posts but I do like the interactions I have.

    Have several chats tagged on my Tweetdeck (eg #edchat, #edtech) and check out what is being said rather than participate because when the good stuff is happening in the US its bedtime here in Aus, and then vice-versa

    The blog? Still in the disappointment phase… few reads and even fewer comments. Will persist.

    But … good to read your post and the commentsd which flowed from it.

    cheers

    Tony

  13. I think Twitter by nature is pretty intimidating for someone new – or rather, someone familiar with Facebook. You’re thrown to a world without images (except thumbnails of people’s faces), games (urgh) and a whole bunch of text in 140 characters each. I know a good number of people that gave up after 5 Tweets into the vacuum chamber.
    I started off Tweeting among friends, business partners and eventually grew to sharing great resources online in which I started to grow outside my network. Of course, tweetchats paved the way to an amazing boost and #TweetDiner has to be my favorite still 😉

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