Fundraisin Is Fun Putting the "fun" in fundraising

I’m a fundraiser…and I’ve learned a thing or two about Twitter over the last year!

I just celebrated my 1^st Twitterversary at my personal account and almost 24,000 tweets later (yes, I tweet early and I tweet often), I’ve learned a few things. Here in no particular order are five things which can improve your Twitter presence:

TALK!- People are on Twitter to converse with others (at least, that’s why they SHOULD be there). If all you do is tweet a link to your latest blog post, ask people to like your Facebook page or tweet your latest Foursquare check-ins, ummmmm…you’re doing it wrong!

Use your time on Twitter to just talk to people. Sure, the conversation is in short, quick responses but people looooove to talk, discuss ideas, even argue a little. Twitter for me is like sitting in a restaurant with a group of friends and shootin the breeze about everything.

NUMBERS DON’T MATTER!- I admit: When I first started out, I would check the number of followers almost religiously. I was worried that no one would care what I had to say. But I learned very quickly that the conversation matters most- and if you push out good content, the followers will come.

I am well aware that for many people this is a problem- they have bosses who want to see big numbers, especially lots of followers. But does lots of followers mean success? Do all those followers retweet your tweets, do they click your links and drive traffic to your website?

The number that matters most? 150. I once read (and I apologize that I cannot find the link) a blogger who said that if a Twitter account has 150 followers who are always engaging and always pushing out your content, then that Twitter profile would be successful. I tend to agree- people with many followers but little engagement…not that attractive to me.

CUZ YOU’VE GOT…PERSONALITY!- I tweet about all things nonprofit. But my followers also know that I’ll get involved in any conversation- because it’s all about talking to people and having fun. My favorite topic is anything to do with the 80s- an example:

I watched the movie Top Gun with my wife and tweeted throughout. SO many people engaged me, retweeted me, shared their memories of seeing the movie the first time and more. The Lesson: Get to know your followers, like you would friends at work. You never know when you can throw out a little tidbit of info and bring a smile to someone’s face.

THE FRIENDSHIPS- Ask anyone who’s been on Twitter for awhile and they can name you a host of people they haven’t met in real life, that they only know on Twitter- but they’re friends. I’d love nothing more than to hop on a plane to Seattle, Boston, Toronto, Kansas City and more to meet these people. For now, I get to “see” them every single day.

Be friendly to others- and they will reciprocate.

GET A MENTOR!- Twitter is a hard nut to crack. Lots of nuances, unwritten rules of engagement, a language all its own. Even if you think you know what you’re doing, it’s always good to find a couple of social media smarties (NEVER use the word guru!), follow them and when in doubt, ask their advice.

My social media teachers have always been helpful, share their knowledge and expertise when asked and are critical when needed- but I’m always learning from them.

Finally, I have a host of pet peeves, such as people who have an egg for their avatar, people who only broadcast and don’t share, accounts that do not respond to your inquiries. But my biggest pet peeve of all:

QUIT IT WITH THE AUTO DM!!!! You follow someone and a minute later you receive a direct message from them saying, Thanks for the follow. Check us out on Facebook too!!!! Maybe they should say thank you via a regular tweet- it’s always nice to feel welcome. Auto DM’s annoy me.

It’s been a great year on The Twitter and I look forward to the next one! Cheers!

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