An Explanation of Twitter Lists

After you have amassed a following of more than a few people, it can be difficult to wade through all of the chatter and to actually do some networking.  On any given period of time for example, some of your followers will be discussing everything from the mundane happenings in their life to their latest business accomplishment. Others may be posting inspirational quotes or simply “retweeting” tweets or posts that others have posted.

Over time, you’ll begin to see that some of your followers use Twitter to socialize:  “My kid just did this incredibly silly thing….”  or that some people simply use their Twitter account in order to promote themselves and their agendas endlessly: “I just wrote THIS two seconds ago”.

The key to using Twitter as an effective communication tool is to manage or organize your communication.  Lists are a tool that can help you to get organized.  Lists are also unfamiliar to many Twitter users.

What exactly does a List do?  Creating a List on Twitter will enable you to segment your followers into different groups in order to more effectively manage your account and accomplish your goals while still continuing to build a following.  The fact is that using lists can save you an incredible amount of time too.

You can create up to 20 lists on each Twitter account that you have.  Each list CAN include up to 500 users if you so wish.  To be honest, it is probably not a good idea to organize your lists into such a large group of people, but the fact is that it can be done.  Once you start using lists, you will never have to scroll down your feed again to scan the list of tweets.  Instead, you can check your lists in order to see what is going on with your followers, especially the ones that can have a significant impact on your business pursuits.

For example, if you are a writer/blogger and looking for an audience for your latest book, you might want to start creating a List on Twitter.  Look for people who are book reviewers, booksellers or book bloggers and put them on your List.  Better yet, begin to develop a relationship with them while your book is still in the planning stages.  These are the people who will most likely purchase your book.  In addition, being added to a List is sort of like rewarding a follower; when you acknowledge or notice your followers, your actions get noticed, which can get you results.  Those results might mean a book sale.

Start setting up your Lists now.  You’ll be astounded to realize the impact that this Twitter tool can have on your business pursuits.

I’m writing on the topic of free people search and finding people online.