It’s easy to measure the size of your Twitter community by follower counts. But it is more important to have a strong Twitter community where you engage others and build relationships. There are no numbers that easily define the strength of your community. Instead, your daily actions demonstrate your community strength.

• Before You Start: You have a business Twitter account.
• Learning Level: 2 | Getting Started
• Article Last Updated: Saturday, August 11, 2012

Build a Strong Twitter Community

Everyone starts out with a Twitter community of zero followers. The best way to build a strong Twitter community is to engage your community. Talk with them. Listen to what they are talking about. Share valuable information. Build relationships. This is true when your Twitter community is less than 40 people or over 40,000.

Here are some ideas for how to build a strong Twitter community.

• Tweet consistently. Your Twitter goal can help you decide how often you should be tweeting. Everyone misses a day here and there, and everyone takes a vacation. But if you tweet for business, you need to show up on Twitter every business day.
• Say things that add value. Anecdotes about the weather or personal observations show your personality, but most of your tweet should have substance. Your tweets should help you to fulfill your Twitter business goals and connect to your target audience.
• Retweet good things. When someone else says something that you feel is valuable to your target audience, share it with your community. Not only does this pass good information along to others, but it highlights the person who said it. Part of building community is letting other people shine. Share the glory.
• Offer assistance. If someone in your community asks a question, answer it if you can. If you can’t answer it but you know someone who can, make that connection. Be generous with your information and connections.
• Tweet with restraint. There are some things that should not be said on Twitter. It’s not a place to vent about employees, vendors, customers or anyone else. Be honest and real, but also stay professional. Sometimes, that’s a hard line to draw.
• Avoid being chatty. We all have days where we naturally talk more than other days. When you notice you are putting out more tweets than normal that are anecdotal rather than adding value, stop. Instead of tweeting, call or email a friend. Don’t dilute the value of your tweets by being chatty.
• Use Direct Messages. If you are in a conversation that gets going back and forth, switch to DMs or email or chat. Don’t clutter up your tweet stream with conversations unrelated to your business goals.
• Share the success of others. Did someone in your community (your industry or business neighborhood) get an award or get media coverage? Did someone just get a book published? Did someone have a baby? Share it.
• Share links to resources related to your business. Help your community stay in touch with your industry by sharing relevant blogs, articles, and services. Twitter is a great way to point out great online resources.

Your turn: How strong is your Twitter community? How do you engage your community? Share your experience here.
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