Tips to Consider for Twitter Automation

While there are plenty of folks who enjoy using Twitter purely for the social interaction that it provides, still others use their tweets as another facet of their overall twitter marketing plan. For the savvy user, Twitter can be leveraged with many other activities you may already be doing. The benefit of doing this, of course, is that it allows you to automate this portion of your marketing activities – freeing you up to pursue other things.

For the avid article marketer, EzineArticles.com has recently added the capability of tweeting your articles. It takes just a few moments to set up, but could potentially provide users with long-term dividends. First, there is the obvious visibility among your own followers, who are likely to visit the article, or your website directly. Second, a well-titled article could potentially show up in keyword searches of other Twitter users that may also be interested in the same niche – they may seek to reprint your article on their site, contact you for joint ventures, or become an affiliate for your product.

Bloggers can harness the power of Twitter in a number of ways. First, there are several handy plugins for Wordpress that can tweet your blog posts for you. Second, you can utilize a site such as TwitterFeed.com to serve up your blog’s RSS feed to your Twitter profile. Each have their own advantages – you’ll need to compare them to see which one will better suit your needs.

Other social networking sites such as Facebook and Squidoo also have handy Twitter tie-ins. Squidoo users have the option to announce the updates of their lenses to their Twitter followers – a handy tool if you are using the site for promotion of your own niche products or affiliate programs. I’d categorize this option as “a little goes a long way,” as frequent updates may become aggravating to your followers. Facebook allows users to integrate their tweets into their profiles as well. For those who tweet frequently, bear in mind that those who have friended you on Facebook will literally be inundated with these updates if they have opted to receive them. That said, use this automation with caution – at the very least, be sure to provide ample notice to your followers that they will be receiving frequent updates.

The time savings of such automation tools can be very appealing, but they should always be weighed against the potential for aggravating the very people we are trying so hard to attract. First and foremost, social media is about establishing genuine connections. Use discretion and consider all of your options fully before you place your social media dialogues on auto-pilot.