30 Minute Twitter Solution

by Phil Gerbyshak on June 3, 2009

You’re busy.

I’m busy.

We’re all busy.

It’s super easy to get sucked into spending a LOT of time on the various social media solutions without knowing whether or not you’re making a difference in your bottom line or not. This article is the first of many that will teach you how to make the most of your time AND make sure you are using your time wisely.

30 Minute Twitter Solution

1) Start by signing up for HootSuite. This could take 5 minutes or so, so take this time to go grab yourself a cup of coffee or continuing to prep for your day.

2) You should already be logged in, but if not, log in with your Twitter userID and password, and click on the X to remove the Direct Messages (DM) column. DMs are made to distract you, and don’t need to be answered right away if you only have 30 minutes. This will leave Replies and All Friends. You’ll want these columns open all the time, because you know why you’re using Twitter for business or you’re using Twitter for personal reasons. If you’ve only got 30 minutes, you can only choose 1 reason, and stick with it for this session.

3) Click on the Search button on the top, and add 2 new columns for 2 of your keywords. I keep Social Media and Milwaukee as my searches. You search for what’s important to you. This will give you 4 columns.

4) Look at the @replies. See if there is anything there worth replying back to. Say thanks to a few folks who’ve said hey to you, especially if they’ve pointed new friends your way. Say hello to at least 5 people.

5) Re-tweet 2 links you see from existing people you follow. You can do this by mousing over someone’s picture, and clicking on the arrow that says “Retweet <username’s> post”

You should be at 15 minutes now, if you’re careful. If you’re faster than that, good for you! You may finish early, or you may expand steps 6 and 7 a bit.

6) Read through the first search panel that you subscribed to. Unless it’s a totally obscure search, you will have at least a screen full of stuff. Click on 3 links (they’ll open in a new browser window not in Tweetdeck). If they’re useful, go back to TweetDeck and re-tweet them (like in step 5). If not, click on 2 more links and skim 2 more. Try to share at least 1 useful re-tweet.

7) Pick 2 people in this stream to follow and follow them.

8) Read through the second search panel that you subscribed to. Unless it’s a totally obscure search, you will have at least a screen full of stuff. Click on 3 links (they’ll open in a new browser window not in Tweetdeck). If they’re useful, go back to TweetDeck and re-tweet them (like in step 5). If not, click on 2 more links and skim 2 more. Try to share at least 1 useful re-tweet.

9) Pick 2 people in this stream to follow and follow them.

10) Share one quick tip for today with your followers.

With any extra time:

11) Respond to a few more folks who Replied to you.

12) Follow a few more people.

13) Click and share a few more useful links from your searches or your followers.

14) Ask a question of your followers, and return later to collect your answers.