Scrolling through Twitter can sometimes feel disorganized and overwhelming, but Twitter Lists can give you more control over the tweets you see.

Lists help you organize your feed by allowing you to group different accounts based on why you follow them. Lists are also more convenient than your default feed because you don’t need to follow an account to add them to a List. Lists can be made public or private. Private Lists are only available to your Twitter account, but public Lists are shareable and when an account is added to a public List, they get a notification.

For example, at Communiqué PR, we’ve grouped the members of the Public Relations Network that have Twitter handles into a Public Relations Network List. This allows us to view a feed from just the firms and executives of our network in one place, making it easier to see and react to their content.

Finding Lists to Follow

To begin using Lists to help focus your Twitter feed, start by looking for existing public Lists in your network. To find a relevant List, identify an account that you admire or that fits within a List topic. After navigating to their profile, select the ellipses button and then “View Lists” on the drop-down menu. This page will show you any public Lists made by that account. Selecting the ellipses in the top right corner will show you the Lists that include that account, including Lists they didn’t make.

Creating Your Own Lists

To make your own List, choose the Lists section in the main menu of Twitter and select “Create a List” or the New List icon. A window will encourage you to create a short name for your List, add a description, and decide if you want the List to be public or private. Public Lists should have easily understood names and descriptions that make it easy to share and follow. From there, Twitter will offer suggestions of profiles to add to your list and allow you to search for more accounts. You can also add handles to a List by visiting a profile, clicking the ellipses, selecting “Add/remove from Lists,” and choosing the List that fits the account.

When creating a public List applicable to your account as well, make sure to add your handle to your List to promote your tweets in the context of your List topic. Also, check the Lists that your account has been added to and make sure that none of them cause you concern or are a bad association for your brand. To remove yourself from a List, block the creator of the List (at least temporarily).

List Suggestions

Here are some Twitter List ideas that might help your brand:

• Staff Directory. Group all your staff members or people related to your team into one List. This will allow you to easily see any updates from your staff.
• Grouping accounts for the same brand. If your company or brand has required more than one Twitter handle based on geography, language or products, use Lists to group them all. For example, Microsoft’s List Microsoft Core Brands includes @microsoft, @xbox, @windows, @bing, @skype, and 11 more of their handles.
• Competitor’s accounts. We recommend you keep this list private. Amalgamating a list of your competitors allows you to keep tabs on their updates, monitor their tweets and observe their interactions without following them.
• Industry thought leaders. Is there anyone in your industry that you admire? Add them to a list to look at when seeking inspiration.
• Industry peers. Help support your peers in the industry by grouping them (and yourself!) into a List. This can act as an endorsement, help them grow their professional network, and allow you to keep track of their professional progress.
• Event guest lists. In-person experiences may not be in the works at the moment, but whether it’s a virtual event or a meeting in the future, add the participants to a List to help people stay connected and find each other after the event.
• ‘Notice me’ Lists. If you’re trying to attract accounts to follow or interact with yours, try creating a List with a title and description designed to intrigue and draw awareness to your account. Keep these Lists limited and focused to show the List’s purpose.
• Resources for your clients. These resources depend on your business, but a List that includes accounts that could be good resources or tweet insightful content can be easily shared.
• MVPs (Most Valuable Profiles). Grouping accounts that like and retweet your content into a public List allows you to recognize their interactions and engage in social listening without following those accounts.
• Location-based Lists. Create or find a List that keeps you up to date on local topics, news and public sentiment.

Once you’ve found or created your Lists, share them with your followers, your organization or your clients. Work to keep your Lists up to date by adding new accounts as you find them and culling inactive profiles. Maintaining your Lists will support how you interact with the content you’re interested in and help you grow and share your network.