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:
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.
Tags: organization, Twitter, Twitter Campaign, Twitter Hashtag, Twitter SEO, Twitter Tools Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, Monitor and Measure, Social media, Tech Industry