How to Get the Most Out of Twitter Using Lists

Today’s consumers are connected, mobile creatures—and, it turns out, many of them are on Twitter. In fact, with around 320 million monthly active users, Twitter is the third most commonly accessed social network behind Facebook and Instagram. If you want to have a robust social strategy that delivers measurable ROI, odds are you’ve invested in these platforms. Our network of talented analysts and contributors have collectively covered how to leverage tools like Facebook Live and creative ways to use Instagram for business in the past, so it’s time to take a hard look at a commonly underutilized Twitter tool: Twitter lists. What are they, and how can you use them to your advantage? Let’s explore.

What is a Twitter List?

Let’s not overthink this—a Twitter list is simply a curated group of Twitter accounts. Users can create their own lists or—like the process of following—can subscribe to others. You can also see a list timeline that pulls up only the tweets from the user accounts selected for the list.

There are several ways to create a Twitter list, and how to do it depends on the device you’re using. Whether you’re on iOS, Android, or accessing the web via a computer, creating a list can be done in minutes and takes only four or five steps. Check out Twitter’s simple how-to post, which includes information on what to do when you want to delete or edit your lists or subscribe to others. The post is a little longer than 140 characters, but it still won’t take you long to read.

How Can Your Business Leverage Twitter Lists?

I just described what a Twitter list is, but here’s why you need one: Besides the fact this tool makes it easy to organize and segment your Twitter audience, you can leverage Twitter lists to stay up to date with what your competitors are doing, more meaningfully engage with prospects, and assist with your content marketing strategy. Let’s break each of those down.

• Watch your competition. Create a private—keyword: private—Twitter list to follow your competitors. That way, you don’t have to sift through mile-long feeds or conspicuously follow them for updates. See what they’re doing that’s working and what isn’t working, and apply some of that insight to your own efforts.
• Engage with prospects. For brands, we know social media is less about marketing and more about creating a customer experience—that is, truly, a form of good marketing rooted in prioritizing consumer value-add over strict brand message delivery. You know what? It works, and Twitter lists can help you do it well. Create a private list of prospects to send them targeted tweets or use segmented lists for retargeting ads. You could even use a different Twitter list to engage with industry influencers as part of your influencer marketing strategy.
• Boost content marketing initiatives. Twitter lists are well suited for the curation side content marketing. By segmenting lists by typical tweet topics, you can easily see what’s trending at any given moment. If you’re looking for some click-worthy content to share with your audience, your Twitter lists can offer some great options.

What’s Next?

Recent stats show almost 66 percent of companies with more than 100 employees use Twitter for marketing purposes, and a whopping 92 percent of companies with presence on the platform tweet more than once a day. That’s a lot of activity! Is your business on board with Twitter? If so, are you using the list feature? If you have any tips and uses on top of what I’ve mentioned above, share them in the comments.

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