Twitter has finally completely rolled out their new “Twitter List” feature. This might leave many of our readers wondering: What exactly is a Twitter List… and how could I be using it for my clients or my brand? We’ve included below an introduction that will get you pointed in the right direction.
What are Twitter Lists?
Quite simply, they’re a way for anyone to “group” feeds together.
How are Twitter Lists Used?
There are several ways that Twitter Lists are being used. We’ll look at two very important differences in how people can utilize Twitter Lists, private and public.
Private Twitter Lists
Private Twitter Lists are used to organize the people you’re already following. For many people, this may be as simple as dividing up co-workers and personal contacts. However, lists can be as granular as you’d like them to be. Perhaps you’d like to split your followers into west-coast and east-coast co-workers, or family, friends, co-workers and celebrities. Quite simply, lists allow you to organize these folks in any way you wish. Once you’ve organized them, you will see tweets from all the folks in the list on one page.
Public Twitter Lists
Public Twitter Lists are more about shaping how others follow groups on Twitter. We’ve only just scratched the surface of how these public Twitter Lists can be used, but here are several key uses we’ve seen so far:
1. Experts
Want to follow only the most influential in tech? You don’t need to spend countless hours digging for them, just look to Robert Scoble’s Twitter List of the most influential in tech: @scobleizer/most-influential-in-tech, or follow Danny Sullivan’s list of influential search engine marketers: @dannysullivan/searchmarketing, or Maria Popova’s list of TEDsters: @brainpicker/TEDsters.
2. Brand Consolidation
Many companies now have multiple Twitter accounts. Wired, for example, has 12 blogs currently, and each has a Twitter account. They’ve consolidated the ability to follow all 12 with a single Twitter List: @wired/wiredblogs. Our Home Depot client is another great example, as they have created one location where multiple International Twitter accounts, such as Canada and Mexico can be found, along with deals and customer service: @homedepot/homedepot.
3. Employee Lists
For those few brands who have really embraced social media and are willing to let their employees speak on their behalf, Twitter Lists are a great way to aggregate the true footprint of a brand in Twitter by linking to employee accounts. The New York Times is a great example, having used one of the 18 lists they’ve created to be a “staff” list: @nytimes/staff. Zappos, who have been encouraging employees to be active in social media, have also created an employees list: @zappos/employees.
While it’s a very simple idea, there are quite a few interesting possibilities that haven’t been explored yet. I’ve heard great suggestions about using Twitter Lists to aggregate people attending events, or Twitter Lists to create a more local experience on Twitter. The folks at Mashable have a great “How To” guide if you’re interested in learning more about using Twitter Lists.
If you’d like to explore some of the best Twitter Lists currently out, there’s already a website aggregating Twitter Lists, which you can find at Listorious.com.
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