Blogging Tips

Twitter released a beta version of a new feature called lists this month, introducing a highly anticipated feature for many Twitter users. The lists are easier ways in which to organize Twitter content and users, presenting bloggers with some new and unique ways in which they can use Twitter to promote their online publication.

Twitter, already a heavily populated marketing channel for bloggers and large brands alike, has been slow to add too many new features to its service since launching a few years back. With its growing popularity, however, the need for additional functionality has become an unavoidable predicament for Twitter as a company.

In adding lists to Twitter, users can now better organize the content they are most interested in on Twitter’s site. This is important because as a still rapidly growing site, Twitter has a great deal of content that one needs to sift through in order to find anything of value. As more advertisers turn to Twitter for their own marketing purposes, Twitter has become full of content that is largely irrelevant to most users. This presents a problem in Twitter’s ability to retain and attract users to its site, while also decreasing your ability to successfully promote your blog through Twitter.

To address this, Twitter lists offer additional customization around Twitter content, making it more accessible and easier to consume. While list functionality has been available for Twitter through third party applications, having the new feature come directly from Twitter makes it a more incorporating addative to the Twitter experience.

Here are some ways in which you can use Twitter lists to promote your blog:

Create a List for Your Blog

Anything tweeted about your blog can appear in this list, for all to see. The good thing about lists is that they come with their own feed. This means that others looking to gather information about your blog in real time or merely through the Twittersphere can do so by accessing your list.

If they would prefer to receive your blog updates in this manner, the Twitter list feed enables them to incorporate this into their blog or RSS reader as well. With this, you have created an additional access point to your blog content.

Hold Ongoing Discussions Relating to Your Blog

As lists can contain subscribers as well as those that contributed to your list content by mentioning a denoted keyword, Twitter can now better track conversations taking place around a particular topic. Use your Twitter list to see how readers feel about your content, or how they feel about a subject that directly relates back to your blog.

You can use your research as fodder for an upcoming article or simply provide another discussion outlet for your readers by participating in these ongoing discussions. Your blog’s list in particular can also have its content displayed on your actual website, giving a real-time, multimedia affect for your site visitors to engage in and enjoy.

Turn to Other Twitter Lists to Gain Traffic

Check out some Twitter lists created by others and see how well they can relate back to your blog. Those lists that discuss similar areas of interest can be great places for you to network with others. The great thing about Twitter lists is that you are better directed to the useful content and quality users on Twitter. Participating in others’ lists gives you access to these more quality users while also giving you a place to discuss topics relevant to your blog.

Use these Twitter lists as opportunities to redirect traffic back to your blog, but do so in a genuine manner. Marketing overkill is a turn off to many users on Twitter, and this blatant behavior can get you blocked from Twitter lists all together.