Twitter offers several different methods for direct communication with other users, and each method has its own specific uses. While opinions may vary on whether to use a particular method in a given situation, here are some general guidelines.
Mentions, also known as @ replies, are publicly viewable communications between two or more users. In conversations between two users, Mentions appear automatically in the streams of both participants in the conversation, as well as in the streams of users who follow both participants. Things get a bit murkier when conversations involve three or more participants, but the general rule of thumb here is that Mentions are public. Unless you have specifically privatized your account, Mentions are viewable by anyone who visits your Twitter profile page, and they are searchable both within Twitter and without.
Earlier in Twitter’s development, Mentions appeared in the streams of anyone who followed any user in the conversation. At that time, the common wisdom among many users was to limit conversations to topics that would be useful to the entire community, and to take any other conversations over to Direct Messaging or e-mail. That attitude seems to have changed, but I still recommend trying to provide as much context as you can when conversing with other users in public. The easier your stream of updates is to read and understand, the easier it will be for other users to determine if you or your business is worth following and interacting with.
Direct Messages. Communications made via Direct Message are visible only to those users participating in the conversation. Ideal for more sensitive, more personal, or potentially embarrassing customer service issues, the Direct Message is also an idea method for promoting offers to select groups of contacts (provided your marketing platform facilitates the easy distribution of Direct Messages to multiple recipients).
The Direct Message should not be used for all one-on-one communications, however. Keep in mind that any conversation you have which might benefit more than the person you are speaking with (and which doesn’t require the exchange of personal information such as an account number) might be better off held in public, via the Mention method described above. Whenever you have the opportunity to show yourself being helpful in public, you should take it.
Retweets. A variation on the Mention, the Retweet (often abbreviated RT) is useful for highlighting good content posted by customers and colleagues, but also for providing instant context in certain conversational situations. Any conversation held by the public Mention method provides context via meta-links included with each tweet (found below the tweet on the Twitter Website), but that context requires a click. A retweeted comment might be easier to follow. Users who still use the non-official, “old style” Retweet method—which involved nothing more than preceding a Mention with the initials RT or the word Via—are able to provide answers to questions posed in the retweeted comment, as well (depending on character limit). This allows for entire (albeit brief) conversations to be viewable within the span of a single update.
How are you using Twitter’s various communication methods in your business? Leave a comment below and let us know.
