Get On A List To Be A-List

Whether you’re the type with a neatly written ‘to-do’ list in your diary, a series of electronic reminders that flash up on your computer screen throughout the day, or a plethora of Post-its strewn about your desk, you’ll be familiar with lists as a way of keeping you and your business on track. But administration is not their only function – combined with social media, a list can be a powerful marketing tool.

Twitter lists are a valuable source of resource, expertise and knowledge to those who use them – and, crucially for entrepreneurs, a valuable affirmation of the resource, expertise and knowledge of those who compile and distribute them. Follow them to keep track of what your audiences are tweeting about. Create them to become a voice of authority and an enabler of networking. And get on them to become a recommended resource for your actual and potential clients.

But where to find them? Look no further:

1. Tweetdeck Directory. Type in a search term, or browse by category. A list of people who hold relevant lists will appear, along with information about the list. Follow the list, or add it to a new list column on Tweetdeck.
2. Listorious is a site dedicated to Twitter lists, searchable by tag, person or category. Sign in to the site to follow, or jump to Twitter and follow the usual way.
3. You and your connections. Your followers, and followees, are great sources of lists. Seeing as your connections are based on mutual interests, the chances of finding a list of use is almost guaranteed.
4. Randoms. But that said, you don’t know what’s out there till you start looking. You can search on a variety of terms – keywords, categories, tags and more – and see what comes up on sites like justtweetit and wefollow.
5. Google. A simple code will tell Google to search the entire Twitter looking for your keyword or tag: site:twitter.com/*/[your keyword or tag].

So no excuse – start finding or creating and distributing lists, and harnessing their marketing potential. And as you invest in them, you’ll find your presence on them grows with your business.