It's no surprise that we're big fans of social networking and the possibilities these sites present for keeping in touch and sharing information. You know by now that Twitter is a great source of quick links and tiny bursts of wisdom. But, like any other form of communication, sometimes just enough is a feast, and too much is worse than a famine.
Recently we've noticed a phenomenon that can be disconcerting to anyone with something important to share. Eager to spread our own brand of wisdom, we logged onto our Twitter account only to discover the following message: "Twitter is over capacity." Yes, there were too many tweets, even for this industrious little bird.
Of course, this level of information overload is problematic for more than just the servers that make Twitter a reality. Once you've developed a hearty list of people to follow, you may just discover that you're spending way too much on the site. You've lost your return on your time invested.
It's time for us to look at how you can effectively cut down on the tweeting noise and focus instead on the nuggets of useful information we all know are there for eBay sellers.
Now you have a corner of the Twitter world you can easily attend to daily for the latest news and ideas about eBay
Play favorites with your contacts
Your first line of defense is to create lists based on your Twitter interests. If you're on the site to gather information specifically about eBay, you can more easily do that by creating a list just for eBay sources. Then, when you click on it, you can skip the news of the latest ball game, the stomach virus sweeping through your list of friends and the latest achievements of the preschoolers in the lives of your loved ones. It's not that those subjects are not interesting; it's just that, in their time and place, you can explore them after you've gathered the latest word on eBay happenings.
Creating a list on Twitter couldn't be easier, and each username is entitled to as many as 20 lists per account. Simply search for the username you'd like to follow. When the profile pops up, you'll find it's accompanied by a "List" button. Either use that to create a new list, or add this person to your existing "eBay" list. It's that simple! Now you have a corner of the Twitter world you can easily attend to daily for the latest news and ideas about eBay.
To get you started we've put together a list of people and companies to follow for eBay inspiration and news. We also asked our social media guru Stephanie Inge for her suggestions of who to follow. Here's our combined list of essential Twitter sources for the eBay seller:
Still, even when you've tried to control them, tweets—just like sweets—are always going to be tempting and easy to overload on. Once you've created your own list of favorite sources of eBay information you'll need to watch your tweet consumption.
If you find you've still got too many tidbits to savor, simply pare your list, or create new lists to categorize your tweets. Twitter should be a valuable and easy-to-use source of great and stimulating information. It will be up to you to protect yourself from feeling overstuffed!
Brad and Debra Schepp are the authors of 20 books, including eBay PowerSeller Secrets and The
Official Alibaba.com Success Guide: Insider Tips and Strategies for Sourcing Products from the World's Largest B2B Marketplace. Their most recent book, which Deb co-authored with John Lawson, Kick Ass Social Commerce for E-preneurs: It's Not About Likes—It's About Sales, was recently named the 2015 Small Business Book of the Year in the social media category.
For further information, visit Brad and Deb's website, bradanddeb.com.
Opinions expressed here may not be shared by Auctiva Corp. and/or its principals.
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