TWITTER LISTS – WAYS OF FINDING USEFUL TWITTER LISTS IN YOUR NICHE (AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM)

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

TWITTER LISTS – WAYS OF FINDING USEFUL TWITTER LISTS IN YOUR NICHE (AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM)

As almost any active user knows, following a large number of profiles can easily make your Twitter feed look like a disorganized mash-up of unrelated information. Because of this, Twitter can often become a messy place full of unwanted noise and distractions that are hard to clean up and organize.

Well, don’t dread because Twitter lists are here to help!

Using Twitter lists is not only a great way to make your Twitter experience more enjoyable, it is also one of the most powerful tools you can use to get closer to your niche market or industry.

For example, you can use Twitter lists to quietly keep an eye on your competition or gain valuable information to help target your marketing efforts even better than before.

Lists are a really neat way of tracking any number of targeted users without actually becoming a follower of their individual profiles. This way, you can collect all your contacts from a single category on a list that will show only their feed information. For example, if you are in the affiliate business, you can create a list of your players, poker rooms, potential players for recruitment or a list of helpful resources that might draw some additional interest to your account.

The best thing about using lists is that you often don’t even need to make them yourself, you can just use existing lists already made by someone else. This method might actually get you closer to the trends of your industry since it shows you how other people from your niche see and value things you are also interested in.

CONFUSION ABOUT SEARCHING FOR TWITTER LISTS

Given the enormous potential of the feature, searching for Twitter lists is, quite surprisingly, not as easy and intuitive as you might imagine it should be.

It is completely unclear why is Twitter so obviously marginalizing this great function and often changing whether or now one can search for it or not. Just a few months ago, any user could (relatively easily) search for lists using Twitters’ own search engine, but today, due to changes made by the company, this is no longer possible. There are actually still many (now obsolete) online manuals showing how to do this. Here, we'll show you two possible ways of searching for relevant Twitter lists in your niche.

SEARCHING FOR LISTS WITH THIRD PARTY WEBSITES AND TOOLS

Since it is no longer possible to search for lists directly using Twitters search function, the most effective method of finding Twitter lists actually involves using third party websites and tools. One of the easiest ways is using Google.

Here is quick tutorial on how to do it.

When typing in a search term of your choice, use this template: “site:twitte.com “keyword” list” (replace the word "keyword" with the word you are looking for). For example, let’s try searching for lists that contain the word poker.

Here, you can see the results some interesting lists of poker pros with accounts on Twitter as well as list of “30 most compelling poker accounts”.

Besides Google, you might also check out some other websites and tools that provide list searching. A very simple one we recommend is this. 

It provides a simple tool that enables you to easily search for Twitter lists. Just type in a search term and t will show you all corresponding lists along with the information on the number of members, subscribers and even a description.

SEARCHING FOR LISTS THROUGH INFLUENTIAL PUBLIC PROFILES

Using this method means using a popular public profile as a starting point. Besides from being well informed, successful people will likely have up to date lists you can easily subscribe and use yourself without the hard work of actually compiling them.

So, in order to use this method, you first must find and choose an important profile from your niche and search through the list that person has made, subscribed to or has been added to. The way to do it is pretty simple if you follow the instructions below.

Find an influential account of your choice and go to their profile. For example, we have chosen a PokerStars account.

Click on the “list” tab. If the list tab is missing, it means that the chosen user is either: not a part of any list or that he/she keeps this information private. In case this happens, just search until you find a profile that does have a public list.

Once you do that, you will be able to see all the list the selected user is subscribed to and you will be able to do the same in just one click.

Don't forget to check the lists the chosen user has been added to by others. The way to do this I by clicking on the “Member of” button.  This shows you all the lists this user been added to by others. This information might be useful for evaluating the popularity and influence of a chosen profile.

SUGGESTIONS

Here are some useful ways you can use the Twitter list you find:

• Subscribing to a Twitter list enables you to track traffic related to a particular topic without actually becoming a follower of the users in the list.
• List enables following a batch of selected users (everyone on the list).
• @listwatcher – lets you track the lists you are added to. When you follow this account, you receive a direct message every time someone adds or removes you from a Twitter list. Of course, you will get a notification related to these things but a direct message makes it easier to potentially follow up or start a conversation, say thank you or something else.
• Adding someone to a list can be a really nice way of meeting new people. Every time you add someone to a list you create, they receive a notification which means you have (at least for a moment) captured their attention.

One more thing you should keep in mind is a fact that (like anything else in the online world) Twitter is very dynamic platform and lists sometimes quickly grow old. Searching through list more often and comparing old ones with newly compiled lists can sometimes give you a glimpse of current fluctuations in the business.

To stay informed on some more useful information on social media use, keep checking the PAW blog and take a look at our earlier articles on Twitter use in affiliate marketing and some social media tips.