When it comes to public expressions of social media gratitude, Twitter is in its own league.  It has effectively created the perfect storm for reciprocity where a mutual exchange of favors is not only commonplace, it is required for engagement.  You follow me, I follow you.  You re-tweet me, I look for a way to thank you.

While a simple thank you tweet sends the right message, it says even more if you go above and beyond for someone.  Twitter makes it easy.

Since professionals who consistently show appreciation for others are very successful (and happy) with life, I recommend the following 10 ways to say “Thank You” on Twitter (in descending order of positive impact):

1. The Invitation Tweet

What I like most about Twitter is being able to ask questions every day.  When someone offers a valuable response, a great way to say thanks is to extend an invitation to the person to showcase his or her advice (perhaps on a blog).  In doing so, you can also profile the person’s business after the article.

2. The Authorship Tweet

This is one of the most powerful tweets.  This form of appreciation involves researching a person’s articles on their blog and then re-tweeting a valuable article for your followers.

3. The List Addition

A great way to extend thanks to someone is to add them to one of your lists.  I maintain a top career resources list, as well as 19 other lists (e.g. local professionals, other JMU and UVA alumni, artisans and authors).

4. The Recognition Tweet

Another great way to show gratitude to someone is to research information about his or her business, and to then share the news with your followers.

5. The Re-Tweet

When someone shares one of your tweets, rather than simply saying thanks for the RT, glance through their twitter feed for something you can share.  (For reference, a great resource who re-tweets quality articles is Susan P. Joyce).

To be honest to all the people who don’t use Twitter and question how I can keep track of tweets from so many people all at once (although I have friends who follow many more), my response is you can’t.  My source for articles to re-tweet is typically my twitter lists and the twitter feeds of people I know demonstrate a sense of gratitude via the techniques on this page.

6. The Dialogue Tweet

A logical (and intended) way to engage a fellow Tweep is to create a dialogue.  When looking for a way to thank someone for sharing your article, for example, respond to them to generate a few more shared tweets for your followers to witness (and hopefully join in the conversation).

7. The Group Tweet

The Group Tweet is actually more valuable than the Personal Tweet (#6) because it often connects the people on the same tweet.  Group Tweets are a common end-of-day way of saying thanks to multiple people.  Two professionals who consistently show appreciation via Group Tweets (and are great people to follow) are Steve Keating and Phyllis Mufson.  Notice their respective number of followers and lists.  People follow people who have an attitude of gratitude!

8. The Personal Tweet

The Personal Tweet extends thanks to one person at a time and in a timely manner.  I recommend including the person’s first name in any Personal Tweet.

9. Follow Friday

#FF has become an international weekly event – so it is easy to spot every Friday even in foreign languages.  It is simply about giving props to other tweeps once a week.  #FollowFriday is comparable to the Group Tweet (#5) but can be less timely and impactful if you are thanking someone for sharing your content on say a Tuesday.

For most information and tips on Follow Friday, please reference 8 Ways to Recognize Someone on #FollowFriday.

10.  Direct Messages

The Direct Message is a nice way to extend thanks to someone privately (provided they are following you; otherwise, you will be unable to Direct Message them).  I recommend Direct Messages for the exchange of other contact info like email address and phone number.

What other suggestions do you have?

Whether you are looking for a new job or building your business credentials, a simple Thank You on Twitter can go a long way!

And let me be the first to say…. thanks for all that you do!

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