Twitter Quick Tip: Set Up a ‘VIP List’ to Manage Your Feed & Build Your Business

Twitter has become one of my all-time favorite platforms for finding and sharing content, networking, and building professional relationships. As my Twitter network grows, however, so does the challenge of keeping up with what many of my key connections are tweeting.

I know I’m not alone. As you follow more and more people on Twitter, the quantity of tweets in your home feed balloons exponentially. And that means tweets by “VIPs,” the individuals and companies who you want to proactively nurture relationships with, often  get lost in the shuffle.

Even if you have a variety of Twitter lists set up according to industry, business focus or geography to organize tweets in your feed, it might not be enough. In my case, it hasn’t been enough! So, I’ve created a new list specifically for a handful of people and businesses who I want to keep better tabs on. By putting them on my “VIP List,” their tweets are far easier to find and react to.

Worried that having a VIP List will seem exclusive? Don’t! Just because you don’t put someone on your VIP List doesn’t mean that they aren’t important! Every connection is valuable, but it’s natural that some are more professionally advantageous than others.

Tips for your VIP List:

• Make the list “Private” – That way no one will know who is – and who is not – on it.

• Add individuals and businesses who aren’t frequent tweeters – Reserve your VIP List for people who DON’T show up in your feed regularly. If you’re already catching their tweets, there’s no reason to include them. This list should be for users who either don’t tweet enough to stay on your Twitter radar, or who seem to cluster their tweets at a time that you generally aren’t perusing your stream.

• Consider including…Prospects, clients, vendors, loyal supporters, sources of referrals.

• Keep it short – You’ll want to keep your ability to review the feed for this list ultra-manageable. Keep it lean. I recommend 30 or fewer users, but you’ll need to gauge what works for you. And keep in mind that you’ll probably alter your list over time as your professional relationships and priorities evolve.

• If you use Hootsuite, set up your VIP List as a stream in your dashboard. – That way it will be accessible where you’re most likely to view and use it most effectively.

I don’t recall who blogged about it, but months and months past, I recall someone saying something like, “I follow everyone, and therefore I’m finding that I follow no one.”

How true that is when you’ve got a Twitter feed that flows fast and furiously with tweets by hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of users. My hope is that a VIP List will help you set a less overwhelming pace and enable you to more easily follow – really follow – the people and companies that matter most to your business.

What’s your biggest challenge in keeping tabs on key people and companies on Twitter? How do you keep your feed manageable?