Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes)

Do any of these sound like you?

1. You Have a Single-Minded Focus on Creating Value

2. You Avoid Talking About What You Had For Breakfast

3. You’re Looking For Customers

4. You’re Treating Twitter Like A Gumball Machine

5. You Have Yourself Roped Off In The VIP Area

Believe it or not, these five items are major MISTAKES I see entrepreneurs making on twitter every day. To be honest with you I usually keep my mouth shut when I see people doling out terrible twitter advice – but it’s gotten to be more than I can take! Some of the most common "wisdom" like providing value is not only misguided but detrimental to your reputation.

To see why these mistakes could be making you useless on twitter (and what to do instead), click here to read this 7 page report.

 

P.S. Sorry for the comment weirdness, we had a little bug that made all the tweets appear as comments.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Blogplay

Post to Twitter

View Comments to “Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes)”

  1. CraftingSpirit (Crafting Spirit) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  2. Chaseblogger (Chase Roper) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  3. amyporterfield (Amy Porterfield) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  4. Ficklets (Ros Guerrero) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  5. MktgThatWorks4U (Cynthia Cavoto) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  6. SuzHOPkins (Suzanne Hopkins) Says:

    Great tips->RT @AmyPorterfield Why Being an “Expert” is Making U Useless on Twitter (5 Well-Meaning Mistakes) fr: @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  7. RonaldWilsher (Ronald Earl Wilsher) Says:

    Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (5 Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I <=–Go Miss Laura. :^)

  8. lkr (Laura Roeder) Says:

    New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  9. frankramblings (Dr. Frank Ramblings) Says:

    @rmphotography RT @lkr: New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  10. TheOhanaMama (Sarah Burns) Says:

    Love this! RT @lkr New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  11. Laura Hollick Says:

    Laura, you are riding the new wave of business like a surfer on the crest. You are showing us a new model for interacting with the purpose of growing our business.
    Thanks for the ongoing inspiration!

    Looking forward to working with you one-on-one again soon

    with joy
    Laura

  12. Andrew Says:

    Thanks Laura – very interesting.

    “I see a lot of business owners sign up for twitter then
    get frustrated when they don’t see an immediate spike in sales.”

    This is a good point.

    Here’s another way of looking at the “investment” a small business can make in using Twitter: We launched our business in September (2009) and in the first three months over 5% of new (not repeat) visits to our website came via Twitter. So for a few minutes time each day we have been rewarded by hundreds of new visitors – and that figure can only grow. That’s a good ROI.

    Thanks again.

    Andrew (@propertypr)

  13. MCrespillo (Marguerite Crespillo) Says:

    Awesome as always @lkr Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  14. EvangelistaLA (Laurie March) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I Love this!

  15. creativechai (Dave Rowley) Says:

    @lkr Enjoyed reading your report: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  16. greenboxhomes (Kimberly Dotseth ) Says:

    Via @EvangelistaLA Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  17. JoshuaWaldman (Joshua Waldman) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  18. beccalynn (Rebecca Rodskog) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  19. djprtampa (Diane Jones) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I Great info!

  20. lanagold (Lana Goldenberg) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  21. SICWorld (david raybould) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  22. JGToll (Jason G. Toll) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  23. elizabethpw (Elizabeth Weinstein) Says:

    freaking exactly. RT @lkr New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  24. FrankPiotrowsky (Frank Piotrowsky) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  25. lindaeaves (lindaeaves) Says:

    Had ham 4 breakfast. You? RT @lkr New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (5 Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  26. finaldaysforum (finaldaysforum) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  27. IsabelParlett (IsabelParlett) Says:

    clear and to the point RT @lkr New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  28. karenfrank43 (Karen Frank) Says:

    More brilliance today! RT @ltr New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  29. meredithliepelt (meredithliepelt) Says:

    Great read: RT @lkr Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  30. lorilatimer (Lori Latimer) Says:

    Great info. RT @lkr New: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  31. frissewind (Matthijs Sienot) Says:

    Sterke Tweet tips Via@Aartjan@lk: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  32. Being Useless, Switching to a New System, and Meet my Cat | Social Media Marketing Strategy for Small Business Says:

    [...] This week I’m all over the internet – here’s the scoop! First of all, check out the free report I just released – Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter [...]

  33. A.J. Pape Says:

    Laura this is awesome.

    If I wasn’t jetlagged out of my mind in London and getting up at 5:45 to start client work I’d be leaving you a really fantastic detailed juicy comment.

    Continue to rock my friend.
    You add a lot of value! :)

  34. teeth whitening Says:

    Have enjoyed your site very much and benefited from the information. Many thanks!

  35. kampeergek (Bart) Says:

    @VrijbuiterNL Dit=goed leesvoer! Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  36. killian schaffer Says:

    Excellent content and smart, intuitive actions on here. Well done!

  37. Charles Boyung Says:

    Great report, but come on – a “click here” link? I expected much better from you :)

    You could change the end of the sentence (and the entire link) to “get this free 7-page report” and it would not only look better and provide those with accessibility issues a better understanding of the link, but it would also provide some context for search engines to pick up on.

  38. darrylod (Darryl ODonnell) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  39. BarbMcMahon (Barb McMahon) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  40. JoanGosselin (Joan Gosselin) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  41. adelaide dancing Says:

    great report laura, ime no one really cares about my tweets anyways so as long as one other person is checking out what i have to say then i’m happy, that’s where the @ replies and conversations make sense, when you reply to someone else’s tweets you are showing them that you care, “everyone is broadcasting but no one is listening”

  42. katenorthrup (Kate Northrup Moller) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  43. CITYPUBLICITY (Peta Ellis) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  44. LeslieKeffler (Leslie Keffler) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  45. Josh Cynthia Says:

    Hi how are you i really liked this.

  46. Summer Camp Millhurst NJ Says:

    I love your blog posts. Keep me posted ? how often u update your page?

  47. Direct Mail Advertising Jackson NJ Says:

    I love your blog posts. Keep me posted ? how often u update your page?

  48. IrinaKremin (Irina Kremin) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  49. movingpro (NorthStar Moving) Says:

    @yourofficeannex have fun! make connections! i found this really helpful http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  50. Andy Fogarty Says:

    Wow! This is so true.

    Most of those “experts” and “gurus” on twitter just make me think of those sleazy insurance salesmen that only care about the buck.

    Preach on Laura.

    By the way – I had a bowl of cinnamon raisin granola and some really bad coffee for breakfast :•]

  51. jonathanfields (Jonathan Fields) Says:

    Reading @lkr‘s Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  52. HalellyAzulay (Halelly Azulay) Says:

    Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  53. ClayCollins (Clay Collins) Says:

    Reading @lkr‘s Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  54. DEVI SOULJUICE Says:

    WOW,superb!!!! well done laura. i’m totally switched onto your vibe now. bless u!

  55. ylchua (Yin Li Chua) Says:

    Excellent quality go read Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  56. guganeshan_t (Guganeshan.T) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  57. ghtun Says:

    Most of the comments on this very blog aren’t even written by people! It creates a very robotic and uncozy feel. But you people love twitter so much you can’t see clearly anymore! Btw, I only stumbled on this site via clicking link to link as I search out the self-important people of this industry, the self proclaimed ‘experts’ in digital and social lifestyle.. whatever the @#$% that means.

  58. ghtun Says:

    All you ego bloated social entrepreneurs, running your quaint little websites via wordpress themes… i wonder how many of you actually generate a full time income doing that, or if you work during the day for someone else. I know a lot of people have a day job and run their business part time, but what gets me with some of you is that you all come across as being full of yourselves. Just look at the web site of the person who write this article (the 5 reasons pulled out of her imaginary hat). I love watching you all trying to impress each other! Just goes to show how much of a time wasting tool twitter really is…. from all the time it takes to write your blogs and tweets and facebok entries, it’s a miracle you have time to do any real work.

  59. Most Tweeted Articles by Copywriter Experts Says:

    [...] 2 Likes Your Backstage Pass to Twitter » Blog Archive » Why Being an “Expert” is Ma… 2 Likes Ongoing List of Social Media Marketing Efforts and Social Networks and [...]

  60. KendraBrodin (Kendra Brodin) Says:

    Learning “Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes)” by @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  61. Cameron Herold Says:

    You’re bang on as usual.

  62. redtoadmedia (Anne Miles) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  63. Dinneen (Dinneen Diette) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  64. Neil%9ODonnell Says:

    I just love your weblog! Very nice post! Still you can do many things to improve it.

  65. Howard Howell Says:

    Laura… Your 5 well-meaning mistakes are right on. Thanks for sharing tips with old guys like me about this new media reality we are entering. You are a well-informed social media user and I enjoy learning from you. Thanks for the invite to your Feb 11th webinar. …Howard

  66. puredriven (Patrick @ PureDriven) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  67. RiverFork (Melissa Dutmers) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  68. RiverFork (Melissa Dutmers) Says:

    @lkr I had peanut butter toast for breakfast – you? Thanks for the awesome “backstage pass” to Twitter. http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  69. avinkline (Avin Kline) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  70. SMProfitSchool (SMProfitSchool) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  71. CyberJenn (Jennifer A. Dixon) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  72. saraturns (Sara Turner) Says:

    Great article. RT @RiverFork: Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (5 Well-Meaning Mistakes) via @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  73. RJ_Medak (Robert (Bob) Medak) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  74. melaniward (melaniward) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I (Great laura!)

  75. jcmboyer (Julie Boyer) Says:

    RT@melaniward Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  76. stevennoreyko (steven noreyko ) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  77. melaniward (melaniward) Says:

    @lkr you’re welcome – loved it. Best part was your comparison to networking event. You nailed it:) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  78. lbelgray (Laura Belgray) Says:

    Luv this post on twitter pitfalls. RT @melaniward: @lkr Best part was your comparison to networking event. U nailed it:http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  79. Knapp_IT (Jill Knapp (ITIL)) Says:

    Reading ‘Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes)’ (via @stevennoreyko) http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  80. Design Inside Says:

    I couldn't agree more, so many people are using twitter to directly sell stuff. People can see that coming a mile away and typically run for the hills.

  81. SEO as it applies to a music photographer | gtvone photographic Says:

    [...] was reading an article by the sassy Laura Roeder about remembering to be human on Twitter… and it certainly applies to your webbish type [...]

  82. BWphoto (Bill Weaver) Says:

    Good post on twitter mistakes to avoid http://tinyurl.com/yz5v7ns

  83. elaineshannon (elaineshannon) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  84. StepItUpwithSteph Says:

    Thanks, Laura! Very helpful :)

  85. onlinevents (john wilson) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  86. John Wilson Says:

    Think there might be something in this, is def the conversations that i enjoy on Twitter!

    John Wilson
    http://www.onlinevents.co.uk
    http://www.wilsoncounselling.co.uk

  87. suzannahscully (suzannahscully) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  88. Lior Says:

    I love your no-bull, easy-to-digest approach to explaining this stuff. Refreshing, Laura!

  89. Shannon Iris Says:

    Laura,

    As if on command you show up in my inbox via Marie Forleo. I've been asking the big U… tell me about Twitter. What, when, why and how? This was GREAT! I tweeted right away about the mythbuster episode that I am watching while I read your fabulous, straightforward report. It felt so good as I am guilty of inspirational quoting to death! gagging myself – not anymore. I do it on FB too. I can feel my nose descending! I like it REAL so your report spoke directly to my sensibilities!
    Thank you
    Shannon Iris

  90. Sourovde (Sourov De) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  91. gaylaprince (Gayla Prince) Says:

    Reading Why Being an “Expert” is Making You Useless on Twitter (Five Well-Meaning Mistakes) from @lkr http://bit.ly/dvEq9I

  92. louis vuitton sale Says:

    C’est l’été, Blog au ralenti
    http://www.discount-louis-vuitton.com

Leave a Reply

blog comments powered by Disqus