Before it was being blamed for spreading riots or praised for bringing down regimes (neither of which strictly accurate), Twitter was known for the place to get up close and personal with celebrities.
From naysayers who moaned they didn’t care what Lily Allen has for breakfast, to those that are gripped on every 140 character missive from Jonathan Ross, Twitter has certainly redefined the way celebrities can be reached, watched and, in some cases, befriended.
But, says Kate Crostan from www.internetservice.net there is some etiquette to bear in mind…
Are celebrities really using Twitter? Of course, they are! Twitter is one of the hottest mediums around. They’d be foolish not to. Do a search and see if you can find some of your favourite celebs on Twitter and click the follow button to keep up to date with their tweets.
Keep these tips in mind when tweeting with a celebrity:
Verify the identity. Just because a Twitter account has the photo of a celebrity and/or an appropriate name attached, doesn’t necessarily mean that the account is owned and used by the celebrity. Celebrity photos are easy to come by, and it may be just a gimmick to get followers. Twitter has suspended impostor accounts as they became known and is now implementing a verification strategy to prevent false identities of high profile individuals for the future.
Try Tweetaceleb.com. This website is taking advantage of Twitter’s verification process and making it easy for you to find your favorite celebrities on Twitter at the same time. You can keep track of multiple celeb tweets on this website. Just login with your Twitter account.
I’m your biggest fan! Once you do find those celebrities, please do not send this as your first tweet. Number one, you probably aren’t their BIGGEST fan, and number two, they must hear that all the time. Come up with something more original, if you really want to get noticed.
Retweet. If you want to get noticed by your celeb AND their fans, retweet their tweets. Other fans are likely to follow you as a result, and the celebrity will appreciate the extra PR.
Don’t ask. Don’t ask ANYTHING. Don’t ask for personal information or what’s the next planned step in their career. They don’t know anything about you. You could be a reporter from a tabloid as far as they know. They’re not going to give you any inside scoops.
Be realistic. Bear in mind that it may not be the celebrity actually posting those tweets anyway. Many high profile people use ‘ghost tweeters’ to run their accounts, it’s probably their press agent.
Be relevant. If you send them an @ mention or reply, make sure that it is something relevant to their career or something you know (from their previous tweets) that they are interested in.
Don’t obsess. Don’t overdo it on the tweeting with a celebrity. Remember that they have to deal with real-life stalkers, and you don’t want to come across like one of them!
Don’t expect a follow. Remember, they are on Twitter to be followed by their fans, not the other way around. Don’t be hurt if you follow them and they don’t return the favour.
Do you chat with celebrities on Twitter? Do you agree with Kate that you shouldn’t ask for anything, or broach tricky subjects, or do you feel that they’ve put themselves into the social space and can handle some debate and discussion?
About Holly Seddon
Holly Seddon is a writer, editor and community consultant and helped launched the community for Adoption UK, which won charity website of the year just 9 months later. She also writes a music blog.