6 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Twitter Expert

It seems like nowadays, just about everyone is calling themselves an expert in something: marketing, social media, computers, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Sadly though, you can’t just take their word for it; you really have to do a little research and see if they’re a true expert. Regardless of what many people think, it really does take more than just having a Twitter account to be a Twitter expert. So, here are 6 questions to ask yourself before hiring someone as your personal Twitter expert.

How long have they been using Twitter?

Surely you already know that one must actually have a Twitter account to be an expert, but it’s not just about having an account. You need to find out how long they’ve actually been on Twitter because this one little thing will tell you a lot about their expertise. If they just joined Twitter a few months ago, then more than likely they are hardly an expert. Twitter was launched in 2006, so the closer to that year that they became a member, the more knowledgeable they are about Twitter, its evolution, and how to use it.

It’s also a good idea to check out any past Twitter accounts as well. Some people have had previous accounts that were deleted or maybe even hacked and suspended. Previous accounts will contribute to how long they’ve been on Twitter as well; so don’t just go by their current account.

How many followers do they have?

You’ll want to check out their Twitter follower-friend ratio. This is the ratio of followers to friends that they have; the higher the better. Anything lower than a 1.0 means that other users do not really care about what they’re saying. With a ratio this low, they definitely have a below average amount of followers (for an expert). You want to make sure they have a ratio of 2.0 or higher. This shows that they are pretty popular on Twitter and others are listening and like what they’re tweeting. A ratio of 2.0 and higher shows that they are a true Twitter leader.

What’s their tweeting style?

You really want to check out their tweeting style because a true Twitter expert would not be doing anything wrong in this area. Are they pushing out affiliate links or links just pertaining to their own content, or are they retweeting other users and sharing quality links from different sources? Are they interacting with their followers; do you see decent amount of @mentions in their timeline? These are some things to look for because a true Twitter expert understands that Twitter is not just about shameless promotion or ignoring your followers.

How many retweets do they receive?

This goes along with their tweeting style, but it’s even more important because it will prove that other users like what they are tweeting about and the content their publishing. You can use a tool like Retweet Rank to see how they rate among other Twitter users; the higher their rank the better. This means that many other Twitter users are reading and sharing their content; this also shows that they have a large reach on Twitter.

What’s in their bio?

You only get 160 characters for your Twitter bio, so what one puts in there is really important. It should really showcase their expertise and give users a good first impression. A true Twitter expert will know just what to put here to prove their credibility show that they mean business. It’s also a good idea to check out the website or blog link underneath their bio. A person’s website can really tell you a lot about them and show how knowledgeable they are.

How are their clients doing?

Lastly, you should check out the profiles of other Twitter users that they are managing and see how well they’re doing. This will really give you a good idea of what they’re capable of and you can get a general idea of how well they’ll do with you. If their clients are not doing that well, you can be sure that they won’t do much better with you. What you need is actual results, not empty promises.
While there are a few exceptions you might want to make here or there, it’s important to stick to your guns. In the end it’s about what you need to succeed and what’s best for you. So, be sure to take your time and thoroughly answer these questions before hiring a Twitter expert.

This was a guest post written by Lior Levin who is an advisor to Kitchen Stools Direct, a bar stools and kitchen stools online store that Lior advises to.