We have lists for everything nowadays – work, shopping, presents, housework – their usage is endless. These can be scribbled on scraps of paper or stored in your app of preference but did you know that Twitter has list options as well?

Let’s be clear from the outset though Twitter lists, by default, are visible to everyone (known as public lists) but there is an option for private lists – so you need to be clear on the purpose of your list and if you want your list and the people you add to it to be seen.

Twitter lists, whether created by you or someone else, collate individuals or business Twitter accounts together making it easier to keep track of their tweets and conversations (rather than scrolling through your Twitter feed) in your Twitter account or third party Twitter service like Hootsuite or SproutSocial. These work in a similar way to searching for and viewing the discussions around a #hashtag.

What could you use Twitter lists for?

Here’s just a few ideas:

1. Clients or Competitors
Putting together a collection of your clients or even competitors can help you stay updated of their activities and what they’re sharing, but remember, this sort of list is better to be private. The privacy setting comes up when you’re creating the list.

2. Communities
Create a list of people with shared interests. This is great for the craft related community and can give you insights and allow you to easily engage with them. Invite others to join the list by making the list public and sending invitations out via your social media platforms.

3. Helpful customers resources
Collate a list of resources your customers might enjoy and find useful.

For example, if you’re into papercraft your customers might appreciate a Twitter list of mail order suppliers and ‘How to’ resources. If you’re a teacher, your students might appreciate a list of industry experts to follow.

So how do you create a list?

1. Click on your profile avatar (its position varies depending on what you’re accessing Twitter on) then either choose ‘View Profile’ and scroll down to ‘Lists’ or go direct by selecting ‘Lists’ from the profile drop-down menu. You can then see the lists that you’re subscribed to and the lists you’re a member of.

2. Within the ‘List’ page click the ‘Create new list’ button, enter a list name and description and choose whether you want the list to be public (anyone can subscribe to the list) or private (only you can access the list). 

3. Add a person or company to the list by going to their profile page, by clicking on their profile avatar, and click the gear icon. Then select ‘Add or remove from lists’ and tick the box of the list you want to add them to. You can remove someone from a list in the same way.

Then, depending on whether it’s your own list or a list you’ve been added to, you can see it’s subscribers, members and tweets.

We’ve only scratched the surface of Twitter lists, how they could help your business and more importantly help you simplify and streamline your Twitter time. If you need any help with Twitter or your social media management don’t hesitate to get in touch @PKirk_designer or at http://paulkirkdesign.co.uk