Twitter has just released their new List feature to the public in the past week and it looks like it will be a great application. There are a number of things that you can do with lists and I am going to give you a quick run down.

I will not explain how to create lists , but rather I have created a video below on the ways to create , manage and add lists to your profile. It is an easy to follow video so please have a look.

The new list feature will enable you to share the list link, or the URL, outside of twitter. This means that you can join Twitter Lists from any website that is displaying the URL. So for instance, here is a list called ’social media experts’ that I have created, http://twitter.com/#/list/andymac71/social-media-experts that you can click on from here. Tha fact that you can use this outside Twitter  will be a great marketing tool.

Make sure that if it is a list that contains your Industry Leaders, you are a member of that list too. You are not automatically a member of your own list until you add yourself. To do this, you need to go to your own profile page and click on the manage list icon at the left of your follower counts.Then simply add YOU as a member of that list

The list Title will be important too. Name it well. People looking to follow your lists will be looking at the names to see which one is suitable for them to follow. If you have an unfamiliar or cryptic name, people wont follow that list.

Most people will create a list that is their “favourite this” or their “top that”, such as My Top celebrity Picks or Top Sports Bloggers on Twitter. That’s a great way to use these lists but in terms of Business, you want to think a bit more ahead.

Take a marketing approach and think of Lists as a marketing tool.

There are certain questions that you should ask when considering lists

Ask yourself these questions

• Who are my target audience ( or customers)?
• Do they fall into their own categories with different needs or interests? If so, what is each customer category?.
• What are their outcomes in relation to my business
• What kind of information do I need to send out in order for them to reach their outcomes?
• What kind of information is this type of customer generally interested in?
• Who are the key people on Twitter that often tweets that kind of information?

So I would create a list in relation to the categories that I had put them in.

Lets say that you have various area’s to your business. You might be a Business Coach who not only coaches one on one, but may also run seminars and maybe sell certain products. You could create lists that have those people interested in each offering/service. They can even be cross-listed too.

Its not too hard to do a Twitter search for people that are interested in the type of seminars you run, the type of coaching your Into etc

You just need to start thinking outside the box on how to keep a valuable list.

Good luck with lists.

Don’t forget to sign up to my BRAND NEW 21 day  eCourse on Social Media Marketing