Recently, a colleague posted the following tweet:

I couldn’t agree more. Quite frankly, I think Twitter lists are one of the most underutilized aspects of Twitter.

All too often, I see and hear of Twitter users that simply don’t use lists or rarely check their own listings to see how others are categorizing them. In my perspective, lists serve four core purposes that deserve your attention if you’re actively tweeting.

1. Organize Your Peeps – It’s essential and really the only way that Twitter allows you to categorize all your followers into buckets…unless you truly prefer a hodge podge of #winning nonsense mixed in with actual valuable links from respected colleagues.

2. Assess a Follower – Spammers or sales folks are pretty easy to spot in the Twitterverse but a quick glance at how an individual is listed can provide simple insight into credibility.

3. Research Competition – Extending on the assessment point above, a Twitter profile bio says one thing but third party credibility speaks even louder. Sure a company may claim to be an active player in a certain space but are they truly living up to their word? Lists are great insight into public perception.

4. Monitor Your Personal Brand – Lists do matter when it comes to impacting who finds you and how you are positioned online. Do an ego check and glance at your lists from time to time to monitor how others perceive your brand. Not how you expected? Take another gander at your Twitter profile and an even deeper assessment of the type of content you are tweeting.

What do you find most useful about Twitter lists?

Image courtesy of Laughing Squid.

This post also appears on the Weber Shandwick Seattle blog.