How to create Twitter Lists Through Hootsuite

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Since Twitter Lists came out, I have been toying with the idea of setting up some lists. Of course, I am set in my ways, when it comes to twitter, and was a little hesitant to jump right in without researching. Before setting up Twitter Lists, I only had my basic Hootsuite groups and column setup when I was at work or on a guest machine. At first I really did not see a need for the lists and did not want to spend the time on the twitter page setting up the lists. So I decided that I would figure out who I wanted to put into the lists and what types of lists to create. Once I figured that out, I decided to wait for Hootsuite to add this feature to their client. Not only did they add this feature, they also set it up so you can create lists from the client!

After getting annoyed at how fast my twitter feed was refreshing today. I finally made the time to play with the list settings and create several lists. They are very easy to create and configure. The longest part of the setup is adding those you want to follow closely.

Configuring The Lists

Step 1:
In the top right hand corner about the same level as your stats and settings tabs are, click on the add column. This will open up the add column window. Once opened, this is where you would setup and configure Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter List, and other twitter stream options.

Step 2:
Click on the Twitter List tab.

Step 3:
In the main part of the New Column, toward the bottom, select the add new list.

Then enter the name of the new list in the first text entry field. This field will also be the link to twitter where the list can be found. Make sure to pick something that relates to the people you want to add to the list. An example would be to create a list for the bloggers you engage with. It would be named bloggers. www.twitter.com/username/bloggers. In the next field you can enter in the description of the list. Then click create column.

Step 4:
After the list is created, scroll through the columns and move the column to where you want it.

Step 5:
Now that you have your new column placed, you are now ready to add users to the list. Click on the users name from the twitter stream, it should then bring up their user profile. At the bottom left corner, click on the add to list. This will bring up a new screen called add to list. If you have multiple lists setup, click the drop down window and select the list you want to add the user to. Then click the save button.

Step 6.
Go back to your new list column and refresh it. You should now have the latest tweets from that user. After testing, you can now add more users to the list.

Tip:
I find it easier to create new lists, and add new users to those lists than using twitter. If you have large lists, you can wait to add users to list as they come down your stream.