Hi friends! Happy Wednesday. I’m feeling extra energetic today as I’ve got a launch party I’m planning taking place tonight. While work has been kind of non-stop as of late, there’s nothing better than seeing a project come to fruition. That and counting a manicure and blowout at DryBar as part of your workday…. but I digress. Let’s talk about Twitter!
Social media is a big mess of a topic. When I first started the Blog Notes series, I knew I would need to address social media, but wasn’t completely sure how to tackle it all in one fell swoop. I’ve since realized that’s simply not possible and they best way to go about reviewing things and sharing my tips is to break things up. So we’re starting with Twitter, and across the next few weeks we’ll continue with Facebook, Pinterest, etc. There’s a lot that could be said about Twitter, but to kick things off I’m sharing my two biggest tips/lessons.
So, Twitter. First off, it’s not about you- it’s about creating a conversation. I know that sounds extremely corny, but I really find it to ring true. Here’s the mistake I so often see companies or other bloggers making with Twitter: they only “push” content about their stuff (blog, website, product, company, etc) rather than engaging in a conversation with their target audience. Think about it this way: if you’re a blogger or company, and someone tweets about you, doesn’t that spark your curiosity? Don’t you want to know- who is this person? What’s their site or blog like? The likelihood of you checking out their site is so much higher, especially in comparison to randomly seeing a tweet about their site content. Then again, you’re probably not following them, which brings me to my second point. If you want to get noticed, gain traction, and increase your followers on Twitter- you need to focus on tweeting about other people’s content, not your own. It’s somewhat backwards, but yes, in order to get people to notice your content, don’t tweet about it. At least not all the time.
This brings me to my second rule of thumb, which is essentially a breakdown for how I feel folks should think about their Twitter content when focusing on building a following. If you’re just getting started, as a general rule I’d say a third of your Twitter content should be about you- blog/website, business/products, and personal stuff, and two thirds should be about other people- bloggers, businesses, etc. The latter should feel completely authentic- give a shout out to blogs you actually read and bloggers you truly admire, as well as businesses whose products you love.
Just because I threw out a few fractions doesn’t mean I’m religiously counting and categorizing my tweets (nor should you), I just use it as a frame of reference when thinking about the content I’m putting out, and find it to be an extremely helpful tactic for building a community on Twitter. Do I tweet about my blog posts? Absolutely, but usually only 2-3 times a day, within a total of 10+ (or so) tweets each day. Candidly I don’t really think about the breakdown of my tweets at all anymore, now that my use of Twitter has become a natural extension of my personality and blog brand. But in the beginning when you’re facing that “What do I say/tweet about?” feeling, this approach is a great place to start.
As I said, there are an endless amount of tips and tricks for building a following on Twitter and using it to leverage your blog or business. These are my two! What are your best ones? Would love to hear your tips and feedback in the comments!
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Clara, thank you! Got the point. Message very clear. Can not agree more.
This was a GREAT post–so useful! I’ve definitely made note of some things I want to remember!
i feel like i should tweet you my comment! thank you for this post – i love reading twitter but struggle to figure out how i want to use it – this makes it feel so much easier/more real! thank you!
Hi Rita- I’m so glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for letting me know!
This couldn’t have been more timely advice for me. I’m new to blogging, and about to tackle the twitter component. Thanks so much for your insight!
Hi Amy- I’m so glad the post was helpful! That means so much to me.
AMEN! I just wrote a newsletter article about this titled “stop talking about yourself.” This is a hugely important, often overlooked tip.
Hope you’re doing well!
OMG I LOVE that phrase! It couldn’t be more spot on, and hilarious
These are great recommendations for Twitter! In fact, the conversational aspect of Twitter is what makes it my fave social media outlet right now.