Don’t you know about the bird? Everybody’s heard that the bird is the word! The bird here is a little blue bird cleverly known as Twitter. Maybe Twitter is a new tool for you, or maybe you’re just looking for a few tips or tricks. Whatever the case may be, here’s a few tips from the Rise vault to get a better following on this social platform. Side note: Yours truly may need to take her own advice for using her somewhat neglected Twitter account.
- Make use of your bio section on Twitter. You know what I mean - that little paragraph you fill out about yourself. Maybe you’ve put it off because there’s no way to describe yourself in so few words; maybe you’ve put it off because you don’t want to write about yourself. Whatever the reason, filling out your bio lets your fellow tweeters who you are. It’s one of the very first things they’ll come across and read when deciding if you are worthy of a follow. Here’s an example from my own Twitter account: “Digital Marketing Strategist at rise.net. Jams out with headphones on in an open office environment. Baby Martha Stewart. Rescued Boxer lover. Game-changer.”
- Take opportunities to promote your Twitter account. Most likely you’ve got an email signature that shows up at the very bottom of all your emails. One of the best ways to make use of this signature is to give your email receiver the chance to connect with you more by providing a link to your Twitter account in your signature. This is one area where I need to take my own advice.
- Tweet about more than just one topic. Twitter users are there to connect, not to read one-liners chocked full of marketing text. You have a job, but you also have a life! You’re not a two-dimensional character, so let the world know that you have more than one interest, and don’t forget to #hashtag them! On my twitter account, I tweet about job openings, my dog, my work successes (and failures), and since it "t’is the season," about my attempts at making the holidays merry and bright.
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Share life through pictures - A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, when you’ve only got 140 characters to speak your mind, providing a picture may just bring a thought to completion - not to mention that people love seeing pictures. I recently posted this picture of my gorgeous rescue dog, who just celebrated his first year being rescued in October and who will be celebrating his 3rd birthday this month. - Follow popular accounts and become a student of how they use Twitter. You’ll notice that highly followed accounts often share valuable and informative information while also still tweeting about day-to-day life. Think of it this way: If you had the chance to connect with someone or read thousands of lines of marketing text, you’d probably choose to connect. Make sure your Twitter account is open for conversation.
- Reply to others and participate in trending topics. Pick a #hashtag topic that interests you and join the conversation! It’s important to also genuinely respond to others when they contact you. Whether it’s through a DM or an @so-and-so, let them know they were heard. If someone paid you a compliment or asked you a question in your physical life, you wouldn’t ignore him or her. Don’t make the same mistake on Twitter.
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Measure your results. Use a service that lets you keep track of mentions, retweets, new followers and the like. You’ll have the inspect the numbers to know what’s working and what’s not. Many services also provide these numbers to you in statistics and percentages. Here at Rise, we use Sprout Social to keep track of our Twitter and clients’ social accounts. The great thing about Sprout Social is that it’s easy to keep track of multiple Twitter feeds with just one Sprout Social account.
So there you have it! These 7 tips are tried and true ways to use Twitter for your benefit. Oh, and if you’re looking to see how I’ll start using my account, follow me here: http://www.twitter.com/digitalmarissa ;)
Enjoy!
