Twitter used to be my least favorite social media outlet. Recently I realized the benefits of the platform and began to rethink my strategy for using it. This change in perspective has made quite the difference in how I market Elle & Company and connect with my followers, and while Twitter still doesn't come as naturally to me as it does for others, this new approach has me excited. Do you need some motivation and excitement in your Twitter life? This post might spark a change in your perspective.
3 Lies I Believed About Twitter
You have to be witty (or as I like to call it, 'twitty'). I've always wanted to be that person who cranks out hilarious one-liners several times an hour on Twitter. I thought that in order to keep people interested in following along with me, I had to liven things up a bit with humor. Although humor is great you don't have to be a stand-up comedian to make effective use of the platform. Unfortunately, this crazy thought held me back from using the platform and taking advantage of all of Twitter's benefits.
No one in my niche really uses Twitter, anyway. Creative small business owners, especially those that are women, are more interested in Instagram, right? Not necessarily. With 232 million Twitter users, there are sure to be lots of creative lady entrepreneurs in the mix. And like I mentioned a few weeks ago in this post, it's silly to put all of your eggs in one basket with how rapidly these social media platforms change and evolve.
Clicking the "Twitter" button on my Instagram post will suffice. While it's okay to hit that button once in a while, it shouldn't have been my main Twitter strategy. It lacked social engagement and turned my Twitter feed into a second account to list all of my Instagram posts. Boring!
The Perks of Twitter
Twitter starts conversations. The laid-back atmosphere and limited number of characters allow users to informally connect with each other. For those of you who are business owners and bloggers, Twitter is a great platform for networking and starting conversations with other people in your industry. Do you want feedback on a blog post idea? Tweet about it. Do you need help with a technical issue on your blog? Tweet about it. It's called social media for a reason; the whole point is to be social and communicate with other people.
Another great perk for bloggers and business owners? Starting conversations with other users on Twitter can lead to more followers, which can lead to more site traffic, which can lead to more sales and bookings. Increasing your engagement with others on the platform has the potential to increase your visibility.
Twitter doesn't take as much effort as other social media platforms. With Twitter, you only have to worry about 140 characters and images are optional. Although images on social media typically increase your engagement with others, this relieves the pressure of taking (or finding) an amazing photo.
Twitter directly links to blogs & websites. When I share about a blog post or a new Elle & Company feature, followers can access it directly from my Twitter feed. Instagram doesn't have this feature and it's almost non-existent on my blog referrer list. That's a lot of work for little to no conversions!
Twitter users are rapidly growing in number. Did you know that 1 million new Twitter accounts are opened each day? That's a lot of potential exposure.
Twitter amplifies your voice. Retweets exponentially multiply the amount of people who are exposed to your thoughts, quotes, links, photos, etc. Hashtags also expose your posts to a larger audience.
Did you know? Tweets with 1 or more hashtags are 55% more likely to be retweeted.
My New Twitter Strategy
Share helpful articles and resources. This is the main reason I'm excited to dive into Twitter more. I come across many articles each day on Forbes, Entrepreneur, Smashing Magazine, and other resources that are helpful for bloggers and business owners. Twitter is a great place to share them quickly and concisely with my followers.
Did you know? Twitter shortens every link to 23 characters. You no longer have to use bit.ly to shorten your links, and users are more likely to click on a link if they know which site it's linking to.
Start conversations. If you know me personally, you know I love a good conversation. Thankfully, Twitter is a great conversation starter! I'm excited to connect more with those I follow and those who follow me.
Post photos. Not only am I by nature a visual person, but photos catch the attention of more people when they're scrolling through their Twitter feed. So instead of using the Twitter share button on Instagram, I'm resolving to take a couple extra seconds to post the photo separately to Twitter.
Did you know? Tweets with images get 150% more retweets, 89% more favorites, and 18% more clicks than those without.
Follow the 90/10 rule. My goal is to share 90% helpful/entertaining posts and 10% promotional Elle & Company posts. No one loves a Twitter feed that's purely advertisements and marketing campaigns, but Twitter is such a great place for exposure that it would be silly not to use it for my blog and business.
Start an Elle & Company Twitter chat once a month. This goes along with starting a conversation, just on a little larger scale. I'm arranging a once a month Twitter chat for Q&As in both directions - I'll throw out questions and topics for discussion and you are more than welcome to throw some questions my way about blogging, design, and business. I'll launch the first Twitter chat next Tuesday, January 27th at 9:00pm EST. In the meantime, I'm up for any name and hashtag suggestions you may have for this new series!
Create a #twitty hashtag phenomenon. Just kidding. But I have to admit, it would be pretty awesome...
Would you like to keep up with my new approach to Twitter? Follow along and start a conversation with me! What's your twitter strategy?
