Social Media Tips for Twitter (from a Social Media Professional)

Social Media Tips for Twitter (from a Social Media Professional)

• Wednesday, February 24, 2016

How is your Twitter game? Twitter is a fast-paced social media channel where you can create a profile for yourself, your business, your blog, or your brand. It's a place to tell your story through text & photos. Twitter is unique because it has a feed-style format with each tweet being only 140 characters or less. You have to articulate yourself quickly & effectively. I'm a professional social media manager & these are imperative tips to keep in mind when it comes to Twitter.

1. Tweet Often

Twitter is fast! Since the social media site is basically a feed, your tweet from an hour ago gets left behind. Your reader's Twitter is constantly updated & you don't want to be at the bottom of the feed. Make sure you're updating your Twitter multiple times during the day. Aim to send out at least five tweets per day.

2. Tweet at Optimal Times 

Not only is it important to update often, it's vital to tweet at the most optimal times for your readers. The peak times to tweet range from 8 am - 1 pm Pacific Standard Time. However, the optimal times differ per time zone. If most of your Twitter followers are based in the UK, factor that into your timing. Noon to 1 pm local time is always an optimal time to post.

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3. Use Hashtags 

Tweeting with no hashtags is basically useless. Your tweets won't be relayed to those you are specifically trying to reach. Curate your tweets & tailor it to your audience. Start with a simple hashtag & then do a bit of research to see what hashtags people utilize. For example, do a Twitter search for #FashionBlogger or #SocialMedia & see what other hashtags are being used.

4. Consider Your Twitter Analytics

If you want to tweet at optimal times or see which of your hashtags work, you have to know your target audience. Take a look at your Twitter analytics & get to know it. Viewing your analytics can help you see which of your tweets do the best, how many impressions your tweets get, how many profile views you've received, where your audience is from, & more. The more information you have the better you will do.

5. Schedule Your Tweets

If you're too busy to consistently update your Twitter, scheduling your tweets is the way to go. As a social media coordinator, I don't have the time of day to create live tweets for every single client. I schedule several tweets out each day, taking into account the best time of day to post. Easy. Breezy. Effective.

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6. Engage Your Audience

Twitter isn't only about self-promotion. Engage with your audience. Ask questions. Share posts & tweets that aren't your own. Reach out to your audience, engage them, & reel them in. You want to captivate your readers so they keep coming back whether it's for the relevant links to your blog or the cool quotes you retweet.

7. Create a robust profile

Is your profile completely filled out? Write a short description, include your website, & please, please, please make sure you have a profile photo. The last thing you want is the generic egg profile picture. Your profile is the first thing people see, so make sure they can get as much information as possible from it.

8. Create a Twitter Summary Card

You may have seen that some people on Twitter have a nice little blurb with a photo under their tweets with links. You can get it too. A summary card can be used for a variety of content such as blog posts, news articles, products, & more. Simply add the sample code to your website. Here are more thorough directions.

The ultimate social media guide: Social Media Tips & Tricks: A Roundup

9. Favorite & Retweet Others

Set some time aside to favorite, retweet, & respond to other tweets. It shows that you aren't only trying to promote your brand & get attention. Favoriting & retweeting others benefits you because people are interested in who retweets them. In the end it will get you more exposure. Be genuine when it comes to favoriting & retweeting; find interesting tweets that you truly like to share.

10. Be Transparent 

A while back I did a whole post on the importance of transparency when blogging but it's also important to be honest on social media sites. If you are paid to promote a certain product, you should add that into your tweet whether it's #Ad, #SponsoredPost or #AffiliateLink. If you want to be taken as a serious, credible source of information, you must develop an honest & transparent relationship with your readers.

11. Participate in Chats

A simple Google search will give you a plethora of Twitter chat options, so you can figure out which would be a good fit for you & your blog. These discussions normally include a particular hashtag for Tweeters to use. Chats are the perfect way to get in touch with like-minded people, talk about similar topics, & find out new information. Set a goal to participate in one or two chats per month to begin with.

11. Use  the Polling Feature

This feature is awesome. Ask questions about your blog, what to post, what products people like, etc. Polling is a great way to get people engaged while also understanding more about your readers & users. It can be fun & quirky or educational & productive. It is what you make of it.

13. Pin Your Tweets 

Twitter allows you to pin one tweet to the top of your profile. This is the first thing people see when they browse your account. Pick your pinned tweet wisely, choosing something that your readers will find interesting or useful; I recommend pinning a link or a poll & changing the pinned tweet every two weeks.

Remember to check back here often for more social media tips & tricks to improve your brand, blog, &/or business. You can always leave a comment, email me, tweet at me with any questions you may have. If it requires a lengthy response I may be inclined to write an entire post about it. Thanks for reading.

Which of these social media tips for Twitter was the most helpful for you? Do you have any other Twitter-related questions? :]

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