Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
If you don’t “get” Twitter or aren’t seeing the results you’d like from it, this blog is for you.
As tweets stream down my Twitter home page, I often see entries like these:
“I posted a new photo on Facebook” followed by a link.
“I wrote a new blog post” followed by a link.
I call these types of wasted tweets Twitter Abuse.
Because they’re not enticing, right? Especially if I don’t know the person. (Twitter, by the way, recently made the decision to populate our feeds with tweets they think we’ll like, even if we never indicated we wanted to follow that person; so lots of strangers’ tweets now appear.)
Regarding the announcement that a new photo is up on FB, I would hope the tweeter’s photo is worth my traipsing over to FB to check it out. If so, why not woo me to click on the link?
Here’s a photo tweet announcement whose job it is to get you to click over to the article:
Exploring Normandy’s great brandy, Calvados. (Photo: Emli Bendixen for NYT) nyti.ms/1rJsOac pic.twitter.com/GYucTg9sO0
The 10 Pillars To Creating a Personal Brand in a Digital World bit.ly/1CHcxZA #SocialMedia
If you know you want to develop an online brand, but you haven’t figured out how to crack that nut, then Steve’s blog is for you.
How can you avoid Twitter Abuse and instead use it effectively?
1. Figure out what you want Twitter to do for you.
–Drive people to your blog?
–Get folks to view your Pinterest boards?
–Connect with readers and show a personal side?
–Announce news (new publishing contract, cover reveal, digital book on sale for a limited time)?
–Locate and connect with followers who are interested in the topic(s) you write about?
–All of the above?
If you know what you want to achieve, it enables you to create a strategy as to what to post and whom to follow. By the way, whomever you follow might well follow you; it’s a great way to build your own Twitter following.
2. Be interesting.
You’re unlikely to connect with everyone who sees your tweets, but make sure you’re interesting to the people you want to connect with.
One of my favorite tweeters is Maureen Johnson because her personality shines through on each tweet. I’m not likely to enjoy her books, which are YA general market, but I like Maureen–and feel as though I know her. 108,000 people who also follow her feel the same way.
Quotes often work well on Twitter and suggest you’re well-read and interesting.
This tweet just popped up on my feed, for example:
“I write because there is a voice within me that will not be still.” ― Sylvia Plath
Think about what would be interesting for others to read before you tweet. If you’d be bored reading a particular tweet, most likely your followers would too.
3. Be informative.
By retweeting links to articles you’ve read that you think your readers would appreciate as well, you keep your followers on the lookout for your next tweet.
Publishers Weekly is sharing a news item with us right now:
Toni Morrison Papers Will Go to Princeton | NYT pwne.ws/1vyfAmR
4. Use hashtags to connect into a conversation.
Sometimes we can join an ongoing conversation by using a trending hashtag, or we can locate people who are talking about the same subject we are.
3 Simple Powerful Reasons #Google+ is Good for Your Business bit.ly/PxR3VC #SocialMedia #Mktg #SEO
I’ve discovered nothing is as fun as watching a TV program like The Voice or an awards show like the Oscars and read the streaming commentary on Twitter. You can find the conversation by searchng for a specific hashtag. Sporting events work the same way.
What a great game! #lionsvssaints #Lions defense finishes! #NFL There is something different about this @Lions team.
5. Test what works for you on Twitter.
Twitter has just created amazing analytics that allow you to see which of your tweets are working best, what topics your followers are interested in, and so much more. You don’t need to guess about what to tweet; your followers are telling you. The analytics offer a treasure trove of insights, and they are very easy to understand. You can read more about them and how they work here: http://blog.bufferapp.com/twitter-analytics?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&
Do you “get” Twitter? What’s your go-to social network? What do you like about it? What do you wish were different?
How to “get” Twitter. Click to tweet.
Twitter Abuse and how to avoid it. Click to tweet.
How to make your tweets retweetable. Click to tweet.
I do use the ‘hook’ technique, and keep current on relevant hashtags. It’s been growing my audience slowly, but these are the people I want to reach out to – mainly pastors and Christian marriage counselors.
Showing my personal side through tweets is simply impossible. I don’t have the ‘snap’, the fun side that makes some people compelling on social networks. I wish I did! But my sense of humor rarely goes past irony, and that doesn’t seem to translate well in the digital age.
So I’m honing the skills I feel I can best offer, and packaging them in as professional a way as I can. I can accept that nothing’s likely to go viral, and the numbers will not jump exponentially, but that’s OK, because I’m taking a strategic approach to social networking.
One impression I have, and I would love to hear others’ thoughts, is that twitter, and to a lesser degree Facebook, are best utilized by those whose digital connection is more or less constant, with smart phones and iPads and the like. (Mine is episodic, partly due to a lousy broadband connection; I’ll check email and the social networks from time to time during the day, but I don’t ‘follow’ them, and this seems to be something of a handicap.)
One thing I should perhaps say is that I’m trying to reach ‘influencers’; my goal is to write convincing Christian romance that presents marriage in a positive and Godly light.
I’d also like it to be accessible to men as well as women. So far, it seems to be working, but getting recommendations down the line as the “go-to guy” for a romance a man can read without embarrassment is much better accomplished through the words of respected pastors and Christian bloggers, rather than through my own trumpeting, or a primary focus on reaching readers.
I share your impression, Andrew, about constant digital connection. My day job doesn’t allow for frequent check-in on social media. I often feel like the conversation was over long before I saw the first word. Hoping for some advice from minds more clever and connected than mine.
Janet, thank you so much for this post! I think I am beginning to understand how Twitter works in the publishing world.
The learning curve, even for a Generation-Xer like me, is steep. Us wanna be authors have so much to learn about the craft, publishing world, blogging, and social media. Since I still have a day job that I often take home with me as well, prioritizing all that is crucial.
But thanks to your thorough explanation, I see the need to be an established user who is able to say, “Yes, I tweet.”
While most of us don’t have time to participate in Twitter conversations while they’re happening, you can schedule tweets to occur at regular intervals. No one knows you aren’t at your computer posting your tweet in real time. And Twitter doesn’t demand that you respond; it’s more about making posting a quote or linking to an article or offering a tantalizing tidbit from your blog post with a link. You could actually take a vacation and never look at Twitter, but your scheduled tweets would still appear. It’s the perfect social medium for the super busy.
Janet, I’m so with you! When I see those “I posted a new photo to FB!” it doesn’t compel me to jump over and see what it is. Unless there’s something catchy with it, my precious writing minutes are best used elsewhere.
Same with those Twitter users who use more than three hashtags, which are usually linked to spam.
I follow-back folks who seem interesting, like-minded, and share similar goals. I won’t follow-back “eggs,” downers, or profanity-laced tweeters. (Yes. I do check.) I’m not a prude, but really–yuck.
AND… if I follow someone back and they immediately DM me with “Like me, buy me, or kiss my dog,” I feel sad. And used. I love people, books, and doggies, but I don’t want to be just another number. I look for those genuine connections.
I’m a huge Twitter fan and I’ve made so many friends through that medium! I tweet helpful writing links, things of interest, and encouragement. LOTS of encouragement. 🙂
I use quite a few hashtags for each post – but they typically fall into one category (for example, #marriage, #MarriageMomentum, #MarriageBootCamp, etc).
Cindy, would this fall into the ‘overuse of hashtags’ category? It never occurred to me that it might.
Andrew, I’m certainly not an expert, but it’s my understanding anything beyond three hashtags is considered too much and is often linked to spam. I do see folks do this sometimes, so perhaps others would like to weigh in?
You’re probably fine. 🙂
Cynthia, I’m with you. I don’t just click follow to follow someone back. I take a look at their feed, what they say about themselves and then make the decision of whether or not to follow back. I can’t say I have made a ton of friends on Twitter, but I am making some connections there.
I also agree that I feel used if someone DM’s me back with some message like, “Like me on Facebook too.” Very impersonal.
I completely agree, Cynthia. Twitter is my favorite social media site, but I do not automatically follow those who follow me. I check them out. Some “followers,” just like some of those who send the I’m-Just-Following-You-So-I-Can-Sell-You-Something DM-senders, follow me only as a marketing ploy. When I see a new follower who is something like @theNewToolWritersNeed, I don’t even check them out; I just don’t follow back. With others, I will do an initial check of the profile and most recent tweets. Like you, I do not want profanity on my Tweeter feed. I also will not tolerate hate speech of any kind. I have had to unfollow people for that reason. In the beginning (a few years ago when I started on Twitter) I tried reaching out to them to try to convert them but found that was a waste of time. Now I pray for them and get them off my site. Like you, I want genuine connection, not reciprocal ads.
Thanks for this post, Janet. I appreciate all your suggestions, especially the one about what I want Twitter to do for me. I confess, I’m inconsistent on Twitter. I’m working on it, but it’s not my favorite social media, so I’m not on there as much as I probably should be.
I enjoy Facebook because I find it easier to connect, especially when I comment on someone else’s post. I enjoy Instagram because pictures convey so much. I like Twitter, but seeing constant tweets with “Like me!” or “Buy this!” gets tedious.
I hope it’s okay to share this, but I’ve learned a lot about Twitter and social media from Edie Melson’s site: The Write Conversation.
Jeanne, I like Facebook much better, too. It seems more personal.
Y’all, I don’t know anything much about hashtags, which is why I don’t use them.
Like you, Andrew, I try to use a hook, but I don’t get much traction from Twitter. I don’t stay on it much either. I usually just look to see if I have any new followers.
I am not sure what happened recently to cause a few pornography followers. I blocked them, and I haven’t had many followers since then. I’m not sure about the connection there (?).
I’ve only really had one blog post get a ton of traction, and that was my recent post on girls and modesty … my Homecoming post. It quickly became my #1 viewed blog post. I was in shock. But I feel all the traction came from Facebook. I don’t think I received many viewers from Twitter. And I used the same words for my “hook.”
It’s hard to want to stay on Twitter for long … something about scrolling down a row … it is exhausting and I feel like I’ve totally wasted my time.
I know I’m not utilizing it correctly. But when I’m home watching a show with my family … if I “join in” on Twitter … I’m instantly not “with” my family. Doesn’t seem right.
As I’m reading this … I’m wondering if the modesty post caused the pornography following (?). I know I wrote the modesty post first … but I almost thing the pornography incident occurred first. I just can’t remember the order of events. Interesting and disturbing. 🙂
Shelli, the way I use hashtags is dead-primitive. The first one I type will be the basic theme for the blog (usually #marriage), and Twitter gives me the top trending hashtags that include the word marriage.
Same for #married, and #relationship.
They do change – for example, #marriagemomentum was trending for awhile, then dropped off, then came back.
This method does seem to grow my Twitter base in the direction I want.
Oh, I’m so glad you shared this, Andrew. I’ll have to study this trending thing more. 🙂
Thank you, Andrew. I had no idea. I’ll work on this, too.
Shelli, I would encourage you to sign up for Twitter Analytics. (Use Google to locate it.) It will help you to know what areas of interest your Twitter followers have, and then you can target areas of mutual interest (that connect with what you write). And you can use hashtags that correspond to those mutual interests as well.
Books and Such agents and clients … have a wonderful retreat!! 🙂 And thank you for all the encouragement over this last year in writing.
It was a wonderful retreat, Shelli.
I’m so glad all of you held down the fort here while we were otherwise occupied. Reading through the comments makes me realize how much I miss interacting with everyone when I’m away.
I’m 36 and don’t like twitter at all. The constant stream of surface info feels stressful and annoying to me. I do enjoy facebook. People can go a little deeper and I can search people out that I want to connect with and ignore the rest. But that is just me.
Twitter isn’t for everyone, but it can be a great way to connect with people who share your same interests. You can set up groups on TweetDeck that enable you to read only those tweeters whom you enjoy or benefit hearing from.
I’ve started to fall in love with Twitter. I’ve found it to be a great place to meet other like-minded writers and readers. In fact, I have several writer friends whom I all met first on Twitter. I got to know them for a year or more and collaborated on several projects before we finally met in person at a conference. One gentleman read an article I wrote, found me on Twitter, and sent me a message to thank me for it. I then asked him for leads for another interview, and he provided my next interviewee! Twitter is also an easy way to access big brands. I’ve had conversations with people at several larger companies that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. It definitely has its advantages when you know how to use it.
Amelia, that is very encouraging. Thank you. I need to figure out how to use it better.
I’m slowly figuring Twitter out. It’s not my favorite social media site, but it’s an important part of marketing in my genre.
Once I installed the Hootsuite Hootlet I’ve found I’m a little more active on there. With one click I can share something on my personal Facebook and Twitter at the same time. I have it installed on my laptop and my work computer.
I don’t automatically follow on Twitter either. I take a peek at the person’s feed to see if we’re a good match. I never follow straight promo sites.
I also do that. I don’t follow self promoters, but I will follow back people who post interesting links or quotes.
I don’t have my Twitter and FB linked up so that I don’t overwhelm people who follow me both places.
When I follow someone on FB and Twitter and they post the same stuff on both pages, I always unfollow one of the places. It feels like overload.
I keep Twitter for fun stuff like my interests and hobbies, and Facebook is more about my writing/giveaways/asking readers questions.
Facebook is much more effective for asking readers questions, but Twitter can be a different avenue for giveaways and to connect with potential readers. But maybe your readers don’t tend to use Twitter.
I’ve figured most of these through observation and trail and error, which took a long time. Thanks for confirming I’m on the right track!
Congrats on working hard at Twitter and figuring it out.
Thanks, Janet, for another really helpful post. All of this social media can be so overwhelming to someone who who took a typewriter to college! and who really just wants to sit at home in a cozy office and write.
Much to my surprise I have discovered Twitter is a great way to keep up with some current thinking. Maybe it is the small dose for a small brain theory. 🙂
Yesterday, I found this fabulous article on Twitter–Bono talking apologetics. Just have to share it: http://ow.ly/DsUuG
Thanks for sharing that article, Afton.
I find so many interesting articles via Twitter; it’s a big part of how I stay up on current or fun blog posts.
Twitter – if used intelligently – can be a form of engineered serendipity,
which I define as: “A fortunate happenstance” or ” a pleasant surprise”.
My current novel would not be as good as it is, without the help of my friend “serendipity”.