Being active on Twitter is essential if you want to make it in the world of social influence. It is open to practically everyone and if you are on there due to your business, you are going to want to make a good impression on your customers/followers, meaning that you may want to look into things like reputation management companies to guide you on this journey as a blow-up on Twitter can mean a blow up in many other places. So, back to your Twitter, you’ve signed up, you’ve sent your first tweet, but how do you make Twitter a successful part of your blogging strategy?
Twitter is probably the most effective way to drive traffic to your well-crafted posts and let your potential readers know you exist. So where do you start, I’ll give you a clue their blogging friend, start at the very beginning.
#1 Your Twitter Profile
Help your audience out by making your Twitter handle relevant to your blog so they know who you are. There are a few approaches to do this, just choose which is best for you. My Twitter handle is my blog name so the link is clear. My twitter picture is my blog logo, which incorporates an image of me. My brand features across all of my social media.
You may like to use a headshot, which is a great way of letting your audience know who they are talking to. I’d recommend featuring the same headshot in a prime position on your blog too, so it’s easily recognizable to your audience.
Change up your background. Personalize your Twitter profile in other ways to make it part of your social media package. Let people know who you are in your bio and always add your blog address! Take a look at mine to see what I mean.
#2 Follow & Share Buttons
If someone has stopped by your blog, and they like what they read you have to be prepared as a blogger to seize the moment and encourage them to come back again. Make sure you have a Twitter follow button in your sidebar so they can see what interesting things you’re sharing.
Don’t miss an opportunity to get your readers to share your fab content either! Ask them to share your post with their followers if they loved it, and give them a handy share button to do it with. Make sure you tweet them to say thanks too, manners go a long way in the Twittersphere.
#3 Say Interesting Stuff (Or If It’s Not Interesting, Make It Funny!)
Your followers want to hear what you’ve got to say, they followed you because they want a 140 character titbit to enhance their life in some way. Make sure they get it, be it the observations of a toddler’s tantrum to your latest blog offerings, make sure you’re saying it.
#4 Add Pictures
This is such an effective strategy, especially for promoting blog posts. Add pictures directly to Twitter that are relevant to your posts and your click-through rate will increase.
Hold back on sharing your pictures from Instagram though. It’s a bit lazy, and your followers won’t see the pic anyway without going to your Instagram profile. If they aren’t using Instagram, it’s wasted on them anyway, and you’re alienating some of your audience.
Take a few extra moments to add your pics directly on twitter, it will be worthwhile. Edit them in pic monkey to add text or graphics to make them more appealing and your followers will appreciate the time you have put in.
#5 Follow People
I know, I’m probably in danger of pointing out the obvious but this is a crucial part of your Twitter strategy.
Follow people from your genre who are also looking to build their following. You’re in a community built on mutual reciprocation and more often than not they will follow you back. Check out who’s following the top profiles in your area and follow those guys. Chances are they are looking to increase their reach too.
Twitter chats are a great way to find new people to engage with on Twitter. Search through who’s taking part and if you’re not already following them, make sure you do now and take the opportunity to say hi!
If you find a new blog, follow them on Twitter, tell them how much you enjoyed their latest post and you’ll get a follow right back before you know it, along with a visit to your blog too.
#6 Use Hashtags
If you’ve written some great content, or you have an amazing giveaway you want to shout about make sure you use relevant hashtags to get your post in front of as many people as possible. It’s not just your followers who will stop buy, but some potential readers will engage with you if you use a hashtag they are interested in.
#7 Schedule, Schedule, Schedule
Do not be afraid of scheduling posts on twitter. There are literally billions of tweets flying around at anyone time, and it’s such a fast moving social media platform, you can post up to once an hour without fear of overload.
Just balance out your scheduling with real tweets and mix up your content. I promote archived posts with the wordpress plugin Revive Old Posts, and I use Hootsuite to schedule new posts on twitter, both of these I would not be without.
Ultimately, when it comes to developing your own twitter strategy, focus on what it is you’re trying to achieve and this will help you target your efforts. If you want to drive traffic to your blog, following other profiles may be a priority. Engaging with a niche audience maybe more your thing, so you might need to big up your use of hashtags.
The above-stated strategies could be used for other social media platforms as well. For example, you can similarly get followers, likes, comments, and shares on Instagram, to promote your business, blog, etc.
However you use it, twitter can really enhance your blogging experience. Have you thought about your strategy? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments. If you think this post will help your followers, please go ahead and share it with them.