Why I'm Going to #TwitterSmarter (and How)!
My business is still relatively new compared to some of the more recognized names and faces with 10 to 15 years under their belts. With less than five years in the making, my baby, is truly, still a baby as it’s growing into its own identity. Part of that growing process includes teaching that child the basics like walking and talking.
It’s time for me to walk the walk.
Up until this point, most of my clients and network have been built through word-of-mouth and networking events. I have been massaging my own personal and professional circles and building my client and email lists through a friend, of a friend, of a friend and so on. Is this anything wrong with this?
No, but I can do better.
Though I love the spending my hours pouring into my current clients, I’ve realized how much I’m neglecting potential clients, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities by not sharing what I have to offer on the very platforms I work with daily. I haven’t been been optimizing my own social media profiles effectively, in the way that I’m instructing my clients to do - or worse, even doing for them. Serious “Doh!” moment, amirite?
So anyway, this baby is growing. In the past two weeks, I have been allocating more time to focus on my own business’ social media profiles. I’ve put more into my Facebook, but I have truly been diving into Twitter - you know, because that’s where my heart is. I work with a lot of platforms, but Twitter:
I’m treating my own Twitter like I would a client’s: handling it with care and excitement. I want to use it to expand my network, share my expertise and increase brand recognition. Gaining some new friends is always fun, too! I'm taking it to the next level.
Want a peek at what I’ve been doing?
Here are 3 things that I've been doing to master Twitter (that you can do , too!)
👉🏾 CREATING (AND PROMOTING) CONTENT.
The word that comes to mind here is: intentional. I’ve been deliberate about the words I use and the times I post it.
Does your timeline consist of a bunch of retweets, a couple of comments here and there, and an occasional motivational post? I’ve been guilty. I had to make sure I was showcasing my copywriting, even if that meant writing a comment, or copy, for a curated piece like an article from PRDaily or a blog post from someone who you follow.
Contributing even half as much as you're consuming is gold. You have to give like you take.
How do you do this?
Implement storytelling. Share your expertise. Create visuals. Make informative blog posts. Write promotional copy to showcase what you have to offer. One of my favorite nuggets of advice: When in doubt, use GIFs. (I'm only half kidding)
Need help coming up with more Twitter content? Check this infographic from Social Media Today: 99 Things to Tweet About Besides Yourself .
👉🏾 GEARING UP MORE CALL-TO-ACTION AND CONVERSATION STARTERS
I tell people all the time, if you want someone to do something, tell them. They aren’t going to read your mind or feel inclined to even try. Practice what you preach, right? So let’s try it now: while you’re here, subscribe to my mailing list.
Did it work? I hope so.
Anyway, a call-to-action is very important. It’s what takes your content to the next level - transforming your audience from occasional readers to subscribers, client leads to company success stories, potential customers to Amazon star reviewers. Okay, I know you get the point now.
👉🏾 PUTTING MORE TIME INTO ENGAGEMENT
I've honed in on my social listening skills and have been happily hopping into conversations (and have starting some of my own.) Imagine the first day of kindergarten. You approach a kid with the same Elsa and Olaf lunchbox and sayi "Hey, wanna play together?" Works the same on Twitter. You may come across people with the same passion and just start a conversation! Throw in a fun GIF or ask a question! Just like that. Twitter's all one big sandbox anyway, right?
Then there are Twitter Chats. "Twitter Fingers" is taking on new meaning as much as I have been firing off insight on multiple chats. I’d previously been participating in only a few, most regularly Hootsuite’s @hootchat, but in the past few weeks, I’ve added more to the list like #BrandChat (Wednesdays at 11 a.m.), #BufferChat (Wednesdays at 12 p.m.), #SimplyChat and #CisionChat (Thursdays at 2 p.m.).
Not to mention, one of my favorite conversations: #TwitterSmarter (Thursdays at 1 p.m.), whose name inspired this very post (Shoutout to host and Twitter expert, Madalyn Sklar!) People in the digital marketing and public relations industries come together for an hour to discuss some ways to improve their efforts and tackle some drawbacks on Twitter. I'm loving it!
I joined them for yesterday's topic: "Taking Twitter Beyond Just Clicks" Check out some of the questions Madalyn and guest co-host, Barry Feldman were posing in the chat (with a few of my answers!) 😉
Want to see other tweets like these or interested in meeting me in this awesome Twitter Chat? Follow #TwitterSmarter and join in every Thursday at 1 p.m. In the meantime, go ahead and hit that follow button on Twitter. Go on, I've made it easy for you, just click here :)
