Marketing Mondays: Twitter
Let’s get tweeting!
What is it?
Twitter is a constant stream of 140 character status updates. Like Instagram, Twitter uses hashtags which creates “Trending Topics” – hashtags or phrases that are being tweeted about most on this platform. This makes Twitter a great place to see what’s going on in your area and the world and to have short and fun conversations with your followers.
Sometimes it’s easy to only use Twitter as another platform to share Facebook statuses or Instagram pictures, but to make the best of Twitter, I recommend posting directly using Twitter or TweetDeck. When you share a Facebook post, the status will inevitably get cut off requiring the user to click a link to take them to your Facebook page to see the rest of it. With Instagram, sharing to Twitter won’t share the image, just a link to the post. With social media marketing, you want your followers to instantly see and know what you’re sharing, because most of the time they simply won’t click to see more.
When setting up your Twitter profile, add your company name (not personal one) so users can search for you. Also be sure to add your website, location, and a brief description so new followers know what you do! When choosing a top background image, check that it works well on both the web and on the mobile app as the dimensions are a bit different.
Some Basic Definitions
- Tweet: announcement of 140 characters or less, and can include mentions, links, videos, photos, hashtags.
- Hashtag: any word or phrase beginning with “#” sign, such as #OOAKOnline. The benefit of a hashtag is that anyone can click on it and a feed of all tweets containing that hashtag will appear.
- Mention: like on Facebook or Instagram, you can “mention” or “tag” other people in your tweets so they will receive a notification that you’ve mentioned them. For example: “Today we’re visiting @artisan in their studio!” User @artisan will receive a notification that you mentioned them and might reply to your tweet (ex. “Can’t wait to see you @OOAK_Toronto!”) or retweet your tweet.
- Retweet: exactly what it sounds like! Retweeting someone’s tweet will then post it to your timeline and all your followers. You can either retweet the tweet as it is, or quote the tweet and add your own comments (see the difference below).
Above is a retweet, below is an example of quoting someone else’s tweet
- @ reply: an @ reply is when you start a tweet
with a mention, ex. “@OOAK_toronto when is your next Show?” Twitter considers
this type of tweet a direct reply or conversation with the @user you’ve just
mentioned, so this tweet will only show up in the news feeds of your followers
who also follow that user. It is designed this way so that if you’re having a
back-and-forth conversation with a follower, it won’t clog up the news feed of
your other followers. If you want ALL your users to see your tweet that starts
with a mention, a trick is to add a period first, ex. “.@OOAK_Toronto Spring
Show opens today at the Direct Energy Centre!” By adding the “.”, now all your
followers will see your tweet!
Making the Most of Twitter
Have fun with it! Because of the 140 character limitation, get creative with your tweets to capture attention. Images are a great way to keep things visually appealing. When you post with Twitter or TweetDeck, followers will see a preview of your image. This preview will be cropped with a ratio of 2:1 centred in your tweet, so horizontal images always work best.
TweetDeck is a feature of Twitter that allows you to create a dashboard so you can easily see all your Twitter activity. Go to www.tweetdeck.twitter.com and log in with your twitter account and password. This is how I’ve set the dashboard for One of a Kind:
- Home: this is the stream of tweets from everyone
you follow on Twitter.
- Notifications: a list of all the activity
related to your account including new followers, other users’ tweets mentioning
you, tweets of yours that others have favourited, etc.
- Search: the next three columns are examples of
searches where you can follow the use of a specific hashtag or phrase. Here I
have set up three columns to follow #OOAKX15 (the Christmas Show hashtag),
#OOAKDiaries (hashtag for artisans documenting the process of making their
products), and #OOAKOnline (hashtag of the One of a Kind Online Shop). This way
I can easily see who is using the hashtags and retweet them!
- Scheduled: my favourite feature of TweetDeck.
You can schedule tweets! The best part of scheduling tweets with TweetDeck
instead of another similar product (such as a free HootSuite account) is that
it will post a photo to Twitter whereas others will only post a link.
Setting this up allows you to easily see all your Twitter activity in one page and easily manage and communicate with your followers.
Keeping Up With Twitter
Twitter is about being the expert in your field, and nobody knows your product like you do! If you’re just getting started, follow accounts that inspire you, are similar to you, and that you can learn from. If Instagram is the visual representation of your brand, Twitter is the voice. Use Twitter as a way for you to speak to your customers and for them to get to know you. Building brand loyalty will keep those customers coming back!
Have a question about launching your Twitter account that wasn’t covered here? Email One of a Kind Marketing & Community Manager Devlin Kenny at devlin@oneofakindshow.com. Visit us every other Monday for Marketing Mondays where we’ll share tips on growing your business!
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