How To Ace Twitter
As a producer, I like to use Twitter to share my work. But I've always felt that I could be doing it better. Last November, Dr Rhiannon MacDonnell (Marketing Professor at Cass Business School), Barney Worfolk-Smith (Director at creative social agency That Lot), and David Levin (Creative Director at That Lot) gave their expert advice on how to use the micro-blogging tool at a City Unrulyversity event. The chance to learn about Twitter from an academic and commercial perspective was too good to pass up.
This isn’t an exhaustive blog of their talk, but some of the tips that I found most useful for me. Be sure to Tweet Rhiannon, David or Barney directly to find out more, on @Rhiannon @DavidLevin123 and @MightyBarnski
Be Human
When you’re interacting with people on Twitter, remember to be human and speak to other humans. After all, that’s who’s behind a Twitter account. Think of the metaphor of a first date: what's an appropriate way to interact, and what would be a disaster?
Here are some common mistakes.
- Moving too fast and being demanding (will you marry me?!)
- Moving too slow (not speaking at all)
- Not answering questions (being unresponsive)
- Only talking about yourself
- Only talking about one thing
What Works
- Be interested in your followers and people you interact with. Ask them questions and put THEIR experience first. Make them feel special.
- Talk about a range of topics and ideas – not just what you do.
- Express emotion – the more emotive something is, the more it will be shared.
- Continue real-world conversations online. If someone has a project or work that’s interested or excited you, mention it.
- Help promote others
- Look at what regularly features in your followers’ bios – if there's a common theme, you have common interests, so tweet on those subjects.
What To Do
Well-received Tweets tend to contain one of three things: Information, Insight or Humour.
- Have recurring formats, themes, hashtags or “features” that you regularly use – like in a magazine, such as quizzes or Top Tens
- Use more images. Tweets with images get 1/3 more Retweets
- Jump on opportunities – check out the Douwe Egberts conversation with @The_Dolphin_Pub for an example of this.
This barely scratches the surface of Barney, David and Rhiannon's advice.
Follow them on Twitter to find out when one of them is speaking next - if Twitter, Social Media or Digital Marketing has an impact on what you do, their advice will be invaluable.