Twitter: Love it or hate it, it’s a vital social media tool for driving traffic to your blog and interacting with like-minded people. Its ease of use and brevity of space to get your point across make it (in my humble opinion) probably the most immediate and engaging social media platform there is.
If you’re looking to drive more traffic your way, there are some methods that will give you direct traffic, and there are other ways that will eventually drive traffic through because you will become well known for dishing out useful advice, being an expert in your field, or just providing hilarious and engaging content. As with so many things with regards to blogging it’s all about building a brand, so here’s how to make the most of those 140 characters and increase your page views!
(As always let me know your thoughts in the comments below – and if you’re not yet following me on Twitter my handle is @notlamb!)
1. Schedule tweets
If you’re not using Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to schedule your tweets (I use the latter) – do it now! These two platforms make scheduling tweets possible, and the whole Twitter experience so, so much easier. (You won’t know how you possibly managed without it once you’ve started using it.) Tweetdeck describe their platform as a “Twitter tool for real-time tracking, organising, and engagement” and you can follow particular hashtags or groups and see your @mentions, direct messages, scheduled tweets, main feed, etc. all in separate columns, all at the same time. It’s totally customizable, your feeds run in real time (so no f5/page refresh required) and will transform the way you tweet.
2. Aim for 120 characters
They say tweets of 120 characters get the most interaction, and if you use up the whole 140 characters every time it gives your followers no room to quote and reply. Links always take up 22 characters, no matter how long or short they are, so use bitly.com to shorten links and make the tweet look more compact and punchier. You want your followers to be attracted by the content of your tweet, not distracted by a rambling URL.
3. Be a tease
This was probably the single best post I ever, ever read about how to write tweets that make people think “I simply HAVE to click through and read that!“. The idea behind writing really engaging tweets, as written by simplymeasured.com, is to write a Before, After, and Bridge:
Before: Here’s your world, here’s your problem
After: Imagine what it’d be like to have that problem solved
Bridge: Here’s how to get there
(Source)
In other words, tweets like this:
Say adios to boring ponytails with these awesome styles http://t.co/D2N58pCxKg pic.twitter.com/IIbYgqEpsR
— refinery29 (@Refinery29) March 29, 2015
Panicking about work tomorrow? Read our 6 top tips on how to deal with stress: http://t.co/e9WPjfFXMA pic.twitter.com/o87TydyXsa
— Grazia_Live (@Grazia_Live) March 29, 2015
Snap yourself happy! How to make the ordinary look extraordinary on Instagram http://t.co/WQsGijUlqG pic.twitter.com/jgAFGG5zQs
— Grazia_Live (@Grazia_Live) March 30, 2015
See what I mean? It’s simply problem presented, problem solved – with an attractive image to draw you in even further.
You should never give too much away, hence the concept of the “tease”. It’s about generating curiosity and is a very powerful method – I won’t say it’s easy to craft this out of 140 characters, but it’s incredibly effective if you manage to master it. Magazines use this method all the time and I’m drawn in by them so much I sometimes have to close my Tweetdeck tab if I want to get any work done…!
4. Add images
Tweets with images get twice the amount of engagement of those without – I’ve definitely noticed my tweets with pictures get the most favourites and retweets (RT). Your tweets will stand out more amongst all the text-only tweets, especially if you resize them. In someone’s feed the image will be cropped to 440x220px, so if you make them twice as wide as they are long (the same proportions as 440×220, in other words), the whole image will be visible.
5. Use hashtags (sparingly)
Using hashtags do make your tweets more visible, especially if you’re tweeting about a current topic or something that’s trending. You can find relevant hashtags to your content by searching websites like hashtags.org or hashtagify.me, or make a note of what hashtags are being used by those you follow. Hashtags for bloggers to find each other include:
#blogger or #bloggers
#fbloggers (Fashion bloggers)
#bbloggers (Beauty bloggers)
#lbloggers (Lifestylebloggers)
#tbloggers (Travel or teenage bloggers)
#mbloggers or #mummybloggers
#pbloggers (Parent bloggers)
#30sbloggers (we need to get #40sbloggers and #50sbloggers used more!)
#foodbloggers
#diybloggers
#craftbloggers
#vintagebloggers
But be warned – tweets that are full of hashtags have the opposite effect and #look #spammy #as #well #as #being #difficult #to #read. One or two is more than enough.
6. Tag brands you’ve blogged about
This is an important one for engaging with brands: If you’ve written about a brand, worn their clothes, tasted their food, etc. then tag them in to your tweet that includes your blog post URL. Brands often RT where they’ve been mentioned and of course the more followers they have, the more people it will be seen by. If you’ve written a “teasing” tweet as in point 3 (above), it should increase the likelihood of more click throughs.
7. Tweet old content
This is a trick to breathe life into old posts, especially if they are relevant to the time of year. Posts written about Valentines, Halloween, Christmas and all those other holidays can be plugged the following year, as long as the content is also relevant. Fitness posts will be popular in January or pre-summer (bikini season). I like to tweet regular “What I wore a year ago today” tweets with an image of the outfit as well. It’s polite to tag it #retropost or to start the tweet with “Read again…” (or something similar) to make it clear it’s not brand new.
8. Join in with Twitter chats
If you’re feeling a little lonely on Twitter and want to engage more with your current followers and gain new ones, participate in Twitter chats. They’re usually hosted at a regular time on the same day of the week by a particular Twitter account – usually for an hour – and there will be an associated hashtag to use in all your tweets so that everyone can follow what everyone else in the chat is saying. (This is where Tweetdeck or Hootsuite are crucial otherwise it can be almost impossible to keep up, interact and reply to comments all at the same time.)
There are countless chats, too many to list here, but twubs.com/twitter-chats is one way to search for them – you also have to take into account different time zones so search for ones in your country. Or if you notice in your feed that people seem to be talking to each other and using a particular hashtag a lot, get curious and investigate! At the end it’s common to swap links to your blogs with each other – make sure you also reciprocate follows and acknowledge mentions.
9. Tweet affiliate links with images
This won’t strictly generate traffic to your blog, but if you use affiliate links you can tweet pictures of gorgeous products you like/are lusting after with the affiliate link and a short “why I’m loving it” tweet. Tag in the brand as well so they see how much you love their product. I get a huge number of click throughs on my affiliate links from Twitter.
10. Follow relevant people with similar interests
If you haven’t done a sweep of Twitter to find like-minded people to follow, get onto it straight away! I find the most effective way to do this is to do is on the desktop version of Twitter (not on your phone or tablet or via an app), and follow this method:
- Do a search for something that interests you (for me: “40 something”, “fashion blogger”, etc.)
- Narrow the search by selecting “People” on the left (you can narrow it even further with Advanced Search)
- It will then list people with that description in their bio
- You can click “Follow” next to their details of as many as you like, OR
- Click on their Twitter name – and click it again – to get their profile page come up
- When you click the big blue “Follow” button on the right, you’ll be given suggestions where Twitter says “You might want to follow these similar accounts”
This way you’ll get a never-ending stream of relevant people to follow.
11. Ask for retweets (RT)
There’s nothing wrong with asking nicely for a “please RT” at the end of your tweet. Just don’t do it all the time or it will have the opposite effect. Make sure it’s something that’s deserving of a RT, for example asking for participants in a quick opinion poll, or a tweet about a worthy cause. If you tag the nice people at @FemaleBloggerRT or @UKBlog_RT they usually RT you to their respective 23k/nearly 6k followers.
Let me know if these tips have helped you, and if you have any other tips (there are loads), do share them here! (Don’t forget to follow me @notlamb on Twitter)
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN | YOUTUBE | NEWSLETTER
P.S. Like this post? You might also enjoy How to Generate an Audience For Your Blog – and Increase Interaction!
Linking up to: Let It Shine, Brilliant Blog Posts, Friday’s Fab Favourites, Sunday Funday
Nice post! Very useful for me. As a newbie social media marketer its very important information for me. Thank you for sharing this Catherine.
Brandshastra
Thanks Riya, I'm glad it's helpful to you!
I really need to think about the content of my tweets when I'm tweeting links to my blog rather than just the post title, thanks for the tips! #BrilliantBlogPosts
Gym Bunny Mummy | Bloglovin’ | Facebook
I do have auto tweets go out when my posts get published and they include the post's title, but then it's good to schedule other tweets as well using the tease method if you can. Thank you for your comment, I hope the tips help!! x
I love how you say to write a tweet like a tease, so true that way you want to grab the readers attention to take a little bit of their time. I really enjoyed all this advices. Thank you!
Mafer, Euphoric Wanderlust | Bloglovin x
I did read that somewhere, Mafer, so it's not exactly my expression – but it's such good advice and made perfect sense!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the post, thank you x
I found this post really interesting and helpful, even although I don't actually know what a lot of it means. I've got a lot of work and finding out to do!! Lorraine x
Well that's the beauty of such much to do with blogging, Lorraine – there's so much to discover and find out… I'm still finding out new things myself now after all these years, and it's so great to learn new stuff (especially when it makes your life so much easier)!! Thanks hun, I hope the tips help in time xx
Great tips, I will definitely be having a re-think about how I use Twitter
Excellent Dominique – I hope they come in handy! x
My pleasure, sweetie xx
Great read – thanks for posting!!! I'm sure I'll have to read it again and again and again..
xo
Heather Wyancko
http://thriftstories.me
That's great to hear, Heather – hope the tips help…! Thank you x
Great post Catherine, thanks for sharing these great tips. I shared it on g+, hope you don't mind. xo
Oh gosh not at all, Elsie – I really appreciate that!! Thank you!
Another great informative post Catherine.
Laurie x
Laurie I'm glad you think so – thank you!
So many new and great ideas. Thanks, Catherine!
OXOX
Dawn Lucy
http://fashionshouldbefun.blogspot.com
Really glad you think so, Dawn – thank you!
Hi Catherine. I'm Jonah from Hashtagify.me. Thanks very much for the mention 🙂 Have a nice day!
Jonah you are most welcome – thanks for providing a great service! x
Thanks for this and all the other blog tips Catherine. I always save these posts and spend time implementing your advice. That's what so much fun about blogging…learning how to do new stuff, and meeting (albeit on-line) helpful and generous bloggers like you.
Aww Susan that's so nice of you to say, thank you!! It's really just a cumulation of all the tips I've picked up over the years from various sources and put into action myself. I love learning new stuff too so it makes sense that I pass on what I've learned :))
Great article! What is tweet ;-)))?
Hehe I forgot to explain that bit, Martina…!!!!! Thanks sweetie x
Great tips. I will be experimenting them.
That's great, Stella – thank you! Good luck :))
Yet another fantstic post Catherine!!1 I will definitely be using the #40sbloggers hashtag, hopefully it will bring more wonderful over 40s on board xx
Me too, Gail – let's hope we start to get it used more!! Thanks hun x
Wonderful post,Catherine. Made me look at some of my tweets and shudder #with #my #hashtagging!
I especially love the before after bridge. I will be rethinking twitter and might start over…
It's never too late to start over, Belle – I do think that tweets with loads of hashtags are *very* hard to read…! I tend to add them at the end rather than adding the hashtags within the text, if you see what I mean. Easy to read but still more visible/reaching more people due to the hashtag.
So glad you liked the post, thank you! x
Thank you for this post, some great tips there. Do you by any chance know any hash tags for DIY or craft bloggers?
http://www.cloclocreative.wordpress.com
Hi Chloe, I had a quick search on Twitter and #diybloggers and #craftbloggers both seem to be in use! I'll add them to the list – thanks hun :))
A fantastic post! I love it! some very useful tips for twitter! I am just starting out in the blogging world but have been a huge lover of twitter for many years and I never realised what interactions I am missing out on! Thanks very much xx
You're so welcome, Rachel! I really hope they help. If you're already using Twitter (which I wasn't when I started blogging) then I'm sure you'll find it a lot easier. Good luck with it :))
wow this post was so helpful! I always find linking social media to my biggest downfall, especially Twitter as I find it so hard to keep on top of it. I need to get into the habit of scheduling tweets! I'm going Tweetdeck thanks to your recommendation.
Tweetdeck will make a MASSIVE difference to ease of use, Natasha! I just do mine all in one block for the month and then add new ones as they appear on the blog. Hope you get on alright with it, thank you my lovely x
Thanks for great tips, Catherine! I always get lost on Twitter. Great interaction on Instagram but I've never had a similar response on Twitter. Probably I am just not using it enough or not the right way 🙂
Enjoy the long weekend!
xx
Annette | Lady of Style
Thanks Annette – I think everyone has a social media platform they can't get to grips with, and I think most people tend to be a Facebook OR Twitter lover, generally not both. Hope the tips help! x
Great tips here. I Definitely need to tweet more pics
Pictures are a great one, Jeremy! Everyone likes pictures so I hope it makes a difference :))
Thanks so much for these tips. I always struggle to get traffic, and it's so demotivating when it feels like it's just me on my blog. I thrive off criticism, encouragement and tips on how to be a better blogger, so comments from readers are so so important to me.
Have you got any tips on how to interact with other bloggers more? I'm finding it hard to find other bloggers in my niche.
Much love,
Emily❭❭ peroxidefox
Hi Emily, I'm glad you liked the Twitter tips…! If you check my Blogging Tips page (see "Categories", above), you'll find a post called "How to Generate an Audience For Your Blog – and Increase Interaction". It sounds like exactly the sort of thing you need. Hope it helps! x
Great ideas thank you, love the problem + action = solution tip.
If you can get the hang of that one tip, Sarah you're SORTED!! Thanks hun, glad you liked it x
Amazing tips, thank you!
Kirsty | http://www.kirsty.ws
You're most welcome, Kirsty – hope they help!
Catherine! Thank you so much for this list, it's so handy! I've only just gotten into the 'Twitter groove' of things and I already practise some of these tips, but I never knew about the 120 characters and the image size. This is very good to know! x
Jasiminne | Posh, Broke, & Bored
I'm really pleased, Jasiminne – they are all tips I've picked up on the way 🙂
Hi Catherine, You've clearly given me a lot to explore and think about! (yet again..) I've not used Twitter a lot so far but it is high up on the agenda. My blog is my hobby but I still would like it at best as I could and I love finding out about social media.So thanks, that's me sorted for Easter!
I hope I didn't bombard you with too much info, Irmin! Glad you liked the tips though x
Great tips Catherine. I am horrible at twitter and barely use it though I hear it's a great platform.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
Hope to see you Thursday for TBT Fashion link up.
It really is, Alice – I find it the easiest of all the platforms :))
Great post; I'm trying to be more active on Twitter, but I just don't enjoy it as much as Instagram, Facebook, or my Blog. Partly, it is a time issue (I have a two year old!) and so far, Twitter has remained at the bottom of my list of Things To Do. I'm going to try TweetDeck. Thanks for your knowledge sharing! xx
It's funny – I dislike Facebook quite a bit, so I know how you feel about a social media platform you haven't got to grips with! I can't recommend Tweetdeck highly enough… it's SO much easier! Glad you liked the post, thank you x
Great post Catherine – about time I started scheduling tweets!
Suze | LuxuryColumnist
It makes life so much easier, Suze! I often schedule them up to a month in advance, and at least you know *something* is going out on Twitter every day :))
This is such a good post, I have got a lot better at Instagram, but Twitter still evades me!
http://www.liquidgrain.co.uk
I hope the tips come in useful, Kathryn! Thanks hun x
This is so helpful, I saved the post. I have to remember to tag brands, didn't think of it before.
Anca @ ancaslifestyle | UK
It wasn't something I ever thought of to start with either, Anca! I've had a lot of engagement from brands and you get to know which ones RT and tweet about you 🙂
So many wonderful Twitter tips, thank you! I never knew if pictures helped or not, good to hear proof that they do! And I generally use up all 140 characters, without fail, hmm! Many things to ponder, thanks! 🙂
You're very welcome, Steff – I hope the tips help! x
This is an IMMENSE post Catherine, good job! Adding images is a great tip, I'll definitely try resizing because I get so annoyed when Twitter cuts off my pictures, haha!
✿ my blog ✿
Lil that's a great compliment, thank you so much! I don't always resize my pictures usually because of a time issue, but it's so much more satisfying seeing them NOT cropped…!