5 Tips for a Twitter Makeover
Five quick tips that can inspire you to reach full potential with each tweet.
Five quick tips that can inspire you to reach full potential with each tweet.
Not the Clinton and Stacy kind of makeover. Though a little Photoshop to that avatar wouldn’t hurt. I’m talking about the writing, content, and networking savvy required to truly cultivate value behind a Twitter page.
I had to relearn these essentials after participating in a week-to-week experiment with our own company Twitter page, in which the reigns are handed off to a pair of employees (among three global offices) to host and tweet content however they so choose – with the intention of improving the overall quality of our Twitter presence. Aside from the basic challenges of differing time zones, diverse voices, varying levels of Twitter experience, and tested resiliency against the fully-endorsed judgment of unforgiving peers, there’s also the daunting reality of potentially “going Chrysler” under the company name.
However, there are good intentions to outweigh the risks: healthy competition among the assigned tweeters; diverse quality in content that aligns with our company’s fascination and study of digital culture and personal passions; and growth in everyone’s comfort level with social media. If your smaller-sized company hasn’t tried this process before, it’s definitely worth a shot to see the kind of results you get.
So my assigned week came, and along with my tweet-partner (or maybe a carefully spoken “twartner”) and creative cohort, Sarah, we prepared our Twitter makeover plan as follows:
Original (127 characters):
“The Dark Knight Rises” ARG kicks off by hiding a Twitter hashtag within a sound file’s waveform. Way cool. http://bit.ly/iiSoyTRevised (113 characters):
#DarkKnightRises ARG hides hashtag in a sound file’s waveform. Creepy chants, creepier photo. http://bit.ly/iiSoyT
Hashtagging the movie reference helped to not only save characters, but also to insert the tweet into an existing conversation channel (and hopefully pick up a few followers). Deleting a few non-crucial words helped make room for a more descriptive promise of a “creepy” photo deliverable. More efficiency tips are available in this super-useful article.
All in all, our makeover brought us new industry followers and a three-point uptick in our Klout score – mostly due to our sudden spurt in conversations with influencers. We were satisfied given the week-long timeline, but were certainly motivated to double our results next time around. Our new Matt Damon-channeled mantra: the laser kitten plays.
Whether it’s your company’s, your client’s, or your personal Twitter page, there’s no denying the tremendous effort required to craft the right tone, content, and conversations while maintaining fastidious quality control and follower growth. To stay sane, focus on your weekly goal; for us, it was about increasing our daily conversations. To stay fresh, implement your own makeover plan. Just think, you’re the girl who only has to take her glasses off to look hot. (“She’s All That,” Rachael Leigh Cook? Anyone?) Simple tweaks in how you edit your tweets, distribute your content, and socialize with others will help you reach full Twitter potential.