So I tend to be a more positive based writer. I love to give tips on how-to do something and rarely do I cover the do not side. But I believe these tips will be really helpful and I hope they encourage you to use Twitter wisely!
1. Do not spam. Many Twitter users fail to see that sending out the same link or tweet is in fact spam. It is very important to keep everything in moderation.
2. Don’t use TrueTwit validation. The idea behind TrueTwit is to prove everyone who follows you is a real person but the fact is TrueTwit is an automated service. Does it really make sense to use something automated to prove that something is real? Plus you will annoy lots of people if you have this ‘service’.
3. Do not protect your tweets. This defeats the purpose of Twitter especially if you are trying to build your author platform. You must allow people to follow you so be sure you only share things you are confortable with the world seeing.
4. Do not engage in too much self-promotion. Do not always sell your products or talk about yourself. Only one out of every four tweets you put out should be related to you (or less!). Twitter is about connecting socially and no one likes listening to someone who only talks about themselves. Give more than you take and you’ll see better results with Twitter.
5. Do not drop the ball. With any social media platform you must be consistent. Make sure you set up a schedule and stick to it. I recommend using Buffer (bufferapp.com) to set up a Twitter schedule. Set up your schedule by planning out exactly how many tweets per day you will tweet and what type of tweets you will share. For example if you tweet five times a day you could break down those five tweets into two links (from other people/sources than yourself), two text only tweets (such as quotes, or questions to the audience), and one personal tweet (a link to your latest blog post, or a reminder about your latest event). Keeping a schedule and sticking to it is the best thing you can do for your social media presence.
What are your biggest do nots for Twitter? Share them in the comments below!
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Thank you Kate. Pls let me know if you think I’m doing the wrong thing.
Off to bed now. 11.45pm
Certainly Gus! From the looks of it you seem to be avoiding these things on Twitter. That is a great start!
I think I’m not that great on twitter and I stink at following personal schedules, but I’m going to work on it. Thanks for the tips! *share share share*.
Thanks Melissa!
I think it is super important to make and stick to a schedule on Twitter and then add in live updates as well if you want to build a presence. I recommend using Buffer highly because you can make a schedule once and then all you have to do is add content into your Buffer and it will automatically post on your next available slot on your schedule (unlike Hootsuite where you have to input the time of the tweet for each and every tweet). Buffer also has analytics and really cool applications you can use alongside it like Followerwonk (which tells you the best times to tweet!)
Once you get the hang of posting a regular amount of tweets and get the variety down you’ll see your account grow!
And for following accounts I recommend following people who interact with you on Twitter (so people who mention you, favorite your tweets, retweet you, and those you meet in chats like #k8chat). You can also use ManageFlitter to search for accounts. Another option is to look at other users lists. For example I have a whole list of authors on my Twitter account you can access and follow the authors that interest you! 🙂
Hootsuite doesn’t require you to select a time. Just hit “auto schedule” and you’re done.
Thanks for the heads up Greger. Hootsuite used to require you to select a time which was one of the reasons I switched over to Buffer. I love Buffer (they have great customer service) but I’m so pleased to hear Hootsuite is becoming easier to use as well!
I use a combination of free Hootsuite and free Buffer. Hootsuite only tweets text unless you retweet someone’s photo post. I add photos to some accounts directly if I can’t do what I want to with either Hootsuite or Buffer. If you use Hootsuite’s auto schedule you don’t need to set a time, but I often edit the auto schedule times during the day .
It used to be on Hootsuite you had to set the time for each tweet/post so I moved to Buffer when I heard of it. What I love with Buffer is the ability to add all kinds of posts (photos, text, links, videos, gifs) to all kinds of channels. It’s my go-to social media tool! 🙂
These are great tips! The only one I’d add is to be careful with whom and what you engage – I can be hot headed when people are being ridiculous, and arguing some political issue in 140 characters is a black hole of pointless frustration!
Thank you Claire!
I agree with your tip! It is important to be careful what you share on social media. I personally try to be very positive on all my social media accounts, because personally I feel like why should I spread negativity? Plus everything you do online is in many ways permanent. So instead of getting into arguments or grumbling about temporary circumstances spread the good. Great advice, thank you for sharing!
All great tips! Question…
What’s your take on personal tweets? There are disagreements as to how much personal stuff to share. Many experts simply say “none”. No sharing what you ate for lunch, that you need a brow wax, that you have a pimple. No one cares. And it’s unprofessional. People tend to forget that they’re not just tweeting to their followers but to everyone who looks them up.
But…I find *some* personal stuff (as long as it’s in moderation and not TOO personal) makes the person more, well, personable. If there’s a mix, I like that better than all business. How do you find that mix of networking and social media?
Hi Sarah,
I believe it is important to share personal things but it is a matter of WHAT personal things you share. I agree that no one will be interested in your pimple or brow wax, those aren’t interesting. When you decide what personal things to share you have to share things that show you are a real person (with dreams, hopes, and all) without being to ME focused.
For me I make out a Twitter schedule where I break up the kinds of content I’ll be sharing so I focus more on how I can help others than talking about myself. I use my schedule to pre-schedule in valuable content and then I add in live tweets throughout the day. The mix works well. I feel like people know me and also get value from what I share.
Excellent tips for a new author like me. Don’t know how you have the time to do it all. After the writing, editing, cover design, etc., process you are happy it is done only to find you have yet to begin….Trying to get followers on your web/blog is a challenge along with managing all the social media venues. You have to admire these authors who have time to do it all and do book signings and other events. You have my respect and hope to learn from you and pleased to have found your site. Best..
Thank you Howard. I understand what you mean. Being an author is a hard job, not only is there all the writing stuff but there is also a whole business side authors must master (no matter how they publish). Luckily their are social media managers and author assistants like myself to help authors with some of the workload so that authors can do it all. I hope you find my site helpful as you go on your publishing journey. Best, Kate
Thanks, Kate! I am looking forward to sharing these tips with my organizing colleagues as part of my “Dos and Don’ts of Successful Promotion” presentation!
I can’t wait to hear all about your presentation Donna! I really hope these tips help & the Pinterest tips. :)!
Great post. I’m happy to say I stepped into Twitter slowly so I was able to learn a lot and watch what others did. I don’t have time to go on as much as I’d like but I do try. Thanks for the tip about Buffer!
Thank you! When I first started on Twitter I mostly just followed authors I liked and responded to things they had posted. Now I post interesting things on my own feed and start up conversations which has been great to not just build up a following but it has also allowed me to make some real connections and friends. I really love that part of social media.
Definitely give Buffer a go. They are the best for scheduling platform by far!
Thank you so much for tips, I’ll add don’t RT’s every mention of you! And I agree that sticking to schedule will help a lot to get noticed
My pleasure Farida!
Yes, RTing every mention of you is another thing to avoid on Twitter. But for my main tips keeping with a schedule is at the top, it really makes that difference!
I connect my FB page with Twitter so everything from FB goes straight to Twitter. I also use Hootsuite for scheduling, I’ll check out Buffer. I used to be guilty of TrueTwit, back before I used Twitter for my blog anyway. I removed it once I started building a following (as minimal as it is!). I’m terrible with Twitter though. I do check it daily to favorite or retweet some things, but overall, I’m terrible with the Twitter interaction. Which is interesting since I prefer Twitter to FB any day!
Hi Suzanne!
Personally I am not a fan of having Facebook and Twitter connected. Posts from Facebook that go to Twitter or from Twitter to Facebook never look quite right for the platform. In my experience learning the language of the platform is vital to making a presence there.
I like Buffer over Hootsuite as you get to create a schedule (once) and each post goes to the next slot on the schedule instead of manually having to put in a time for each post.
I’m glad to hear you got rid of TrueTwit! The system doesn’t really make a lot of sense (using a robot to prove that I am a real person who wants to follow you). Plus it is certainly a deterrent for those who may want to follow.
For Twitter the best thing is to be consistent (plan to tweet a certain number of times each day as a minimum) and to offer value and variety. Share pictures, ask questions, post quotes, share links to good articles, etc. All these things will help you grow on Twitter :).
Excellent tips, thank you! I’ve come to think that “TrueTwit Validation” is *the* most annoying thing on the internet. Even more so than Viagra spam. I’ve started unfollowing anyone who makes me go through it.
I agree EJ! TrueTwit is the most annoying thing I’ve encountered online. I also unfollow anyone who uses TrueTwit (and most users who send auto-DM asking me to link them or buy their book.) There are just so many better ways to use Twitter than that.
Great post, Kate! I hate TrueTwit validation, it’s so annoying. I don’t get why people protect their tweets too. I almost never follow them. Almost never check messages, because I only get spam! I love to retweet, favorite tweets from other users. You help them promote their content and they help you. Spamming my inbox never works 🙂
Thank you Barbara!
TrueTwit really is a true pain. Protecting tweets in a way defeats the purpose of the platform, as it is social media the idea is to connect with other people and protecting your tweets or using TrueTwit limits a persons ability to connect with the platform.
You are so right! Spamming never works! But actively engaging with others is where the magic happens. 🙂
Great tips, Kate, and well-presented! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Raelee! I’m glad you enjoyed the Twitter tips!
Is there any social media questions you’d like answered?
Not that I can think of right now. 🙂 Thanks!
My pleasure Raelee! 🙂
I love your suggestion to avoid too much promotion. I’m amazed how many people tweet ten times a day about themselves.
I try to tweet on a variety of topics…sports, family, music, entertainment, and writing. I hope my friends will let me know if I start to annoy them on Twitter.
Thanks for sharing.
Yep, it’s pretty amazing Jackie. I try to encorage people to think about how they interact in person. Do you call someone up all the time to talk about your new book and only your new book? Nope. So why would that work online? It doesn’t.
Social media is all about social connection. Engage in conversation and share on a few topics like you do in person. And that will do the trick.
Direct Messages (DMs) have become my least favorite thing about Twitter. At first I thought they were an opportunity to connect, like email. But with the character limitations, it’s tough to have much of a conversation. Now they just seem to me like another form of spam.
Sadly DMs are horribly cluttered up by autoDMs and spam messages on Twitter. I still use DMs on occasion to quickly connect with users in private but yes, with so many limitations and clutters it can be very difficult to use. This is one reason I tell people “NO AUTODMS”.
I never use auto DMs. I use DM only to send personal messages to people I’ve gotten to know about private subjects that are not of general interest.
Same here!
I didn’t know that about Buffer. I’m going to look into it. I love Hootsuite for managing my feed, sorting in columns, and Tweeting from, but I don’t want to pay for a pro account to get the bulk schedule feature.
I hate Twitter, but I know it’s a valuable tool. Especially with the Facebook changes coming next year. I want to be better at using Twitter in 2015 so I’m forcing myself to learn more about how to engage and get readers following me instead of random indie authors who don’t even write in my genre. This post is gold just for the info about Buffer.
Buffer is a great tool. You can bulk upload for free using https://www.bulkbuffer.com (though this is not an official add on). Hootsuite can be great if you want to work in columns but I found Buffer’s interface to be easier to use so I’ve stuck with them.
Twitter is a valuable tool and it can be fun! I’d suggest trying to approach it as a place to build connections (and less of a thing you hate, people can pick up on that). One thing you may try, if you haven’t yet, is joining Twitter chats. In chats you can connect directly with people and have fun/engaging conversation. I host #k8chat on Thursdays to connect authors & readers and there are a bunch of other chats out there on all sorts of topics. I hope it helps!
I have done a couple Twitter chats. I disliked those even more than I dislike Twitter in general. But I love Facebook parties. I’m a Facebook girl. That’s where I’m at home, that’s where I’m comfortable, and that’s what I understand.
I’ll figure something out. The FB policy changes aren’t giving me much of a choice.
In that case maybe you should check out Google+? It is a little different than Facebook but it has many of the same features unlike Twitter. I wrote a primer about this here: http://badredheadmedia.com/2014/11/23/google-different-facebook-primer-authors/
I have even less traction on Google+ than I do on Twitter. Readers and potential fans are finding me on Facebook. I’m doing another FB party this weekend and I’ll share my G+ and Twitter and see what happens.
I really wish FB wasn’t being so anti-small business with the new policies. It’s not just authors who will feel the bite from all of this.
That’s interesting Rachel. I’d say it does take time to build up traction on each new site. The more time you spend on a platform interacting (commenting, replying, sharing other’s things) the more traction you build. I am more engaged on Twitter so that is where I get the most traction.
Facebook changes are hard for everyone it seems, it will be interesting to see how things go with these new policies.
It’s hard to make myself spend time on a platform I can’t stand, though. There’s nothing about Twitter I like or enjoy. Nothing. I’d rather clean out a filthy fridge than spend time on Twitter. I didn’t remember to share my Twitter or Google+ when I did my last FB party, and I doubt I’ll try to share either one at the one I’m doing next week.
I don’t even get on Twitter and poke around in stuff when I’m looking for any excuse I can find to procrastinate on my edits. Everything about it as a platform annoys me, and I find it off-putting. The water cooler and coffee shop are the absolute last places you’re going to find me in real life, and to me Twitter is the coffee shop/water cooler of the Internet.
I am making an effort to do the #1LineWed hosted by the RWA Kiss of Death chapter, and it’s fun. But other than that, I pretend Twitter doesn’t exist.
I’ve changed my marketing focus for the year from Twitter to building my newsletter list. And of course figuring out the best ways to keep using Facebook. I’m going to stick with what I understand and where I can be me.
It’s also between learning Twitter or writing. Writing wins every single time.
I’m glad to hear you have shifted your focus to something you enjoy Rachel. I find the worst peiece of social media advice is telling someone they should be on every platform. If you can’t stand a platform that you have given an honest shot then it isn’t worth your time to persue it. It is better to focus on a few platforms and do them well then to try to be everywhere.
I tried multiple times last year to get engaged with it, because other authors in my genre tend to gravitate to Twitter and they’re very active. Just can’t do it. It’s not worth it to me.
A newsletter, where I can collect true fans, and share the scenes and little vignettes that come to me, is what I want to do. So that’s what I’m going to do.
A newsletter sounds like the better option for you Rachel, I’m glad you figured it out. 🙂
I’m not very fond of Twitter chats because of all the repetition as people seem to retweet a lot of what is said.
I’ve found Twitter chats are an amazing place to connect with people of similar interest. I host the weekly #K8chat for readers and authors and it’s a lot of fun without too much of a crowded feed. You should check it out sometime :).
I really enjoyed re-reading this post, Kate, especially as I’m a fan of #MondayBlogs. Twitter may be hard to master but I like it so much I’ve almopst forgotten how to promote my novel! Maybe the ‘less is more’ approach works better anyway?
When I teach social media to authors I always stress the fact that social media is a social network and not a promotion channel. Building up relationships should be the goal of every author on Twitter (and those relationships lead to sales more often than the hard sells on social media). Participating in memes like #MondayBlogs or Twitter chats like our #K8Chat, is a great way to get involved with a community that wants to support you and what you do. So keep at it, Marilyn! 🙂
Oh gosh, I joke that I’m consistently inconsistent, and it’s something I’m constantly working on. Buffer sounds like a fantastic solution. The other four no no’s are pretty easy for me, since I’m much better at being social than being spammy.
Buffer is a great tool to get more consistent on social media. It’s an invaluable part of my social media strategy 🙂
I completely agree with your hints. TrueTwit Validation is probably my biggest turn-off, and I just don’t bother to go through the validation process. That program makes me feel as though I’m considered guilty until I prove my innocence. I validate by checking profiles before following or following back and seeing what people actually tweet. It often doesn’t match their stated interests.
One more “don’t” I’d add is to never tweet or click on just a shortened link with an @______. Most people I follow never do that, but occasionally someone I’m not following will to do it to try to get me to click. Those links are almost always malicious, and knowledgeable Tweeple will never click them. Always let people know where a link will lead or what it is about.
Ugh, TrueTwit. The bane of our Twitter existence. One day we’ll get rid of it, one day…
And that is an excellent tip, Barbara! Spamming links is so not cool! Thanks for adding in your input.