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#ContentWritingChat Recap: Twitter Engagement Strategies with Gabriela Cardoza

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Twitter Engagement Strategies with Gabriela Cardoza

by | Jul 28, 2017 | ContentWritingChat

Are you wondering how you can see more Twitter engagement? If so, you aren’t alone! It’s a great platform for sharing content and connecting with your audience, but sometimes it’s hard to actually get noticed. In this week’s #ContentWritingChat, we asked everyone to share their best Twitter engagement strategies so we can all earn more retweets and replies.

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Twitter Engagement Strategies with Gabriela Cardoza

Our guest host this Tuesday was Gabriela Cardoza. She’s a personal and corporate brand consultant, which you can learn more about on her site. Gaby has been a participant of #ContentWritingChat for some time now and she sure knows how to stand out in all the chats she joins. She stepped in as our guest host to share Twitter engagement strategies that all of us can put to use! If that sounds like just what you need, keep reading for the recap!

Q1: What is your favorite thing about Twitter?

To kick off the chat, we posed a very simple question to our participants. We asked them to share their favorite thing about Twitter so we could learn why they love it so much. Wondering what our favorite thing about Twitter is? It’s definitely #ContentWritingChat! Here’s what some others had to say:

Gaby likes Twitter because of the all the amazing things it exposes her to. She mentioned that it’s a great platform for finding opportunities, friendships, experiences, information, perspectives, and more chances to learn.

Twitter really is one of the best social media platforms for anyone looking to build relationships. You can do a quick keyword or hashtag search to find like-minded people to connect with.

Rebecca likes that Twitter gives you the ability to connect with others and have valuable conversations. It’s allowed her to reach people in her industry, as well as those around the world.

Jason loves that Twitter makes it easy to connect with people and brands. People are certainly more open to starting a conversation on the platform, which makes it easier to grow your network.

Bill knows just how effective Twitter chats can be. He mentioned that they give you access to professional development in real-time. Being present on Twitter can even lead to building offline relationships as well.

As Sarah said, it’s instant! When you head to Twitter, you can get a variety of news before other platforms are picking up on it. So many people choose to head to Twitter for the latest in breaking news. Sarah also likes having the ability to connect with people across the globe through the platform.

Elizabeth knows the global reach that Twitter gives you access to is pretty powerful.

Danielle loves the learning opportunities Twitter has presented her with. She uses it as a tool to find articles on writing and social media that she wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.

Ken feels Twitter allows you to toggle between personal and professional much more easily than other platforms. He said it doesn’t happen on LinkedIn and it’s tricky to do on Facebook.

Q2: What can you do to ensure you’re growing your Twitter account with quality followers?

When it comes down to it, a few quality followers will always beat a large following that isn’t engaging. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put in the work to grow your audience! If you’re wondering how you can reach more people, take a look at these tips:

Gaby said you need to have a strategy in place if you want results. She encourages you to know your purpose, your message, and your goals. You also can’t forget to define who your audience is so you can reach the right people. Once you’ve found your people, make sure you’re engaging with them.

Sarah’s advice is to make sure you’re reaching out and interacting with the right audience. If you’re going to be on a social media platform, you need to be present by engaging with others.

This is advice everyone needs to remember! You have to be willing to put in the effort and engaging with your followers. Ask questions to get the conversation going. When they reply to you, take the time to respond.

Jason suggests joining Twitter chats that are of interest to you. They provide a great opportunity to meet new people. He also said to reach out to those who align with your own vision. But most importantly, you need to be yourself. That’s what people will be drawn to.

Brandie’s tips include: connecting with people, staying involved, participating in chats, and providing excellent content. Sounds like a winning formula to us!

Quality content is key if you want to gain followers on any platform. You need to give people a reason to follow you and actually stick around.

Cheval also knows that it’s important to provide your audience with valuable content. However, he also pointed out that you should show your audience that you care. They’re human just like you. Show that you’re listening and that you appreciate them. That’s key if you want them to stick around.

Q3: How can you make sure the posts you share on Twitter encourage engagement?

If you find that the content you post on Twitter isn’t sparking engagement, something needs to change. Luckily, you aren’t doomed forever if that’s been the case for you! Our chat participants shared some helpful Twitter engagement strategies specifically for creating amazing content. Check it out:

Gaby’s advice is to ensure your posts consistently offer value. You can do that by knowing your audience, your market, and your industry. Keep their wants, needs, and interests in mind to create the content that will resonate with them.

If you want engagement, you need to engage yourself. People don’t want to engage with someone who isn’t listening or responding. It’s a two-way street!

It really all goes back to knowing your audience and understanding what they want. As Jason said, you have to provide them with content they’d want to engage with. You can ask questions or share something that would pique their interests to get a conversation started.

Jose knows you shouldn’t just post absentmindedly. He encourages you to add your thoughts and ask questions just like you would in a real life conversation.

A great headline is going to grab attention on social media, as will an eye-catching image. Create content that stands out and pulls your readers in.

Tony suggests asking a question, including a poll, stating an opinion, or including a link to outside content. He also said you can add a photo or GIF, which can be helpful in getting others talking.

Mallorie also agrees that adding a GIF can be helpful. It adds a fun, playful element to your tweet and helps show your brand’s personality.

Customer service and community management are both so important, especially on Twitter. Start a dialogue with people and show that you genuinely care when you’re connecting with them.

And finally, make sure you’re consistent. As Julia said, the conversation will go on whether you’re there or not. Make sure you’re present if you want to make connections.

Q4: What’s your best advice for getting the conversation flowing with your audience?

Sometimes it’s hard to get the conversation started. Whether you’re feeling shy on social media or just don’t know where to begin, this can be an overwhelming experience. It doesn’t have to be though! Check out these tips to start the conversation and keep it going:

Gaby said you really have to be proactive when it comes to conversations. She encourages you to ask questions, follow-up with people, and just say hi. You have to be social and take a genuine interest in others if you want to build real relationships.

Sarah said you shouldn’t wait for someone to notice you. Put yourself out there and strike up a conversation with someone you want to connect with. All you have to do is say hello. As she pointed out, it’s just like starting a conversation in real life.

Jim agrees. You can’t wait for others to start the conversation. Take the initiative and reach out.

What’s a simple way to get the conversation started? Ask a question! Danielle’s advice is to figure out what they care about and ask a question they’ll feel called to answer.

You can also ask for their opinion on something. As Jason said, it’s important to communicate that you want to hear from people. They’ll feel valued and appreciated when you acknowledge their responses.

Varun even encourages building a Twitter list of people you’d like to keep up with. You can monitor that list and join any relevant conversations you come across.

Joining Twitter chats is another way to make starting conversations easier. Chats bring people together and everyone is more open to making connections there. You can even host your own!

Jenn said you shouldn’t talk AT your audience, but WITH them. Make sure you’re responding, engaging, and interacting. The whole point of social media is to be social, so don’t forget this crucial step.

Q5: How can Twitter chats help you grow your audience? Any tips for making the most of them?

If you haven’t participated in a Twitter chat before, you’re probably wondering what all the fuss is about. Fortunately, you don’t have to wonder any longer! We asked our chat participants to share how they can help you grow your audience, plus a few tips to really make them work for you. Check it out:

Gaby said Twitter chats allow you to meet others with similar interests and can help relationships flourish. Joining chats on a regular basis is one of our best Twitter engagement strategies.

To make the most of the chats you join, follow-up with any new connections afterwards. You can also join different ones to meet new people.

Max agrees! You want to follow-up afterwards to stay in touch.

As Sarah said, chats bring like-minded people together and allow them to share their insights and stories. They provide the perfect opportunity for networking.

In fact, you can start multiple conversations within the hour-long chat window.

Carla pointed out that by joining Twitter chats, you can gain visibility through the hashtag. You’re also able to engage with others who are participating and you can position yourself as an expert with the responses you share.

In fact, by joining chats, people get a feel for the person behind the handle. It’s a great way to showcase your personality and your skills.

Jenn’s advice is to interact with people and also to be authentic. You can ask questions, showcase your expertise, and even add in a GIF.

Once you find chats that are relevant to your industry, you can join them to start making connections. Make sure you’re prepared to answer questions and respond to others.

Q6: How do you know if the content you share is helping you reach your goals on Twitter?

Are those tweets helping you reach your end goal? If you aren’t sure, we’ve got some advice to help you figure it out! Check out these responses from the chat:

Gaby suggests referring back to your social media strategy. Set objectives for yourself and track the data you receive. You can use Twitter analytics to do this, which is totally free.

Sarah also said to use your analytics to measure the results you’re getting. Are you moving forward, going backward, or standing still?

As Lori said, it all starts with knowing your goals. You can then track the appropriate metrics and make any tweaks if needed. Keep an eye on your metrics to see how you’re progressing.

Danielle pointed out one important factor: goals need to be measurable.

Max’s advice is go for the SMART goals. Be sure to track your progress as time goes on to see if your Twitter engagement strategies are working.

Julia recommends tracking profile reach and site analytics to see if you’re driving high engagement rates. She uses Twitonomy to do this.

Q7: Do you rely on any tools to help you connect with your Twitter followers?

There are tons of tools out there we can use for Twitter. Do you use any? If you’re in search of some new ones to check out, take a look at these recommendations from our chat:

Gaby relies on Buffer, her phone, and her thumbs!

Buffer and Giphy are go-to tools for Jenn.

Rosyln relies on TweetDeck to manage her Twitter account. It’s an especially great tool for Twitter chats!

If you want to schedule your content at optimal times, Danielle suggests Tweriod.

Jose uses TweetDeck, Twitter Lists, Buffer, and his phone.

Varun keeps it simple with Twitter Lists. This allows him to stay updated with friends, engaged followers, and what’s going on in his industry.

Sabjan relies on Buffer for scheduling content, but when it comes to automation, it’s all him. He keeps it real when communicating with others.

Q8: Which brands do an amazing job at engaging their audience on Twitter? Tag them!

We can learn a lot from what other brands are doing online. Are there any that are killing it when it comes to Twitter engagement strategies? Check out these brands:

Gaby shared a great list of brands who do an impressive job on Twitter. Are you following them?

Julia loves following Content Marketing Institute, our very own guest host (Gaby!), Applebee’s, and Buffer.

Jim also thinks Applebee’s does a great job. They’ve been known to pop into Twitter chats when people mention them.

Varun thinks Buffer, Content Marketing Institute, and Crowdfire are great to follow. He even included us in his list, so thank you!

Want to join us next time? Follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat and be sure to join us every Tuesday at 10 AM Central!
#Contentwritingchat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Twitter Strategies for a Great Brand Presence with Becky Shindell

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Twitter Strategies for a Great Brand Presence with Becky Shindell

by | Mar 3, 2017 | ContentWritingChat

You might think Twitter is a dying platform, but we’re about to prove you wrong with our latest #ContentWritingChat. This week, we covered all the best strategies to help you grow your audience and establish a great brand presence on Twitter. If you’re ready to step up your game on Twitter, dive into this recap!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Twitter Strategies for a Great Brand Presence with Becky Shindell

Our guest host this week was Becky Shindell. She’s a Social Media Manager for one of our favorite tools, SEMrush. Plus, she works behind the scenes on their Twitter chat, #semrushchat. So, it’s no surprise that Becky is pretty knowledgeable on Twitter and we were excited to have her join us and share some of her best advice.

Q1: How can a brand determine if Twitter is a worthwhile platform to be on?

With all the social media platforms available today, it can be hard to decide which ones are worth your time. If you’re wondering if Twitter is really the right place for your brand to be, we have some advice that will make the decision a little easier.

Becky recommends considering the goals you have for your brand. She knows that Twitter is a powerful platform for customer service. That could be a key way that you use it to serve your customers.

Julia knows it’s important to be where your audience is. Find out if they’re spending their time on Twitter and if they are… You need to be there too!

As Annaliese said, make sure your target audience is actually active on the platform. If they’re signed up, but not using it, then it won’t do you any good. You want to make sure your audience is there and already engaged.

Research, research, research! You’re going to have to do a little digging to find out where your audience is most active online, but it’ll pay off in the end.

Is your community on Twitter? Is there already a conversation around your niche happening there? If so, Kristen says Twitter is worth your time.

If you aren’t sure if your audience is on Twitter, don’t be afraid to ask them. You can create a survey and ask for responses to find out which platforms they’re most active on. As Lexie said, your social media strategy is all about being where your audience is.

Another thing to take into consideration is how Twitter actually works. As Cristy said, it’s not a pay-to-play platform like Facebook as become. Twitter is appealing to so many brands for that reason because they don’t worry about a large portion of their followers never seeing their posts.

Q2: What types of content perform well on Twitter, thus encouraging clicks and shares?

Once you’ve decided to invest your time into using Twitter, you want to make sure you’re posting great content. And we all want clicks and shares, right? These tips will help you create irresistible content your audience will enjoy.

As Becky said, great visuals are key to getting your content noticed on Twitter. An eye-catching image will get people to stop as they’re scrolling through their feeds. Create something that’s going to grab their attention and appeal to them if you want to earn those clicks and shares.

Vishal knows that pairing captivating visuals with amazing copy is the formula for a perfect tweet.

Jessy said it best when she mentioned a great visual can help you break through the clutter. Social media feeds are busy these days and you need a way to stand out. Photos, GIFs, and videos can help you do that.

It’s also important to consider what resonates with your audience. What works for one brand might not work for you and vice versa. Don’t be afraid to test ideas to see what your audience responds well to and what they aren’t digging. Sarah said to make sure everything is helpful, relevant, timely, pretty, and beneficial.

Cassandra agrees that, in the end, it all goes back to what your audience enjoys.

Q3: How do you measure the success of your content? Which metrics are most important to track?

So, you’ve posted all of this content to Twitter… How on earth do you find out if it’s performing well? Which metrics should you be paying the most attention to? There’s no need to let your analytics stress you out! We have some suggestions on what you should be tracking.

Becky said she likes to use Sprout Social to see how her audience is responding to content. She tracks engagement, retweets, and favorites. She also takes a look at their demographics to get a better understanding of who the audience is. Then, that information can be used to create more of the content that works and less of what doesn’t.

Engagement, clicks, traffic, and real ROI. That’s what we’re all about here at Express Writers. And as Julia mentioned, one of our clients signed on with us after discovering our Twitter profile and scrolling through our tweets.

Annaliese offered some great advice that will help you get the most out of your Twitter presence and your analytics. She suggests using Google Analytics and setting it up to track how visitors from Twitter behave once they get to your website.

Conversions, conversions, conversions. The ultimate test of whether or not your Twitter presence is working for you is whether or not those followers are converting. You want to see that they’re not only coming to your website, but converting in some way. That could be becoming an email subscriber, a paying customer, etc. If those conversions are happening, you’re on the right track.

For Tony, it’s all about engagement rate, clicks, and impressions. Engagement is a great thing to track because it’s nice to see that your audience is responding in some way, like leaving a comment. It’s simple, but it helps to build a relationship with them.

Jenn knows just how powerful conversations are between you and your audience. It’s a key step to building trust with them and you need to create content that gets them talking. Make sure you reply to them when they leave their response too!

Like Jenn, Keira also wants to see conversations happening around the content she shares. But as she pointed out, it all depends on the goals you’ve set for your content and that will differ based on the particular post.

Q4: What can you do to get your brand noticed on Twitter?

If you decide to invest your time and effort into a social media platform, you don’t want to go unnoticed. You want people to see your posts and engage with them. You want to attract followers and convert them into customers. So, how do you actually get noticed so you can see major results for your brand? Start implementing these tips:

Becky’s advice is to use relevant hashtags, original images and copy, and great GIFs. She also said to tweet frequently to stay in the feeds of your audience.

If you want your brand to be noticed, you need to be present. Don’t slack off on posting and expect to see growth. Don’t get lazy with engaging and expect to build relationships. You need to be proactive about engaging with your audience.

Be a thought leader in your industry and people will want to follow along. It’s also important that you stay on top of the latest trends so you can provide the best content for your audience.

Engage, entertain, listen, and respond. It’s simple, but effective advice that Lauren knows will get you results.

Engagement is always essential and Antonio agrees. He stressed just how important it is to listen to what your audience is saying and to respond to them. He also mentioned that you can pay for traffic, but that doesn’t compare with growing your audience by building relationships.

Hashtags are a key way to get your content noticed. They help you reach a wider audience with each post. You just need to make sure you’re using ones that are relevant and popular enough that people will discover it.

And of course, Twitter chats are one great way to get noticed. They’re perfect for making new connections and sharing your expertise with a new group.

Mallie is also a fan of using Twitter chats to make connections. Start reaching out to people in a way that feels genuine and people will respond well.

Q5: How can you capture leads on Twitter in order to turn followers into customers and raving fans of your brand?

We couldn’t have a chat on Twitter strategies without discussing how to use the platform to capture leads, could we? We asked our chat participants to share their advice for taking people from followers and turning them into customers and huge fans. Here are their tips:

Becky suggests sharing content that educates and entertains your audience. And don’t forget to add a CTA!

Mallie also agrees that a call to action is essential. People won’t always know what the next step is, so you have to tell them.

Lexie said to be helpful. If you see people asking questions that you can answer, chime in and help them out. They’ll appreciate it and they just might check out your site and possibly become a customer at some point.

Vishal’s advice is great to keep in mind. Don’t be pushy, creepy, or desperate. You need to be yourself, otherwise people will see right through you.

Be authentic and treat your followers right. It’ll work out in your favor.

Q6: What are the best strategies for increasing engagement on Twitter?

If you’re feeling like the engagement levels are low on your Twitter account, it’s time to step it up! Luckily, we’ve compiled some great tips from Tuesday’s chat that will help you out. Read through these and implement them if you want a major increase in engagement.

Becky knows how important it is to engage with your audience. At SEMrush, they like to thank people for sharing their content, which is an easy way to open the lines of communication. You could even take it a step further to ask what someone liked about the article they shared.

Julia knows it’s important to be active. If you aren’t, why would anyone both engaging with you? They wouldn’t expect to receive a response. Be present on Twitter. And be sure to try out a few Twitter chats here and there!

Don’t sit around and wait for engagements to happen. As Jessy said, you need to encourage conversations yourself. Ask questions and respond to replies you get in order to get the discussion going.

As you ask questions, choose ones that are open-ended. Skip the ones where someone could provide a yes/no answer because that doesn’t leave much room for follow-up.

Jason’s advice is to be consistent with your posting and to share relatable tweets. It all goes back to giving your audience what they want. And when you receive replies, take the time to write back.

The reality is, there are many brands out there that don’t bother to respond to people. Don’t be like that! Take the time to respond because that’s what builds relationships.

It’s also smart to take posting times into consideration. Test to find out which times work best for your audience and make sure you’re sharing content then. You need to be able to reach them at the right times. Watching your competitors helps a lot, too!

Q7: Do you rely on any tools for scheduling content and tracking the success of your tweets? If so, which ones do you love?

If we want to succeed, we need an easy way to help us implement all of these Twitter strategies, don’t we? Fortunately, there are a ton of great tools out there to help us schedule posts and track how well things are performing. If you’re looking for a new tool to try out, check out the ones in this list:

The SEMrush team loves using Sprout Social!

We’re all about that Buffer love and using Canva to create social media graphics.

Just like Annaliese, we’re big fans of Buffer here at Express Writers.

Even Lex is making her way over to our favorite, Buffer!

Kristi relies on Hootsuite and Twitter’s own analytics to manage her account.

TweetDeck is another great tool and especially comes in handy during Twitter chats.

Q8: Which brands do an amazing job with their Twitter content? Tag them and let them know!

There are tons of brands who are rocking it online and implementing these very Twitter strategies every day. There’s so much to learn from them, so check out these brands and see what they’re doing well:

Applebee’s continues to impress people with their Twitter presence. One of the great thing about them is that they’re always quick to respond to replies they receive.

Julia’s favorites are definitely worth checking out!

For Lex, she loves to see what Wendy’s and Taco Bell are posting.

Another Wendy’s fan!

Are you following any of Kristin’s favorites?

We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!