Micro-Blogging on Twitter
By Penny Sansevieri
There's a hot new trend going on right now and it's called
micro-blogging. So what's a micro-blog? And moreover, what's
Twitter? Twitter is a micro-blogger platform that allows users
to create entries that are only 140 characters in length. These
entries are referred to as "tweets."
Originally designed to keep friends and family up to date on
what you're doing, Twitter can also be a great place to share
your latest book project, promotional ideas as well as
interacting with fellow tweets (folks who twitter) and writers.
And yes, you can have a blog and a Twitter page. I have both but
I feed my blog into my Twitter site so that my Twitter page gets
updated each time I add new content to my blog. There's an easy
application to add your blog feed to Twitter, it takes just
minutes to do. Head on over to: Twitterfeed.
To sign up for a Twitter account just complete their short sign
up form. Remember to brand yourself! This is important. Once you
create a Twitter account you can't go back and change your name
so find something that works for you. Maybe it's fictionwriter
or businesswriter or whatever you want. My Twitter page is
bookgal which is fun play on words for what I do (and what I
love). Once you have a Twitter account you can immediately start
tweeting. The service is completely free and you can also keep
up with other people's tweets by "following" them. Their
micro-blog entries will show up on your Twitter home page so you
can easily keep track of them. You can also be notified by phone
when they add a tweet. You can twitter from anywhere, even your
phone. I've been known to twitter from my blackberry.
Why on Earth Would you Want to Twitter?
When Twitter first started, people were a little perplexed. I
mean why on earth would you want to blog in 140 characters? Well
since the site emerged in 2006, it's grown enormously in
popularity. With Twitter pages from sites like CNN and every one
of the political candidates, the site's popularity can't be
overstated. Nor can its applications for the future. Also, even
if you don’t have a ton of people following your tweets, keep in
mind that Twitter search sites are popping up everywhere. This
means that if you tweet using keywords that matter to your
reader/market, you could be found and followed! For one such
search site check out: summarize. Also, if you're trying to
gauge the popularity of a certain word or phrase and how often
it's being used or referred to, you can head on over to Tweet
Volume and find out. Just plug in your search term or terms and
up will pop a list of results!
Most Well-Known Twitter Users
• Many organizations (such as the Los Angeles Fire Department)
have embraced the technology and put it to use in situations
such as the October 2007 California wildfires.
• Higher education is also using the technology to relay
important information to students in a more timely manner. The
University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering is one
such example.
• Several U.S. presidential campaigns use Twitter as a
publicity mechanism, Ron Paul, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and
Hillary Clinton all have Twitter pages.
• Media outlets such as CNN have also started using Twitter to
break news.
How to Use Twitter Effectively
If you've pondered using Twitter but aren't sure how to use it
effectively, here are some quick tips to give you some great
twittering-ideas:
• Teach stuff - teach a little mini-lesson on Twitter. Delve
into your area of expertise or just talk about book publishing
and how to get published.
• Showcase your book - don't do this in a "my book is so
fabulous" kind of way but offer to give advice (like I mention
in Teach Stuff) or share with your Twitter followers how the
promotion of the book is going.
• Use Twitter as a news source: you can easily announce news
both from your world (as long as it relates to your topic) and
from the world of your expertise. So for example I've done
tweets on book industry stuff, breaking news, etc.
• Widen your network - follow other Twitter folk, this will not
only give you some ideas for your own "tweets" but it's a great
way to network with other writers or professionals.
• Keep the buzz going when you're on the move - it's hard to
keep blogging when you're on the road (trust me, I know this
first hand) - so when I travel, I tweet. I share what I'm doing,
what's happening in my world and try to offer insight and
advice.
• Market yourself - remember that while Twitter may seem like a
fun little tool, it's also a great way to market yourself. Just
like the ideas we mention above, there are a hundred+ more
things you can do.
Golden Rules of Twitter:
Here are a few rules to live by when tweeting:
• Be Original, useful and helpful.
• Every Tweet counts (don't tell people you're washing your
cat) don't just tweet on useless stuff or you'll lose followers.
• Ask questions: you've got a network (or you want one) now use
it! Ask questions, take surveys, get your followers involved in
your message and marketing!
• It's not all about you (again, back to the cat) people want
to know useful stuff, I know, it's getting repetitive but
there's a reason: it's important.
• Promote your Twitter account in your email signature line and
on your blog.
• Network: don't expect your followers to grow if you're not
following other people. Network, search for others in your area
and follow them.
• Personal is ok. Even though I said not to post useless
information it's still not a bad idea to (from time to time)
post a personal Tweet or two. Provide value and
twitter-followers will beat a path to your door.
• Keep Twittering, followers will come if you keep updating
your Twitter account.
About the Author: Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of
Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a book marketing and media
relations expert whose company has developed some of the most
cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. Visit
http://www.amarketingexpert.com.
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Topic: Micro-Blogging on Twitter By Penny Sansevieri There's a hot new trend going on (Read 307 times)