In episode 37 we were all together in person again and we talked about Twitter. It’s probably the second most popular social media platform after Facebook, and it’s definitely one worth investigating. We give some basics on the platform, how to get started, what some of the jargon means, and a few tips on the best ways to build up an audience and connect with others on the platform. It’s probably more of a networking opportunity than somewhere that you will make a huge number of books sales, but it’s a fun way to connect with readers, authors, publishers and other industry folk. Listen in and see what you think!

Intro to Twitter

Twitter is a social media platform. Probably the second biggest after Facebook, and perhaps geared to be more mobile. This platform gives you the ability to connect with people outside of your social and business spheres.

When you first attempt twitter it can feel like a cocktail party, where everyone is talking at once, which can be a little overwhelming, with too much information coming from all directions. Twitter is great for finding out about the latest in your industry, for learning and engaging.

You should enjoy interacting with other authors, industry professionals, or just interesting people. Twitter is about engagement and is not geared to be totally sales orientated. It’s not a quick fix to get you noticed and should be used in conjunction with other social media.

Set up an account: Sign up @twitter.com – think of a user name that represents you and not a specific book or idea that you have right now. Your author name is best, but it may have to be slightly altered to fit, or because the exact match may be taken. Your user name is also called a ‘Handle’.

These are our handles

@CherylAPhipps @wendy_vella @TrudiJaye @SharBarratt

A profile picture isn’t required but you should seriously think about uploading one as it makes you seem more approachable and real to a potential follower. You should add an author bio which needs to be short and punchy. It should say who you are and contain links to your website or amazon page etc.

You will see once the account is set-up that you have:

Home page – This will have a small banner, your photo and shows how many followers and how many people you are following. On the right hand side is your newsfeed which shows all your tweets. You can scroll down to see what you’ve missed. On the left hand side are some people twitter thinks you may like to follow. These are merely suggestions! Please don’t feel obligated to follow anyone.

Notifications page – who followed you, retweeted you or mentioned you in some way.

Messages – you can direct message your followers privately.

Profile Page (located on the right at the top by clicking on your photo) – Contains your main banner, profile picture and bio. Settings are located here to change things on this page. You can also Pin your best tweet – or perhaps your latest release here. This means that it will show first anytime someone clicks on your name.

A quill in a box represents the place you click on to write a tweet. To help you, Twitter counts down letters as you use them so you know how many are left in each tweet.

What is a tweet? – A tweet is a short message 140 characters or less used to connect with other people. Remember, like all platforms on social media, the post remains long after you can’t see it. If you do make a blunder, you can delete it. Although, never assume that it is totally gone. If someone does a screen shot or saves you tweet it can live forever. Don’t be scared – simply be cautious with what you post.

What is a hashtag? —a # is used before a particular word to search for tweets that are trending, or interesting to you. eg #amwriting #amreading #kindle. Don’t use more than 3 as a general rule. (Not because you can’t use more, but it will annoy your followers.)

What is a Retweet? – you are reposting an original tweet just as it is, although you may add a comment.

At mention is like tagging — use the persons handle (@spagirlspodcast). Any time you are mentioned, the post will appear in your notifications.

Like – is denoted by a heart.

Followers and following – You can follow someone but they may choose not to follow you and vice versa. Gaining followers means growing an interested audience with which you can engage over time.

Lists – Organize your followers into lists via your profile page. You could separate close friends/acquaintances/ business contacts etc. this way, and make them public or private.

Search Bar –  In the middle at the top of your page, the Search bar is used to find trends or anyone using twitter.

Tweeps – your followers

How to use Twitter – Do’s and Don’ts

Make genuine connections.

Don’t beg followers to buy your book every time you post. Connect rather than sell on most tweets.

Followers are incredibly valuable to your business. Some ideas of tweets that are not sales related are

• Discounts
• Updates on new releases
• Interesting facts
• Recipes

Take note of abbreviations and jargon.

Add graphics (pictures/videos etc) to make people take notice. Keep these in a folder on your PC to upload easily. They will need to be of a good resolution and a specific size.

You can click on a like-minded account and go to their followers and follow them.

Always assume that the entire world can read what you tweet.

Etiquette:

While you shouldn’t feel obligated to follow everyone who follows you, it is polite to reciprocate tweets.

Unfollow if people are bombarding you with the same tweet over and over again, and feel free to block rude people or spammers.

There is a limit to how many people you can follow in a day. (this changes – so be mindful)Start with people you know and then people who interest you.

Above all – have fun!

We hope that this weeks podcast has been interesting and enlightening.