Using Twitter to Grow Your Blog

Hi, Health Blog Helper readers! I’m Hallie and my blog is Healthy Twists, where I write about my adventures in cooking, fitness, weight loss and/or maintenance, and sometimes, puppy parenting. When Matt put the call out for a guest blogger to write about Twitter, I jumped at the chance because I love Health Blog Helper, and I LOVE Twitter. I currently run three Twitter accounts (more on how I manage that in a bit). I have my own Twitter page, I run the Twitter account for the museum where I work, and I volunteer for my local chapter of PRSA, managing and updating their Twitter account. I’m what you might call “obsessed” with Twitter, and if you’re not obsessed yet, just wait. It’s only a matter of time.

Up until recently, most people didn’t know what the heck Twitter was. Then Oprah and Ashton Kutcher got on the Twitter scene, and suddenly it’s everywhere. I’m going to assume if you’re reading this, then you’re probably a blogger and/or you have some idea of what Twitter is (if not, Wikipedia has a pretty good definition), so I’ll get right into why Twitter is awesome.

1) Twitter can be whatever you want it to be.

Some people criticize Twitter by saying that it’s too much information at once, or my favorite, “why does anyone care that I’m eating a sandwich?” I’ll leave that second question to Kath, but as far as the first complaint, I think the flow of information available on Twitter is what makes it great. You are able to log in, check out what people are saying, and then log out. It’s like picking up a newspaper (remember those?) where you scan the headlines, read the articles you find interesting, and leave everything else alone. Who you choose to follow, and what information you choose to receive, is entirely up to you. At work, for example, I do PR at a museum, so I follow local media outlets/reporters, other museums, and “influential” people who live in and Tweet about my hometown (San Diego). For PRSA, I follow local and regional PR professionals, agencies, other PR chapter, and social-media experts. Personally, I follow people I know in “real life”, along with my fellow health/fitness/foodie bloggers, various news networks, bars/restaurants, and yes, even a few celebrities.

2) Twitter can help you find a job, Friday night plans, or a great deal.

If you are looking for a job (and really, even if you have one, in today’s economy it’s good to keep an eye on the market) then Twitter is your friend. You can find people who Tweet about job postings in certain geographic locations and certain industries. Also, if you follow people who live in your area, you can learn about things going on in town that you might not have known otherwise. Additionally I follow lots of local restaurants, because restaurants and bars will publicize their specials and sometimes host “Twitter-only” promotions (e.g., “Get a free dessert by showing you follow us on Twitter”). You know how bloggers love free stuff? Companies and individuals do almost as many, if not more, trivia contests and giveaways via Twitter as they do on blogs. Check it out, people. There’s stuff to be won.

3) Twitter can lend credibility and drive traffic to your blog.

I think this is a big reason bloggers like Twitter. Sites like Twitterfeed will automatically post links to your latest blog entry to Twitter so once you hit “publish” on your blog, you don’t have to remember to post the link to Twitter. But more than publicizing your latest blog posts, Twitter gives you the opportunity to interact in real time with your readers. It might take you awhile to put together a blog post with your beautiful prose, artistic photographs, and useful links, but it only takes a few seconds to post a 140-character Tweet. By following my favorite bloggers on Twitter, I feel more connected with them (especially the more popular ones) than I do just reading their blog posts. Bloggers on Twitter talk about being stressed out or tired, about not wanting to exercise, wandering around an airport, about their favorite TV shows, even more so than they do on their blogs, where people generally try to stay positive most of the time. By reading a blogger’s Tweets, I feel like I know the person behind the blog a little bit better. And I hope that my readers who follow me on Twitter feel the same way that I do.

So, have I convinced you to join the Twitter world (aka “Twitterverse”) or if you’re already there, to think about how you can use it to your best advantage? Here are a few tips I’ve come across in the articles I’ve read, Twitter and social-media workshops I’ve attended, and my general time spent being a huge Twitter nerd:

• It’s ok to lurk. In fact, it’s probably better that you do, at least at first. If you aren’t on Twitter yet, spend some time on the site, seeing what people are talking about and what they are doing. It’s perfectly ok to sign up for Twitter and never post a Tweet, and simply follow people and places you like. When you’re ready, you’ll Tweet.
• No spam! This is one of my biggest pet peeves and personal crusades, as someone who uses Twitter for professional purposes. Don’t Tweet a million times a day, and don’t just Tweet about yourself. Talk to other people on Twitter, share cool links, give (and ask for) advice. It’s ok to promote yourself and your projects, but do it too much, and you’ll get annoying and lose followers fast.
• Follow the “grandma rule.” I heard somewhere that you shouldn’t post anything on Facebook that you wouldn’t want your grandmother to read. (I don’t care how hip she may be or was.) I think the same rule applies to Twitter. Unless you protect your updates, anyone in the world can read your Tweets, so be careful what you post. Don’t talk about your crappy job, give TMI details about your love (or gastrointestinal) problems—I’d even suggest thinking twice about logging on to Twitter after you third glass of wine. There is a difference between being authentic and being stupid. Don’t be stupid.
• Check out Tweetdeck. I know there are other programs (called “clients”) that do what Tweetdeck does, but I love the functionality and ease of Tweetdeck. It makes the “chatter” much more manageable. With Tweetdeck, you can filter your groups, so you only have to pay attention to your followers who you really care about (which is important if you have a lot of followers). You can also create groups of followers—I could have a “food blogger” group, a “college friends” group and a “restaurant” group. Segmenting your friends helps you see what people in a given area are talking about. If you have more than one Twitter account, you can manage and view all of your feeds from one interface. Tweetdeck also makes including images (with TwitPic) and shortening links (with bit.ly) a breeze.
• If you want, you can use Hootsuite to pre-schedule Tweets. Now, there is some controversy about pre-scheduling Tweets. Those against it say it takes away from the real-time authenticity of a feed. I think there is a time and place for it, especially if you’re in PR or in a situation where you want to share links or ideas but you know you won’t be at your computer when you want to do it. Hootsuite is also a good way to have several people Tweeting from one account without having to give everyone the password.
• Want more followers? Follow people! Find someone in your niche and see who they follow. When I was setting up my Twitter account for my museum, I found a grad student writing a thesis on museums on Twitter, so I went to her Twitter page and followed every single museum I could find. Soon, most of those museums began following me back. So if you’re a runner, find a runner who Tweets, follow who they follow, and go from there. Follow companies that you like (trust me, they are all on there) and when you’re reading blogs or websites, click the ubiquitous “Follow me on Twitter” link that appears just about everywhere. One more tip: make sure you periodically check who is following you, because there are spammers who will follow you. There’s a “block” button for a reason.
• Post your Tweets to your blog. Depending on your platform, there are tons of widgets and plug-ins to have your Tweets post to your blog, usually on one of the side bars. I personally don’t like it when people auto-post their Tweets to Facebook (it gets to be too much, I think) but you can do that too. Oh and speaking of automated responses, DON’T set up an auto DM (direct message) that sends out something every time someone follows you. I don’t know anyone who actually likes receiving those.
• If you have a question, ask! Twitter was first developed so that computer programmers could talk to each other about issues they were having and to compare notes. I’ve found that the Twitter world, as with the rest of the social media landscape, is a very sharing place where people want to give you ideas, feedback, and help you figure things out (exhibit A: this blog). Don’t know what it means to RT or DM or what a hash-tag does or what “trending” is? Ask someone or even ask Google because people have written tons upon tons of blog posts and articles about Twitter and its best practices. I like the information on Mashable, but there are plenty of others.

But most of all have FUN with it! I’ve made many “Twitter mistakes” and you know what? The world (and my job) survived. I’ve listed some tools and tips that work for me, but what I love about Twitter is that everyone, from the “experts” to your hip grandma, is figuring this stuff out as we go along!

DM me if you have any specific Twitter questions. See you in the Twitterverse!

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Is there some aspect of blogging that you do particularly well or feel strongly about?  Want to write a guest post for Health Blog Helper about it?  Contact Matt at healthbloghelper@gmail.com with your ideas!