The Essentials of a Bulletproof Twitter Strategy with Katerina Petropoulou
#TWITTERSMARTER CHAT – Thursday October 8, 2015
By Anna Edwards
Twitter continues to grow by leaps and bounds. But with this growth of the platform comes some confusion for newcomers and even for some business owners and marketers who have been using it for a while but still haven’t quite gotten the hang of it.
For those who approach the Twitter platform without a plan it will often feel like shouting at the sky in the hopes of summoning rain. It simply doesn’t work.
In the last #TwitterSmarter chat, Madalyn invited Katerina Petropoulou to discuss Twitter strategy with the group. We looked at the importance of strategy and ways of developing one. The consensus was that a Twitter strategy is critical if you are serious about your brand. More importantly, the strategy must be clear and you should be prepared to find and use the best tools available.
Continue reading below for the questions with some responses that really resonated with the group.
Be sure to join us every Thursday on Twitter at 1pm ET | 10am PT for awesome and actionable advice on how to #TwitterSmarter.
1. Why do I even need a Twitter strategy?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: A Twitter strategy is important if you are serious about promoting your brand and engaging with your audience in a meaningful way.
A1: A concrete action plan will give answers to any growth, reach, or engagement dead ends you might hit. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A1: It’s the only way to really be aware of what works and what doesn’t for your account and stay on top of your game. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
Twitter is a diverse platform with many uses, it moves fast and you need a strategy to get results #TwitterSmarter
— Ross Quintana (@Ross_Quintana) October 8, 2015
A1: Without a strategy, your online voice will be washed away in the floods of Twitter content. #twittersmarter
— Jason Quach (@jasonctquach) October 8, 2015
2. Where do I start with my Twitter strategy?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: Decide on your audience and what exactly you want to accomplish.
A2: 3 steps to a solid base: Decide who you want to target, set SMART goals and define your KPIs. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A2) What do you want? Brand awareness? Learn more about your industry? Make sales? Start from there. #TwitterSmarter
— Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) October 8, 2015
@MadalynSklar A2. Audience! Who do you want to connect with? What content would they like? How often are they online? #TwitterSmarter
— Pearl Capital (@Pearl_Capital) October 8, 2015
3. Why is a content plan an essential part of your twitter strategy?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: It will save time and give you a sense of direction.
A3: It’s a real time-saver for creating, curating and posting content. Wouldn’t you always want to know what to tweet? #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A3.) How can content NOT be a part of your strategy!? #twittersmarter
— pubclub (@pubclub) October 8, 2015
@MadalynSklar A3. Without a map, where are you to roam? (Without a vision, what will others see?) #TwitterSmarter
— Pearl Capital (@Pearl_Capital) October 8, 2015
4. What tools should I incorporate into my strategy?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: Tools for research, analytics and tracking, content curation, scheduling and creating visuals.
A4: @googleanalytics and Advanced Twitter search for researching your niche #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A4: @Tweetdeck for ‘listening’ and monitoring relevant hashtags and keywords #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A4: @Feedly and @Nuzzel for curating, @Canva for amazing visuals #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A4: @Buffer for scheduling, oh, and @theCounter, of course for tracking and analyzing ? #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A4: I use @hootsuite for monitoring. @buffer for scheduling. @nuzzel for content curation. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) October 8, 2015
5. How do I find interesting content to tweet?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: Content curation tools, lists, social feeds, research.
A5: I’m all for minimizing time, maximizing impact. So a curation system to should be built to speed up the process #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A5. Twitter lists is one of the best way to get content. #TwitterSmarter
— Aaron Lee (@AskAaronLee) October 8, 2015
@MadalynSklar mostly from my social feeds, follow people who tweet interesting stuff and share the best of it! #TwitterSmarter
— Andrew Jones (@CheckeredOwl) October 8, 2015
A5 – Look to fellow “Twitterers”, utilize the #hashtag tool and use advanced search! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/WfTIJg1Fj4
— Joe Nielsen (@JoeNielsen10) October 8, 2015
6. What are ways to integrate visual content?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: Using videos and photos creatively.
A6: I try to always use visuals when I tweet out own content because I find that they increase not only RTs but also CTR #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
@MadalynSklar A6 also use IFTTT to cross post pictures from Instagram, and share some of my Pinterest pins through Twitter #TwitterSmarter
— Mojo (@mojosarmy) October 8, 2015
A6: I use @canva to create images on the fly for quotes, blog headers, title cards, etc. #TwitterSmarter
— Ms. Leslie W. (@mslesliewhite) October 8, 2015
#TwitterSmarter When talking about images don’t forget short video clips. iPhones and other free products produce great results.
— Suzan A Abdurrahman (@Suzans411) October 8, 2015
7. @MariSmith says “Content is KING but engagement is QUEEN and she rules the house!” How does this fit into your strategy?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: After creating valuable content be sure to engage when people start responding. The two go hand in hand.
A7: Always make time for engagement in your content plan. Twitter is not just a distribution platform. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A7: I’d say the king and queen (content and engagement) rely on each other. Keep an eye on that relationship in metrics. #twittersmarter
— Tara Clapper (@TaraMClapper) October 8, 2015
A7: Don’t fall in love with your content. Fall in love with your consumer. Good content leads to engagement. #TwitterSmarter
— Karen Kurtzweil (@Rsikarenk) October 8, 2015
8. How do you evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy?
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES: Review initial goals and use the available metrics/tools to evaluate.
A8: Keep track of your KPIs. Do frequent audits, check your metrics – specifically growth, engagement and impact on business #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A8: In the end it all comes down to how you’ve defined success when setting goals and KPIs. That’s why goals should be SMART #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) October 8, 2015
A8) Go back to your original goals. Did you set benchmarks for engagement? Conversions? Brand Awareness? #Twittersmarter
— Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) October 8, 2015
Conversion, interaction, contacts, networking. Do I gain customers, leads, interested parties? #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/QXlzB9IEWS
— Anna Edwards (@focusonthestory) October 8, 2015
@MadalynSklar A8: Followers, responses, engagement. Seeing how active my audience is in interacting. #twittersmarter
— Stuart.fm (@StuartFM7) October 8, 2015
What’s your take on twitter strategy? What’s the best way to go about it? Share your tips and tools in the comments.
For more tips, advice and resources to help you master Twitter and grow your business be sure to follow @MadalynSklar and join us every Thursday on Twitter at 1pm ET | 10am PT for #TwitterSmarter.
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As a freelance copywriter, Anna eats, breathes and dreams up story-centric copy for her clients at www.focusonthestory.com. Otherwise she likes to spend time drooling over other people’s well-crafted sentences. She’s also passionate about forming connections, social media and branding. Say hi to her on Twitter!