#TwitterSmarter Podcast: Embracing Twitter with Christin Kardos [Episode 42]

Listen in iTunes, Soundcloud or GooglePlay. See audio transcription down below.

Christin Kardos is the Social Media & Community Manager at Convince & Convert, a digital marketing consulting group founded by best-selling author and popular keynote speaker, Jay Baer. She’s well known as a digital cheerleader and bacon analyst – hey, it’s in her Twitter bio. LOL!

I’ve known Christin for several years now. We first met on Twitter, and as you’ll hear in the interview, we got the chance to meet in person several months back at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego. There is nothing like meeting someone in person you first met online, and especially with someone you made an impressionable connection with. When Christin and I saw each other at the conference, it was as if we had known each other forever. That is the power of connecting on social media and it’s definitely the power of Twitter!

In this episode, Christin talks about embracing Twitter and that taking an interest, being curious and playing with the platform can do so much for you. We talk about a lot of things including the power of Twitter chats and advice for newbies to the platform. You’re going to feel like a fly on the wall to a great conversation.

Episode Highlights:

  • Embrace Twitter and its power. Understand what it can do for you as an individual and as a professional. Take an interest, be curious and play with the platform.
  • Twitter is a big melting pot of people discussing news and topics of mutual interest. You want to be a good citizen by being a good listener, being polite and trying to add valuable feedback to others when they’re talking to you. It all starts with caring, being interested and enjoying the community.
  • Advice for newbies: Get started. Create your account. Put something descriptive and interesting in your bio. Start looking for topics of interest to you.
  • Christin is a fan of Twitter chats as a way to get going when you’re new to the platform. What’s great about Twitter chats is you don’t have to be a celebrity to join in, get value and add value.
  • Don’t be intimidated by fast moving Twitter chats and don’t feel like you’re missing the boat if you can’t keep up.
  • Her favorite Twitter chats are #TwitterSmarter, #SproutChat, #CMWorld, #SocialRoadTrip.

My Favorite Quotes:

“Embrace Twitter itself and the power of Twitter. Understand what it can do for you.”

“Twitter is like a big sandbox or cocktail party. Be observant. Be a good listener. Be a good citizen of the community.”

For Twitter newbies: “I definitely advocate Twitter chats as a way to get going.”

Tools and Links to Things Mentioned:

  • Sprout Social – social media management tool created to help businesses grow their social media presence. It’s great for teams. Christin loves the Smart Inbox feature.
  • CoSchedule – all-in-one editorial calendar for content marketing and social scheduling. You can see everything at a glance.
  • Buffer – social media tool for scheduling. Christin and I both love their Chrome extension. It’s fast and picks up the images.
  • ManageFlitter – Great tool for finding people of mutual interest.

How to Reach Christin:

You can reach Christin on Twitter @ChristinKardos and @convince.

Your Call-to-Action:

Your call-to-action for this episode is to follow Christin’s Twitter Tip when she said be a good citizen by being a good listener, being polite and try to add valuable feedback to others when they’re talking to you. I want you to set out to do this on a Twitter chat and let me know how it’s working out for you by sending me a tweet @MadalynSklar. If you need help finding some Twitter chats, check out my article: The Very Best Twitter Chats for Social Media & Marketing.

Ask Me Anything!

I want to answer your questions about Twitter marketing. Leave me a voicemail at MadalynSklar.com/speakpipe and I will pick a few to answer on the show. Don’t be shy. I want to hear from you.

Share The Love For This Podcast:

Want an easy “one-click” way to Share The Love for this podcast? Go here: www.madalynsklar.com/love to tweet out your love.

Win a Love Handle!

Congrats to Jeff Perry! He won a #TwitterSmarter LoveHandle! See his review below.

Thanks For Your Attention!

I appreciate you listening to this podcast, and would be extremely grateful if you would take a moment to rate & review it on iTunes. By doing this, more people will be able to benefit from the tips and tools shared in this #TwitterSmarter podcast series. Please also subscribe to this podcast while you’re there. It will ensure you don’t miss an episode!

I read every review that comes in, so please know that you have my sincere thanks! Not sure how to rate & review a podcast? Click here to learn how.

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Transcript:

Christin Kardos: Hey, this is Christin Kardos, digital cheerleader, lover of bacon and community manager for Jay Baer’s team at Convince and Convert. You’re listening to the #TwitterSmarter podcast with Madalyn Sklar.

Madalyn Sklar: Hey, hold that Tweet! This is episode number 42 with Christin Kardos from Convince and Convert.

Announcer: Welcome to the #TwitterSmarter podcast where you get the best Twitter tips from the pros. Twitter expert Madalyn Sklar wants to help you take it up a notch on Twitter. In each episode of this podcast, you’ll walk away with actionable tips that you can start using right now. Are you ready to get #TwitterSmarter?

Madalyn Sklar: This episode is brought to you by the #TwitterSmarter Twitter chat. Did you know this podcast had a chat? If not, you’re in for a treat. Every Thursday at 1:00 Eastern, I host the Twitter Smarter chat. It’s a great community of people looking to connect, learn and share Twitter tips. I hope to see you there.

Now let’s get on to today’s episode.

I have such a great guest for you today. Her name is Christin Kardos and she’s the Social Media and Community Manager at Convince and Convert. That’s a digital marketing consulting group founded by bestselling author and popular keynote speaker, Jay Baer.

I’ve known Christin for several years now. We first met on Twitter and as you’ll hear in this interview, we got the chance to meet in person several months back at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego. There is nothing like meeting someone in person that you first met online and you really connected with. We made this great impression with each other. When we saw each other at the conference, oh my god, it was like we had known each other forever. That is the power of connecting on social media and definitely the power of Twitter.

In this episode, Christin talks about embracing Twitter and that taking an interest, being curious and playing with the platform can do so much for you. We talk about a lot of things, including the power of Twitter chats and advice for newbies to the platform. You are going to feel like a fly on the wall to a great conversation. Let’s go ahead and jump right in. Here is my interview with Christin Kardos.

Hey Christin, thank you so much for joining the Twitter Smarter podcast. I am so happy to have you here as my special guest today. My question for you is, what are your best Twitter tips?

Christin Kardos: Hi Madalyn. Thank you so much for having me on the podcast. First of all, Twitter is my favorite social network. I don’t care how many times people say Oh, it’s going away or they’re making these changes or what have you. Twitter is really the bedrock of all the cool things that I’ve been able to do in the past few years. With that said, my first Twitter tip is not so much a science. It’s more art and that is to embrace Twitter itself and the power of Twitter and to understand what it can do for you as an individual and as a professional. Take an interest, be curious and actually play with the platform is my first tip.

Second is, and this analogy has been used many times in different ways, but Twitter is like a big sandbox or cocktail party. You really want to get in there and be observant and be a good listener but then be a good citizen in the community on Twitter. There are a lot of small communities within Twitter. Obviously, Twitter chats like Twitter Smarter and others, but also Twitter as a whole is just a big melting pot of people discussing news and topics of mutual interest and humor, everything. I would say you want to be a good citizen by being a good listener and being polite and then trying to add valuable feedback to others when they are talking to you. Those are my primary tips. As this podcast uncovers, there are a lot of really good tricks that you can use to be more efficient or to gather more information and that sort of thing. I think it really all starts with caring, being interested and enjoying the community.

Madalyn Sklar: I love this so much. First I want to say I agree with you 100% about people being so negative about Twitter. Twitter is the place we all started. It’s where we all made connections with people before we went on to other networks.

Christin Kardos: I agree.

Madalyn Sklar: I didn’t abandon the platform. I know a lot of people left to go to Snapchat and go to Facebook and other platforms. I use other ones, as you do. Twitter is the one where I connect with people every single day and make these amazing relationships on there.

Christin Kardos: Exactly. You and I just met in person at Social Media Marketing World and we both walked up to each other like we already knew each other.

Madalyn Sklar: Yes.

Christin Kardos: That is because of Twitter.

Madalyn Sklar: Absolutely. We’ve known each other for years on Twitter.

Christin Kardos: Yes. It was just like, “Hey Madalyn. Hey Christin.” I really don’t feel … No other network has done that for me. We met on Twitter, we’ve seen each other elsewhere, but Twitter really was the foundation for that. Over time, you can have these micro-interactions that really develop into a history and a relationship. There’s no other platform that I find that does that for me.

Madalyn Sklar: I absolutely agree 100%. These tips are really good. For somebody that’s listening that’s like, “okay, I don’t even really know what to do, how to begin.” What’s your advice for people that are newbies that just need that push to get out there and go find communities to be a part of? What would you say to them?

Christin Kardos: I would say, first of all, just get started. Create your account. Put something descriptive and interesting in your bio. Get an image uploaded. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to get a good, interesting image uploaded, but don’t be a blank avatar. Then start looking for topics of interest to you. Start seeing what other people are saying about those and when it feels appropriate you can go ahead and weigh in with your own opinion.

I definitely advocate Twitter chats as a way to get going. What’s great about Twitter chats, well, there are lots of great things, but one things that’s great about them is you don’t have to be a celebrity to join in, get value and add value with a Twitter chat. If your interest is, let’s say, Twitter, you would go to the #Twitter Smarter Twitter chat and you can read the discussion that’s going on, the questions and answers. You can get to know some of the people and a lot of Twitter chats have their regulars that show up every week. There’ll be people that attend periodically when they can. You’ll get to see people that you find interesting and read what their saying. Then you go and follow those people, see the content they’re sharing. Not just in that Twitter chat, but beyond. You can make … you can start conversations based around those topics of interest. Twitter chats are a great way.

I would say don’t over reach or feel pressured to become a big influential person on a social network, to include Twitter. Focus more on the value that you’re getting out of what other people are sharing and about ideas and content that you want to share. Build relationships as you go. Focus on the discussions.

Madalyn Sklar: Twitter is just such a relationship type of platform. That’s what I love about it. Going out there, meeting like-minded people. Especially through Twitter Chats. What are some of your favorite Twitter Chats?

Christin Kardos: Of course, I love #TwitterSmarter

Madalyn Sklar: Thank you. I did not pay you to say that.

Christin Kardos: Yes, you did not pay me to say that but it’s a great chat. I often have to miss it due to schedule conflicts but it is a great chat and I read a lot of it even when I can’t enjoy the live tweeting. I also really like #SproutChat. Another favorite is #CMWorld. That one’s really great. They have a lot of diverse topics on that one. There’s a chat that only happens periodically called #SocialRoadTrip, which is a lot of fun. It’s a less work type related and more just sort of fun, people meeting people chat. I could go on and on but there’s a lot of really great chats out there.

Madalyn Sklar: What would you tell somebody as to how they can go and find these, uncover these chats?

Christin Kardos: Obviously you can search right in Twitter for a topic. Those chats around that topic are going to come up. For example, if #CMWorld is content marketing related. If you search for content marketing in Twitter, you’re probably going to see a #CMWorld hashtag come up pretty quickly. You can also Google it. Honestly, if you went to Google and said “chat” and put in your topic you would find … There’s really a chat for just about everything. If you’re interested in something, there are chats about parenting, chats about marketing, on and on and on. They’re pretty easy to find if you just search for the topic.

Madalyn Sklar: I agree. Just Google, doing a Google search. It’s unfortunate there’s not one directory that has everything. Over the years I’ve seen a few pop up but they don’t stay current because it’s a lot of work. Nobody does this as a paid job. They just do it as a volunteer thing. I’ve noticed that some of these directories are very outdated. Twitter chats have been around a long time so I totally agree. There’s something for everybody out there. I started one in the music business back when I was over there, almost six years ago. It still goes strong today. There are a lot of chats that have been around for a long time. I think it’s a great way to … a lot of people say “I’m new to Twitter. I don’t really know where to start or what to do.” I always say “Go on a Twitter chat. You’ll learn Twitter so fast in a one hour chat.”

Christin Kardos: Absolutely. One things I would throw out about that as a tip is if you go into a Twitter chat and find it to be a super active and very fast moving chat, whether you’re using a tool or just doing it in native Twitter, not to be intimidated by that. Not to get distracted by the fact that maybe you can’t read every Tweet in real time. Go with what you can grab at the time and read what you can. Comment where you feel like you can get in there. Not to feel like you’re missing the boat if you can’t see every comment. Some of these chats move really quickly and include a lot of Tweets over a 30 minute or hour long period.

Madalyn Sklar: Absolutely. This has been so great, Christin. I really appreciate you sharing some really great tips and advice to help people that are listening here on the podcast. What are some tools that you like to use on Twitter?

Christin Kardos: This is my favorite part of your podcast, I think. I love tools.

Madalyn Sklar: I do too.

Christin Kardos: I just love them and I’m going to throw out some that maybe have already been mentioned but I’m going to give my spin on them. The first would be Sprout Social because it’s great for teams. Sarah Nagel mentioned this when she guested last year on your podcast. Their smart inbox is my favorite thing. It’s really helpful because it allows for listening to all platforms in one collated stream and you can get your @mentions but also other keywords and search criteria that you specify. It does work for other networks but it is really clutch for Twitter because there’s so much activity going on on Twitter. It’s great for listening. It has a tasking feature that allows a social media or community manager like myself to push these Tweets to another teammate to actually take action on. I definitely recommend that and the link is SproutSocial.com.

At Convince and Convert we use a tool called CoSchedule to share content from our blog and podcast. The thing that’s great about that is that it can be a one stop editorial calendar for both your editorial and social content that you’re putting out on Twitter. What’s great is you can curate and schedule content from any source. It’s all listed together in context with your own material so you can see everything at a glance. Let’s say, for example, someone like you Madalyn. Let’s say you’re doing a speaking event and you want to promote that and you want to promote it more than once. There’s a social campaigns feature that makes it really easy for you to set up multiple and varied shares to say “Hey, come and see me at Social Media Marketing World.” for example. You can go back and see their collective impact and performance.

Madalyn Sklar: Nice, I like that.

Christin Kardos: It’s really great. I also love … Sorry, the link for that is CoSchedule.com. I love Buffer. A lot of people use Buffer. The thing that really shines for me there is their Chrome extension. What’s great about that one is it’s really fast. If you’re browsing something and you want to share it, it grabs it really quickly. When the tool picks up the link that you’re trying to Tweet, it also picks up any available images and then you can choose whichever one you like. Voila, it’s ready to go. I use that one a lot. The link for that is Buffer.com.

Madalyn Sklar: I use that all the time too. That Chrome extension is just the best.

Christin Kardos: Yes, love it.

Madalyn Sklar: Any other tools or is that pretty much it?

Christin Kardos: I could go on for days.

Madalyn Sklar: I could too.

Christin Kardos: I will say I do really love, and you didn’t pay me to say this either, but I do really love ManageFlitter. That would actually be another good tip for someone getting started in order to find people of mutual interest. ManageFlitter is great. You can go in and set up searches. You can specify a topic or words in a bio and then drill down and think “Okay, I want people that have an audience size below a certain amount, because I’m not trying to reach celebrities.” That kind of thing. You can set that up and very easily have it search. You can go in and manually choose which of those people who want to follow so you’re not losing control of the situation but it’s automatically pulling in people that you believe would be of interest to you that you might want to form relationships with. I definitely recommend ManageFlitter and that’s ManageFlitter.com.

Madalyn Sklar: These are all super great tools. I highly recommend them all. Thank you for sharing that. Christin, what are the best ways for people to reach out, get in touch with you?

Christin Kardos: Like I said, Twitter is my favorite. You can find me on Twitter at ChristinKardos. I really like it when people get in touch with our team and Convince and Convert. It’s primarily me running that handle but there’s content coming out from all the rock stars on our team. That Twitter handle would be @Convince.

Madalyn Sklar: That’s awesome. And that’s with Jay Baer. You’re part of his team over there.

Christin Kardos: That’s right. I’m trying to really highlight the rest of the team because there’s some rock stars on our team. Everybody knows Jay but people are just now getting to know some of the shining stars behind Jay and separate from Jay. I’m definitely into talking to people from the Convince handle.

Madalyn Sklar: That’s awesome. This has been so great Christin. I am so glad that you came on the podcast and shared all of this extremely valuable information with the community. Thank you so much.

Christin Kardos: Thanks for having me, Madalyn.

Madalyn Sklar: What a great interview with Christin. She shared really helpful tips and advice. I love how she said to embrace Twitter and its power. That Twitter is like a big cocktail party. You want to be observant, be a good listener and be a good citizen of the community. Of course, I just love how she advocates Twitter chats for newbies because you know how I feel about Twitter chats. I just love them. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you are listening to this while on the go, no worries because I take the notes for you. Just head over to my site at MadalynSklar.com/TwitterSmarter42. This is episode number 42. MadalynSklar.com/TwitterSmarter42.

Your call to action for this episode is to follow Christin’s Twitter tip when she said to be a good citizen by being a good listen, being polite and try to add valuable feedback to others when they are talking to you. I want you to set out to do this on a Twitter chat and let me know how it’s working out for you by sending me a Tweet @MadalynSklar. If you need help finding some Twitter chats, check out my article, The Very Best Twitter Chats For Social Media and Marketing. It’s available at MadalynSklar.com/chatlist.

You can reach Christin on Twitter @ChristinKardos and also @Convince, which is the Twitter handle for Convince and Convert.

Before we go, I’d love for you to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform, whether it’s iTunes for iOS, Google Play for Android, SoundCloud or Stitcher Radio. When you subscribe, you’ll get all the new episodes as they get released so you won’t miss a thing. I’ve got interviews coming up with Lucy Rendler-Kaplan, Rebekah Radice and Dan Gingiss. It is super good stuff. You do not want to miss it.

I want to do a shout out and thank Jeff Perry for writing an awesome review in iTunes. He said this show has helped him sharpen his Twitter skills and learn the best habits for marketing. Thanks, Jeff. That really means the world to me. And FYI, everyone. Jeff has a cool new Twitter chat for podcasters I found out about. It’s called #Podchat. He’s inviting me to be a guest on the chat so mark your calendar. Wednesday June 21st at 1:00 Eastern. #Podchat. I will be on there. It’s going to be awesome.

The last thing I want to mention before we go is that I want to answer your questions right here on the podcast. Basically you can ask me anything about Twitter marketing. I’m going to pick a few of them to answer right here on the show. You can leave me a voice mail by going to Madalyn Sklar.com/speakpipe. Speakpipe, one word. S-P-E-A-K-P-I-P-E, speakpipe. If you go over to my site, put that in /speakpipe. You can send me a voicemail. I’m going to take a listen to them all. I will reply to everybody who submits one but I’m going to pick a couple of them to actually play here on the show. Don’t shy away from this. I really, really want to hear from everybody so please do me a favor. Take a moment and do that, okay? Will you promise me?

That is it for this episode. Until next time, I’ll see you out on Twitter. Take care everybody.

Announcer: Thank you for listening to the #TwitterSmarter podcast, where you get the best Twitter tips from the pros. Stay in touch with Madalyn on Twitter @MadalynSklar or through her website, MadalynSklar.com.