In a previous post I talked about coming up with Twitter content using plumbers as an example. Today, I’m going to offer you a strategy for getting your individual posts more attention.
Let’s say you do a single post on Twitter that sends people to your blog posts. Let’s also say that you have 500 Twitter followers.
It would be a mistake to think that your message is going to be seen by all 500 of those followers. In reality, a tiny fraction of those followers will see the tweet for the 2-3 minutes that it is actually visible in their Twitter feeds.
The remedy is simple. As in public speaking, the trick is to “tell them, tell them what you told them, and tell them again.”
Tell Them
The first Tweet should be the title of the Blog post and a link back to the post. You might want to shorten the URL with Tiny URL (using it is self-explanatory).
It’s also not a bad idea to write self-explanatory post titles that are short enough to fit into a Tweet, since you don’t want any part of your first Tweet to get cut off.
So if the title of your blog post is “How to Clean Gutters” you’d simply post “How to Clean Gutters,” and the shortened URL leading back to the post. If you have share buttons you could even simply hit the “Tweet” button on your own page.
Tell Them What You Told Them
One day later you can tweet the blog post again. This time you’re going to use a question as a lead-in.
For example, you might ask, “Storm season is here! Do you know how to clean your gutters?” Then post the shortened URL again.
You might even strategically target a different time of day so that you capture a different segment of your follower list.
Phrasing it in the form of a question also captures the attention of people who might ignore blog post headline tweets. It also keeps you from looking like you’re just repeating yourself over and over again, which is something that most people really hate.
Tell Them Again
2-3 days later you can come in one more time with a “Hey, in case you missed this” or “Did you miss this?” type of post. You’re showing that you’re aware that you’ve already posted this content for those who did read it.
You can also use the words “Don’t forget,” or any words which indicate genuine concern for your followers and your hope that they get the valuable information you’re getting to them. Try to change it up so that your Twitter stream doesn’t start to sound repetitive.
So the post might read: “Don’t forget to clean your gutters, here’s how:,” with the URL. Or it could read, “Tips for cleaning your gutters in case you missed them:,” and the URL.
Again, for maximum exposure you might want to choose a different time of day than you chose for the previous two posts.
If you’re struggling for Twitter content this strategy gives you three updates for the price of one. If you’re posting blog content every day this can also help you get multiple tweets out every day, instead of one tweet per day.
If you’re promoting other people’s content you can use the same strategy for their content, as well. They’ll appreciate the increased exposure, and, again, it gives you more to Tweet.
Today’s Action Items:
- Use the three tweet strategy for one of your blog posts.
