Twitter for Bloggers

[MmeLindor.]

I thought those of us on Twitter could give some tips for any bloggers currently too scared not yet on Twitter.

Twitter can be fantastic for upping your blog hits - but you do need to invest a little bit of time. You need some followers. The good thing is that once you have a couple of followers, it is relatively easy to get some more, particularly if you are a MNetter.

Have a look at my twitter blog post, and I will add some more stuff about bloggers.

Ok.

Start by logging onto twitter.com and signing up.

You can use a pseudonym or your real name, but it will be visible to all who look at twitter (and can be googled) so if you want to remain anonymous use a nickname.

It is not a bad idea to have the same nickname as your blog, as it makes it easier for readers to find you.

Whatever name you chose, make it a short one, as explained in my blog. This is important. If I would use @ladouceviesuisse then I would have used up 16 of the possible 140 characters.

Have a look at the other blogs that you follow and see if they are on twitter, if so follow them.

And communicate with them. RT their blog posts, tell them what you think, discuss their posts.

Twitter is not for lurking, it is boring then. It is for communication. The more you put in, the more you get out.

There are loads of MNetters on Twitter, start by following some of them, and follow MNHQ.

You do need to respond to people and make connections, but it doesn't have to take a long time. Tweets are only 140 characters long!

Once you're following a few people just log on, look at the tweets that happen to be on your timeline on your screen at that moment and reply to a few. Interact.

People say 'I can't keep up with people who tweet all the time' but you're not meant to be keeping up with them. It's like when you meet up somewhere at a party. No one expects you to know everything they've been doing/talking about since you last met, so you just make small talk about what's going on now.

Do not do the ''oh please follow me and i'll follow you'' thing or beg for followers,.. it is a real turn off.
Do remember that if you respond to someone, everyone following you can read it, it is nor private! - if you wish to respond privastely, you must direct message that person.
Do not only ever tweet links to your blogs, it is like spamming and we hate it. give us some non-blog stuff occasiobnaklly.
If someone 'talks' to you (@ you), please respond ocasionally, not jjust carry on chatting to your twitter chums. it is rude and will lose you potential followers (and therefore blog-readers)

Thank people if they RT (retweet) your tweets - it's just common courtesy.

If you are Tweeting about something that others are Tweeting about, use a hashtag. It's the best way to get all Tweets about something under one roof, so to speak.

If we hadn't created a hashtag for Riven it never would have gone as viral as it went, for example.

Interesting points especially wrt only ever tweeting links to your blog. I have been a bit shy about posting other stuff as I wasn't really sure anyone would be interested in my random thoughts. But I suppose that's what its all about.

Yes, you really have to jump in and tweet some nonsense. Don't feel shy about it, that is the way twitter works.

If people have chatted with you, they'll be more likely to read and perhaps rt your blog.

Good to know. This is all a bit moot at thd moment as i have a 6 week old baby and my blog is about crafts. So I predict I will be back up and blogging sometime circa 2020. Twittering random stuff will be the easy part!

Real people are so much more fun to follow than celebs.

I emply and easy-come easy-go strategy. If anyone I follow mentions someone or RTs them and the thing they said was interesting, I follow them. If they turn out to be boring, I unfollow them.

Arfur is right baout begging for followers being annoying - saying "only x more to go to 300" is annoying too.

^WSS I often get into little convos with someone new to me via someone else I'm following...just as you would IRL. In fact, I find twitter is most close to RL networking out of all the different ways of social networking on the internet in that respect.

someone new to me via someone else I'm following

This is why my thing is full of people who come under the (immensely irritating) term "mummybloggers"

Ok. I have joined and made a profile, totally lied about my real name but almost had a nervous turn at trying to create an avatar so am still an egg.

How do I find you?

So far, I am following Mumsnet Towers, the BBC news and Prof Brian Cox.

GO - you def need to change your avatar to something. Ppl often automatically don't follow eggs because spam accounts are usually eggs. PM me your twitter handle and I'll follow you, then you can follow me back.

Trills - Hate 'mummy bloggers' term too, and 'mumpreneurs', but I need to accept that I am one, as it's a good way to get blog traffic, unfortunately!

GO
(that sounds rather dynamic)
I am Mmelindor on there. Follow me and I will %23ff you and you will have dozens OD followers in no time

That would be %23 ff

Does the hashtag not work here?

Oh, I am baffled and miffed.

Some cad has posted an American 'Mom's work at home' advert but it looks like I posted it.

And thick question of today but which is the hash tag key on a Mac?

Twitter has broken.

Honest I never touched anything when messing with the settings.

Reload it and take a deep breath, Gentle Otter :D

Macs aren't very keen on hashtags for some reason. Hopefully someone that has one will come on soon to tell you where it is...or google the question?

#ff

Works for me. Do you have a dodgy Swiss keyboard?

#ff

Me too!

@Gentle Otter - hashtag on a mac = alt+3

gentle otter - haven't you have a twitter account for ages? WHo the flip have i been following for the past year then?

I'm @daisy_Ella - I'll do some %23ff's later for any new mumsnet tweeters (ff = follow Friday ... Recommendations about who to follow) hopefully should boost your follower count! See u on twitter :) x