Jade Craven

Struggling to use twitter? This post collects just some of the many techniques I've learned about twitter since following Darren Rowse.

Offer feeds through twitter:

Offering a feed through twitter is a great way to really spread your content. This could be included with your everyday tweets, or in a separate feed like freelance switch.This can be done through an external service called Twitterfeed.

This can really benefit you if your RSS feed is aggregated elsewhere, like Friendfeed. I have often come across posts this way. The search engine often picks up the post via a link to the tweet.

Some people offer multiple feeds within the one Twitter account. This can be effective if the different feeds integrate into your personal brand. Darren offers a feed of his blog and the job board, but has a separate account for his DPS tweets.

Offer extra exposure to blog advertisers.

Problogger does this for job postings. He succeeds because this compliments the rest of his posts.

This is effective because you can use two separate audiences for leverage. One could argue that twitter users are more targeted and thus more likely to respond to such advertising.

This could be done in a number of ways:

• Linking to a blog post in twitter that features periodical sponsors.
• Doing individual tweets thanking a sponsor that has supported an event.
• Offer exposure via your twitter background.
• Offer a job board feed.

Any promotion should support and compliment your personal brand. It should be perceived as providing value to readers and not spamming them.

Darrens is automated however this can cause some problems. Occasionally, dodgy advertisers get through and get tweeted to a larger audience. Also, his audience encompasses bloggers of various skill. This can be detrimental when many followers understand that the advertisement may be offering poor reimbursement and incentives, and retweet it to a larger audience.

Ask random questions

Some of the greatest responses I have seen are those to questions that have nothing to do with the tweeters personal or professional brands. Many followers feel that they are not qualified to respond to many of the technical questions posed. When I first started using twitter, I was too scared to respond to Darrens tweets for fear of embarrassing myself.

Asking random questions can give your followers a chance to interact with you in a way they had previously thought impossible. It can make you seem more approachable and can give you the chance to bond with your audience. This can give you a reputation as being someone worth following.

Unsure of what type of questions to ask? Here are some ideas:

• Get feedback on popular events. If these have a worldwide focus, like the olympics, you'll provide more value.
• Ask about popular TV shows or movies. These are guaranteed to get responses!
• Find out what drives your audience. This could influence further blog posts.

This method may seem trivial but is well worth experimenting with. I first interacted with Darren through his random tweets and now am genuinely intrigued about many of the off topic tweets.

Get people excited about an upcoming post.

A teaser is usually given when someone is launching a product,  whether it be an internet marketing tool or a music CD. It builds anticipation and can get users genuinely interested in the product.

I've seen Darren talk about posts and videos he's yet to post. At other times, I've seen guest posters on Problogger tweet about there upcoming post. This gets me genuinely interesting and often leads to me checking the website, rather than waiting for the RSS feed come through.

This method is best used when the content being promoted will be really spectacular. One should be prudent when employing this technique. If used sparingly, you can get a reputation for only teasing your quality content. This can lead to extra traffic when the post is launched.

Get some social media love

I've seen many bloggers ask for specific social media love via twitter. It can be very effective. In most cases your followers are very supportive of you and would gladly support your social media efforts.

Its best to specify the type of social media attention you want. This can ensure you get the targeted response in the service of your choice. Be cautious with doing this. Too many requests can really burn out your followers and result in less impact.

Darren does this sparingly on his digital photography blog. Often, the writers of the individual posts on DPS are the ones who request social media support.

Get weather updates.

This may seem juvenile but I specifically follow those who live in the same region as myself. I rarely watch the news and do rely on twitter to get updates. When Darren posts about storms, I usually check online weather sources to ascertain whether it will effect my region.

I've often read about severe weather in other states only to experience similar weather hours or even days later. This can be specifically useful in times of severe weather. If an area is hit quite badly, twitter can be a useful way of spreading the news before traditional media can inform you.

Why would you consider tweeting this? Because it can help people identify with you, especially they live in the general region. It can especially effective if you have a local niche blog.

Publicize your guest posts elsewhere

A guest post can be a great way to gain targeted traffic to your website. You can reciprocate by sending the blog traffic to your guest post.

Sending the traffic can make you more appealing as a guest poster. This could eventually lead to more freelance work. Additionally, your followers are genuinely interested in any additional methods of connecting with you. Its beneficial to all parties.

Darren rarely guest posts, but links to the ones he does do. If you are prolific with your guest posting then send your readers to your best one. Alternately, you could space out the tweets so the readers don't get overwhelmed.

Let people know what your reading

Speedlinking is old news. Instead, people provide value by linking to posts that are of amazing quality and are of use to their readership. Darren often follows up his Twitip feeds with additional articles that are related to twitter usage. It spreads good will to the bloggers you link to and can contribute to your perceived status as an expert.

Hold contests to get followers

Darren did this some time ago when he wanted to reach 10'000 followers. He offered to give away three copies of his book. I participated and eagerly checked his follower count, hoping that I would be one of the lucky few. I wasn't, but was sorely tempted to order when he linked to the problogger book after the contest had concluded.

This is a very admirable example because of the dual benefit. Darren got additional followers plus promoted his book.

Do you have a product your followers may be interested in?

Promote affiliate products

This method can be really lucrative, but is also one of the best way to burn your readers. I have unfollowed so many twitter users based on inappropriate twitter users because they've over promoted affiliate products. These tips should preventing overwhelming your followers:

• Promote products that are closely aligned to your professional or personal brand. I'm not interested otherwise.
• Don't retweet the promotion constantly.
• Check if other twitter users are heavily promoting the product. If they are, then hold back.

Only tweet promotions or discounts that are of immense value to your readership.

Darren does this very sparingly. It is far better to give promotions the proper attention via a blogpost and link to that instead.

Announce when your livestreaming or are doing a live chat

I really like this technique. I love being able to interact with the blogger via the chat function. Darren did this once and I was really disappointed that I caught the tweet too late.

You can host random livestreams or have scheduled times where your readers can interact with you. You can talk about random things or have a formal question and answer session.

If used sparingly, this can be really effective. I would love to see more blogger tweeting their lifecasts.

Possible meet ups

It is worth following someone just for the opportunity to catch up with them at a 'tweet up'. Twitter has a large reach but it is rarely as broad as the reach of a flagship blog. Because of this, any gathering will more intimate as the numbers will be kept down.

Darren has done this a couple of times. Sadly, the only meet up I would have been able to attend fell through.

This can be really useful for branding purposes and extending your network. If no tweet ups are available in your area - organize one!

Publicize interviews you’ve done

This is very similar to the guest posting tweet. You can send traffic, thus making your interviews more appealing.

The difference is that if someone has further questions, you can follow them up via twitter. It can also help you brand yourself as someone that is friendly and approachable.

Share breaking news in your niche

This is a really useful technique if you want to brand yourself as an expert. Its really effective when used in conjunction with a blog post.

If your among the first to comment on it, you can find your message being retweeted to larger audiences. It can lead to having additional subscribers.

Darren has done this a couple of times. I prefer these types of tweets when followed by a more casual tweet.

Direct people to older posts

Has someone asked a question that you cant respond to in 140 characters? Send them to a blog post!

This is a brilliant technique and one that Darren has done a couple of times. Usually, the tweet is sent directly to the person with a post that is relevant to the situation. Occasionally, Darren will send out a public tweet when he feels that others could benefit from the post.

This technique is underused but can provide the most returns.

Feature your readers comments:

Is there a great conversation unfolding on one of your sites? Direct your readers to it!

I rarely check comments on a post and if I do, unlikely to interact after I have made my contribution. This can be detrimental as often the best content is created by the community.

Direct your followers to these sorts of posts can really create more noise on the post. Again, this positions yourself as someone that creates and encourages value. It can also cause your post to go viral if more people are really interacting with it.

This can also work if you feature the comments from your twitter followers on your blog. Darren often does this and the post often sparks further discussion on twitter.
Want more?

Since starting this blog, Darren has launched the great new blog Twittip. You can also find him on twitter and at Problogger.net. All are great resources.