The popularity of Twitter has spawned a number of ‘support’ websites and applications such as Tweet Deck. The latest generation of Twitter apps are allowing us to do much more and have the potential to alter the way in which we tweet. These include apps such as Hoot Suite that allow not only statistics but also advanced scheduling. This means that tweets you write now can be sent out at a pre-determined time in the future. The result is that you no longer have to be at your computer (or phone) to maintain a Twitter presence.
If used correctly apps like Hoot Suite can add a whole new level to your twitter activity.
- Decide your time window: The first decision you need to make is over what time period will you send out tweets. Personally I send the first tweet at nine in the morning and the last at six at night.
- Spread out your tweets: The next step is to decide just how often you will schedule tweets. I go for an hour between tweets, though I have considered reducing this to thirty minutes. This is a fine balance between maintaining presence and reducing the quality of your tweets. My advice is that quality is far more important than quantity.
- Content is king: Your next choice is over the content of tweets. Personally I only ever schedule tweets that are links to sites and blogs that I think will interest my followers. I also schedule tweets that link to my BubbleCow blog posts.
- Information is not conversation: For me scheduling is a way of ensuring I provide a persistent string of quality tweets containing useful links. I never schedule conversations and for me this is the crux of Twitter. Scheduled tweets may stimulate debate but that is just an added bonus.
- Personalise links: When I first started using Hoot Suite I was simply copying blog titles and adding the link. However, over time I have started to give more attention to each tweet. I now try to give more information about the link. I describe the post and try and offer a hint at the usefulness. For example I might say something like “This is a GREAT post…” or “Nice post about…” or even “Nothing new here but still worth a read…” The result is that I get more clicks on the links (Hoot Suite stats allow me to track clicks).
Does anyone have tips for scheduling or know of any sites other than Hoot Suite that might be useful?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I personally schedule more tweets than that but I also include a number of my own blog postings. It has dramatically increased the hits on my blogs but not necessarily the comments. It works for you as well because I came to this posting of yours by clicking on one of your tweets as well!
Gary – I think it is all about balance in regards to the number of tweets. However, you are correct in that it drives people to your blog or website.