Category: Twitter

Learn about Twitter strategy, Twitter Tools, and Twitter Ads.

Twitter Analytics – Measuring your success on Twitter

Do you track your success on Twitter using Twitter analytics?

While analytics may seem like a scary thing, Twitter has been on a roll lately with the addition of some powerful new tools that can help you grow you presence on Twitter.

These include the ability to schedule tweets on Twitter and Twitter analytics.

Today we’re going to cover Twitter analytics and how you can use it.

Tracking with Twitter Analytics

Twitter Analytics let’s you do more then just see who your followers are or how many times a tweet was retweeted.

You can track the following areas with the Twitter analytics tool.

Timeline activity

The timeline activity section let’s you gather a lot of information about how popular your tweets are.

For example, you can see the number of clicks, favorites, retweets, and replies that a tweet got.

Timeline activity for Twitter analytics
View favorites, retweets, and replies in Twitter analytics.

Followers

Besides seeing your timeline activity, you can use the analytics tool to track your followers.

For example, you can see follower growth, location, and the people they follow (so that you can follow them back).

Follower activity in Twitter analytics
Analyze who your followers are following and where your followers are from.

Website activity

The website activity section let’s you track how well the tweet buttons on your website is performing.

After you install the tracking code, you can see timeline activity from your website.

Twitter analytics for websites
Track how the tweet button performs on your website.

 

Website activity in Twitter analytics
View website activity within the analytics interface.

How to use Twitter Analytics

Continue reading Twitter Analytics – Measuring your success on Twitter

Minding your manners with hashtag etiquette

Hashtags seem to be everywhere these days. For example, there are Facebook hashtags, Twitter hashtags, Instagram hashtags, and even Google Plus is using hashtags. This is great because you can begin to incorporate hashtags into all of your social networks. Before you do though, you need to be aware of the proper hashtag etiquette.

Otherwise, you could be doing more harm than good when using hashtags on your favorite social networks.

What is a hashtag?

Oxford dictionaries defines a hashtag as a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic.

To sum this up, when it comes to social networks, hashtags are clickable links that bring together posts from that network that are also using that hashtag.

This can be useful because it lets you see who else is talking about a similar topic on your favorite social network.

Hashtag evolution

The hashtag has evolved quite a bit throughout history though. In fact, it wasn’t always used like how it is today. There is a rich, storied history of the hashtag.

Common hashtag mistakes

While hashtags seem like they’re very easy to use, here are common mistakes you want to avoid when using hashtags.

  1. Stringing together too many words in a hashtag.
    • For example, using #hashtaqetiquettetips when just #etiquette will suffice.
  2. Tagging every word in a post with a hashtag.
    • Not only is this unprofessional, but doing this can make it difficult to follow a post or tweet.
  3. Using hashtags that don’t relate to your business or brand
    • This is a big no-no when using hashtags. An example of this is using a hashtag and including a link to a product that doesn’t relate to the hashtag. You can be seen as a spammer if you use this technique.
  4. Using hashtags when they are not needed
      Just because you can use a hashtag doesn’t mean you need to. Make sure you’re selective on when you should include a hashtag.
  5. Picking the right network for hashtags
      While Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Pinterest all include the option to use hashtags. Be sure you know your audience. If they don’t understand hashtags, you could be pushing them away by including them.

If you want to see hashtags in action, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon created a hilarious video on using hashtags in real-life that also does a great job illustrating why hashtag etiquette is so important.

While it seems that hashtags are ubiquitous, remember, there is a right time and place for them. The team at Gremln put together this infographic on hashtag etiquette. There are also some great tips on how to use hashtags to get your message across and reach your target audience.

Tips on proper hashtag etiquette

Continue reading Minding your manners with hashtag etiquette

How to Schedule Tweets on Twitter Without Using HootSuite

In case you haven’t heard the news, you can now schedule tweets on Twitter – but there’s a catch.

You have to do it through the Twitter Ads interface.

No, this doesn’t mean you’ll need to start paying Twitter to use their tool. Anyone can schedule tweets on Twitter using the ads tool.

Note: scheduling tweets through Twitter only works on a desktop. You cannot schedule tweets from a mobile device (yet).

Another thing that I find interesting. The timing of this announcement aligns perfectly with the upcoming Twitter IPO and suggests that Twitter plans to make money by giving all users the ability to create Twitter Ads.

What’s also interesting is that this could mean the end of HootSuite – more on that later though.

To schedule tweets on Twitter, follow the instructions below.

How to schedule tweets on Twitter

Continue reading How to Schedule Tweets on Twitter Without Using HootSuite

Social Media management in 60 minutes a day

How much time do you think it takes to manage an effective social media strategy? If you said days or even weeks, you’re partially correct – if you run a social media agency. If  you’re just managing your own social media accounts, you can do social media management in just 60 minutes a day!

60 minutes a day on social media? Really? It can be done.

Social Media time management

Learning how to manage your social media accounts in just 60 minutes a day takes discipline. It also means you need to focus on what your goals are when you logon to a site.

We’re all guilty (myself included) of going on Facebook for one thing and then spending hours just browsing.

This plan assumes that you already have a social media strategy in place.

What you are learning about is how to split up your time spent on social media activities in 60 minutes per day. This way you can use that time towards being productive in other areas.

Social Media management in just 60 minutes a day

To effectively do social media management in 60 minutes a day, here’s the recipe you need for creating the perfect social media cocktail:

Continue reading Social Media management in 60 minutes a day

Social Media recruiting – is it working?

It used to be that job recruiting over social media didn’t work. Today, a lot has changed and social media recruiting is hotter than ever.

In fact, 92% of companies use social media for recruiting (tweet this).

While companies are recruiting new employees using social media recruiting. Does it work though

Let’s explore some stats that support the claim that social media recruiting works.

  • 42% of companies say candidate quality has improved thanks to social media (tweet this)
  • 33% of employers rejected candidates based on something they found on a social profile (tweet this)
  • Recruiting across Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
    • 93% of companies use LinkedIn for recruiting (tweet this)
    • 66% of companies use Facebook for recruiting (tweet this)
    • 54% of companies use Twitter for recruiting (tweet this)
  • Surprising stat: 36% of companies are not in engaged in social media recruiting (tweet this)

While these numbers suggest that companies are benefiting from using social media to become more efficient with in their recruiting efforts and to help improve the quality of applicants for a job, does this actually lead to more jobs for job seekers? Let’s find out.

Does social media recruiting lead to more hires?

Continue reading Social Media recruiting – is it working?

5 free services to schedule tweets

5 ways to schedule tweets

Image via: Firebrandmedia

Twitter is a social media tool where things happen in real-time and it’s almost expected that you’re tweeting at a given moment. So what happens when you’re not going to be available and need to tweet? It’s time to schedule tweets!

By scheduling tweets, you can be in two places at once. For example, you could be sending out tweets, while you are meeting with business partners or attending an event.

Is scheduling tweets bad?

When you schedule tweets, it isn’t a bad thing, provided it’s not something you are doing all of the time. Successful Twitter users schedule tweets for those times when they are not going to be available. When they are available, they take the time to respond in real-time to tweets and engage with their followers.

If you plan to schedule tweets just so you can say that are on another network, I would reconsider why you are using Twitter to begin with.

Tools to schedule tweets

There are literally hundreds of tools you can use to schedule tweets. Today, we’re focusing on free services you can use to schedule tweets.

What we’re focusing on today are Twitter tools that are free and have a good track record, meaning they won’t close up shop next week.

Note: some of the tools we recommend to schedule tweets offer both a free and a paid version. Depending on how much you use Twitter and the features you want, such as analytics or being able to incorporate all of your social media channels into one tool.

Remember, while there are hundreds of tools, we have selected our favorites. If you have another Twitter tool you use to schedule out tweets, please leave in the comments below.

5 free services to schedule tweets

Continue reading 5 free services to schedule tweets

70 time-saving social media shortcuts [Infographic]

Whether it’s figuring out how to squeeze more time out of our daily lives or how to more productive on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube. We’re always looking for a shortcut. As we share more and more of our personal lives through social media, it’s time that we created social media shortcuts to help us learn how to get more efficient in the limited amount of time that we have.

According to Experian Marketing Services, Americans spend 16 minutes of every hour online on social networks. That’s nearly 25% of every hour being spent on a social media site. While we won’t go into what users do on social media sites. that’s a lot of time to be spending checking updates from others and less time that we can be productive.

The team at Quintly put together this infographic featuring 70 social media shortcuts to help you get more done on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube. In addition to the social media shortcuts listed, they’ve also included a few easter eggs (hidden features).

While these shortcuts only work when you’re on your computer and not on your mobile device such as your smartphone or tablet, they’re very handy to learn and can help reduce the amount of time you waste from senseless clicks online.

70 time-saving social media shortcuts

Continue reading 70 time-saving social media shortcuts [Infographic]

The history of the hashtag [Infographic]

Do you know the history of the hashtag?

Most people are under the impression that the hashtag originated when social media hit the scene about 5 years ago. That’s actually not entirely accurate.

While it seems that the history of the hashtag began then, it actually started much earlier – more like in the 12th century.

Since then, we’ve seen the hashtag start out as the “pound” and morph from one symbol to another, finally culminating in what we know today as the hashtag and popularized on social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and more recently, Facebook hashtags.

and over time, it has morphed into the hashtag.

The history of the hashtag

Continue reading The history of the hashtag [Infographic]

7 types of social media fans and making the most of them [Infographic]

Social media fans
Chances are, you’ve come across one of these social media fans at some point. It could be someone you know, your friend, a fan on your Facebook Page, or even you!

Reachlocal recently published the following infographic on the different types of social media fans that you’ll find online.

According to Reachlocal, there are the seven types of fans that you’ll likely encounter.

The seven most popular types of social media fans are:

  • The quiet follower
  • The casual listener
  • The deal seeker
  • The unhappy customer
  • The ranter
  • The cheerleader
  • The loyal fan

To find out which kind of social media fan you are, check out the infographic below.

7 types of social media fans Continue reading 7 types of social media fans and making the most of them [Infographic]

The Twitter media grid – quickly access tweeted photos and videos

Twitter media grid

Did you know, Twitter has its very own grid for storing your media. It’s called the Twitter media grid.

What is the Twitter media grid?

The Twitter media grid is a page on Twitter where you can quickly access any photos or videos that you’ve tweeted out. This is a very helpful tool and definitely a link that you should bookmark if you’re someone who shares a lot of photos and videos and want to be able to access this information quickly.

Twitter media grid vs Twitter archives

For those of you thinking of downloading your Twitter archive to find your tweets with photos or videos, while this is another way to access past tweets, it’s not as efficient.

While you can download your Twitter archive, the Twitter media grid can help you save time having to comb through past tweets.

If you know that you’re looking for a photo or video that you tweeted out, instead of using your Twitter archive, you can quickly access the Twitter media grid to find what you’re looking for.

And because the Twitter media grid is visual, you can easily scroll through and see the content you’re looking for whereas your Twitter archive would require you to search for the specific terms you’re looking for.

As your tweet volume grows, this may mean you’ll have to go through tens of thousands of tweets. Not exactly an efficient use of time.

How to use the Twitter media grid Continue reading The Twitter media grid – quickly access tweeted photos and videos