7 Simple Ways to Provide Excellent Content On Twitter to Start Conversations and Create Connections
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Twitter has always been one of my favorite (well the favorite until Pinterest came along) social networks. One of the hardest things about twitter can be finding time or a way to provide great content and really connect with people. What happens a lot of times is people end up just automating their blog posts to go to twitter and that’s it. That’s a bummer.
So here’s a few ways I manage to provide great content and create conversations and connections with my twitter friends.
I want to create conversations because this is how I create a relationship with people, and when I have a relationship with people (or they at least recognize my face in their Twitter stream) they are more likely to click through to my blog or recommend me to their friends!
1. Read blogs.
Yep, I know everyone tells you to stop reading blogs but if you’re wanting to connect with people in your niche you’re going to have to put yourself out there. Comment on the blog posts that speak to you. This is one of the best ways to start creating a connection with other people in your industry. Every blogger loves comments… and when they start to see your name regularly popping up, they’ll remember you.
So what’s that got to do with Twitter? Everything! When you read a great blog post, go ahead and tweet it! If the blog has a retweet button, just click it! I personally like to add a little comment at the end of the tweet. I use a little arrow <– and then my comment so people know it’s me, and not the blog author.
There’s a bonus if you’ve commented on the post as well… people will see you there and you can even help drive more traffic to your site.
2. Conversation Starters
I like to schedule tweets to go out through the day (when I know I’m going to be around to engage). I use a free tool called Buffer to do this. These tweets are what I call conversation starters. They’re questions or thoughts that encourage people to answer me. I get ideas for these conversation starters from reading blog posts, or articles about my topic. Reading magazines or books can also be a great way to find conversation starters.
Here’s a couple examples:
My table is filled with paper clutter… any tips on keeping it clutter free?
Poll: do you send pictures to out of state relatives or put them online? (I’d just gotten into a big discussion with my mom about buying school pics lol)
I like to google articles related to my topic and get ideas that way. If you are using tweetdeck or Buffer you can schedule these conversation starters to go out through the day. (I set mine at one an hour or one every other hour) If you have your replies set to chirp at you in tweetdeck you’ll know when someone has replied to a conversation starter and you can go and continue the conversation.
3. Ask questions
People love helping out on Twitter. If you’ve got a question, or you need help with something. Ask your twitter friends!
4. Share funny things that are happening.
The other night I was on the computer and I heard my husband yelling at the dog to get out of the bathtub. (he was running a bath for himself) the ensuing splash and frustration was funny… I shared that. I got 2 or 3 people replying to me as well… both that they felt bad for my husband, but also that they have to keep the bathroom door shut or their dog does the same thing.
The other night Hanna was in a particularly bad mood. She yelled at my husband “Just go away and stop touching me”. Which I thought was hilarious… shared that.
People want to know what’s going on with you… they want to glimpse into your life and your world. Let them. Share your world with your twitter friends.
5. Your blog posts
Of course you want to share your blog posts as well. As long as you are talking and retweeting sharing your blog posts will not look at all strange, in fact, it will be a great way for people to stay up to date with your blog. However, you don’t want your blog posts to be the only thing in your stream.
6. Talk to people.
I mentioned it’s a good idea to ask questions… the other part of that is to ANSWER them as well. If you see someone in your twitter feed ask a question, jump in and answer! They’re looking for a response and by answering a question you’re creating a connection. People remember the people who answer them, who speak directly to them.
As you begin to create more connections, those connections will begin to keep an eye out for your stuff. They’ll be more likely to follow your links. They’ll be more likely to retweet YOUR posts when they come up. But you have to start by creating the connection, which means talking to people.
Don’t worry about jumping in the middle of a conversation… it’s expected on twitter for people to jump in. If you see a conversation going on go ahead… add your two cents. That’s what it’s all about!
7. Retweet people.
If you see something that someone’s tweeted, whether it’s a statement, a blog post, or a link to something interesting, just retweet it. Retweeting is a great way to share new things with your twitter friends. It’s also another good way to make a connection with other people. When you retweet someone it shows up in their @replies column. It is a very good way to get someone’s attention. Now don’t do it just for that reason… but it is an added bonus.
So there you have 7 ways to create connection and provide quality content for your twitter friends. Remember, you can do all this stuff in your 10 minute dips into the twitter stream. It doesn’t take all day, it just takes consistently being visible (over time) to build up picture and name recognition from your twitter friends. The more consistently and frequently you get on twitter the more people will recognize your avatar… and if you provide great stuff, are yourself and have fun they’ll even look forward to seeing your avatar and “have” to read your tweets when they see you come up.
Test this theory out… get on twitter regularly. Start conversing and see if you don’t find a few people that you are drawn to… and feel excited when you see their picture pop up and can’t wait to read their tweets. I bet it happens. If you keep it up, over time, in short bursts, you’ll be that person for someone else…
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