Self-promotion can be a touchy subject, especially when it comes to the quick moving world of Twitter. These days, Twitter has evolved from being a tool in which you spout every move you make during the day, into a real tool for businesses & individuals to utilize.
There are many who get started in social media not realizing that sharing the exact same post over and over through out the day or being over-the-top promotional can actually alienate creating relationships with new potential fans/customers/clients/friends.
So it's important to remember that it's not ALL about you.
However, at the same time, we want to promote our work in order to engage with those who are interested in what we have to say on Twitter and vise versa.
It's perfectly fine to tweet out the same information over and over again, but we must remember that our followers are people, too, so tweeting the same information much be done cautiously with our Twitter followers in mind.
Five smart ways to use Twitter
So how can we go about promoting ourselves on Twitter while engaging with others?
I'm sure you're well aware of the 80/20 rule; promote others 80% of the time and the rest of the time is devoted to yourself.
However, let's dig even deeper into that concept for Twitter.
1. The rule of 3: In order to tweet the same information, you want to be able to reach different demographics through out the day while at the same time, being sure that the max amount of people see what you have to offer. So, tweet it once in the morning with one title, once in the afternoon with a tweaked title and once in the evening with another different title.
For example:
Morning – “How To Tweet The Same Information Without Looking Spammy [link]”
Afternoon – “Are you spamming your Twitter followers & pushing away potential new ones? [link]”
Evening – “Don't Spam Your Followers! Learn How To Tweet While Staying Engaged [link]”
Make sense?
2. Tweet Old Post: If you're using WordPress, you'll be able to download the plugin Tweet Old Post, which will randomly tweet all your published articles within certain periods of time that you designate. This way, older posts that may not have been seen all that well in the beginning, can now be seen by old and new followers without looking spammy. It works!
3. Schedule Tweets: By using a scheduling tool or software for Twitter, like SocialOomph or Buffer, you won't have to worry about coming to your Twitter to tweet out the same info at different times with different titles and tip #1 won't be so daunting.
4. Share/Comment 5 Times In between: Going back to the 80/20 rule, for every self promotional tweet you make, tweet out at least 5 non-promotional tweets. They could either be replies, retweets, shares, general conversation, whatever!
5. Space it all out: Try not to tweet everything all at once. Tweet a few times in the morning, a few times in the afternoon and a few times in the evening. Don't blow it all in one sitting just so you can restart the cycle – your followers will catch on quickly and won't appreciate it.
Keep in mind, that the above information is to be used genuinely. As in, whenever you @ mention someone on Twitter, make sure you're doing it because you are truly interested in who they are and what they have to say. The same goes for sharing other people's content, make sure it's something that you and your audience will find interesting.
Twitter can take a while to get into the swing of things, but with a little bit of consistency, effort and time management, you'll not only grow your following but you'll be able to help promote yourself, as well as others.
How do you currently share your information on Twitter?
Scheduling tweets is a good idea. Jumping to the two scheduling services you mentioned. I hope they don’t ask me for money. 🙂
Let me know how scheduling tweets works out for ya. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Abhi,
I did buy TweetAdder, software that helps automate most of the Twitter tasks that are essential. When I scheduled the same Tweet to repeat over and over I think it is one of the reasons that they suspended my account. So I started to use the spinner that is built into the software and I have not had any problems. Of course I am also not following and unfollowing lots of people each day. I do get steady traffic from Twitter.
This is a very important subject. Bloggers need to realize they do need to share their best content – especially pillar content – more than once, but as this post explains to do it wisely in a way that won’t annoy your followers.
There are many tweet scheduling tools and although most of them have premium versions with subscription prices the free versions of most all of them probably include scheduling without upgrading.
Be careful of Tweetadder as some of the features of that app can get your Twitter account deleted.
Gail,
I have had no problems now with TweetAdder since I have scaled back the aggressive following and tweets. This is a great tool but if you are not familiar with Twitters policies you can get in trouble. I have another account that I have never had any trouble with although the settings were just as aggressive but it is an art site and drives a lot of traffic to my site. Thanks for the reply.
Hi Morgan,
This is perfect guide for anyone with Twitter account especially newbies. 5 Clean points. I love Buffer for doing the job when I’m away with family. I also recently added the feature in my Twitter Traffic App.
Overtime, I have learned that the best way to promote yourself is to promote others. One way to attract a great man to your blog is to blog about him. He’s soon going to be on your blog to checkout what you said about him 😉
Hi Enstine,
Thank you! You are absolutely right, when you promote others, chances are, they’ll come to you and will be happy to promote you as well.
Thanks for the comment!
I don’t really have a specific sharing method. I schedule some of my own and others. I manually tweet some. It just depends. I know some people and businesses use it just for their own updates and I guess it works for them. I like a little variety so each day is something new or different.
Hi Ray,
The truth is, most of us don’t have a specific sharing method. Our own unique sharing method develops over time. This guide is made to help develop those specific individual sharing methods. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
One of THE most annoying things on Twitter is people tweeting the same thing over and over and putting ‘please RT’ on the end of everything! This is really good advice, I’ll bear it in mind to make sure my own tweets don’t get too spammy!
Hi Harriet,
I couldn’t agree with you more! I’m glad you found the advice helpful, good luck in your tweeting journey! Thanks for the comment.
Scheduling tweets is by far one the best way.
Hi Ricardus,
Scheduling tweets is great, but be sure to stay engaged with your audience. 🙂 Thanks for the comment.
You have explained the organized way to tweet the twitter. People usually go for tweeting without any planning.
Hey Maja,
Yes usually people do start off with Twitter without any planning which can lead to frustration and eventually giving up on Twitter.
Thanks for the comment!
Hi Morgan great idea, in fact I do this all the time even for some blog engage members. If I like it that much I simply switch up the tile and bam, brand new tweet. I have so many follows I could probably tweet the same thing twice and they wouldn’t even notice LMAO.
Hi Brian,
Hah, well while tweeting the same information can be effective for reaching different demographics at different times, you do want to make sure you’re not irritating your followers by continuously tweeting the exact same content too often. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
These are some great tips. I just started using twitter a few months back and found it to be useful for my site. Ive always wondered how I could schedule my tweets so I didn’t have to on all the time. Have to try some of these out.
Hi Jahnavi,
Glad I help you out! 🙂 Hope your future tweeting goes well! Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for this article, I love using SocialOomph, haven’t tried the other site though. SocialOomph has a free section but to get the benefits of automatic (or queued) tweets you’ll need to pay a monthly subscription rate. It’s not too bad price-wise though and I do recommend looking into it. I’m always worried that my tweets are boring! lol so I’ll use your suggestions and see if I can’t make them a bit better. Thanks again!!
Hi Cathy,
Good luck adding a little spice to your tweets. 🙂 Thanks for the comment.
Very useful tips Morgan, thank you.
I am very newbie in twitter and think that I don’t use it properly. For example I don’t know how to find followers and anytime I twitt, the only one that checks it, is me 🙂 I can make it better in facebook.
Hi Elena,
Twitter can be daunting not only trying to find people to follow but to get those people to follow you as well and engage with you. Just remember, the more you share content of others, the more you reach out and engage with people and the more you generally give value to your tweets and others, you’ll gain a trusted following. Gaining that following can take 6 months to a year, but as long as you’re active in your community, you’ll be fine. 🙂
Good luck with Twitter! Thanks for the comment.
Hi Morgan Really its Great Idea. I am not a active member of Twitter but it will be useful for me. Thanks for sharing with us.
Hi Amit,
Glad you found it useful. Thanks for the comment!
This is a tip I can put into use right away. Thank you!
Hi Clara,
Hope it works out for you! Thanks for the comment.
Schedule tweeting . New for me . Let me try thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Saikrishna,
Scheduling tweets can free up some necessary time so you can focus more on engaging. 🙂 Good luck! Thanks for the comment,
thanks for the tips. I always feel guilty about retweeting my own stuff throughout the day, but by spacing them out and changing the title I think I wont feel like a spambot haha. thanks!
Hi Matt,
As well as the tips above, be sure to keep engaged with your community. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I use Tweet Old Posts, but I also have a table set up in Word that has all of my repeaters and I write a new message each time I share the posts. The Buffer App allows me to space out my tweets so that I’m not slamming everyone with affiliate posts all within 15 minutes.
Hey Kimberly,
Sounds like you have a good system! Thanks for the comment.
Hi Morgan 🙂
This is one of the best twitter tips I’ve ever read. I’ll implement #1 from now on (tired of promoting the same taglines).
Thanks for sharing it with us
Hi Rahul,
Thank you! Hope it helps you out. 🙂 Thanks for the comment.
This is really important. I use TweetAdder to semi-automate Twitter for 10 accounts. Not long ago Twitter suspended a number of the accounts. I then read the guidelines and learned quite a bit… This post is right on the money with not only how to get the most out of Twitter but also how to not get your account suspended.
Hi Jim,
Yes Twitter is all about engaging with your community so when they see that there’s *too* much automation, then they see you as a bot. So while some automation is good, don’t forget to manually engage with your audience. 🙂 Thanks for the comment, good luck!
I have over 100k twitter followers and I don’t have a problem when I self-promote all day long. Once per hour . Just an FYI for those interested.
You tweet just once a day? Do you have some kind of conversion from your Tweets? To get over 100,000 followers is amazing. How many people do you follow and are you using software to automate any of your Twitter activities?
Hi Jill,
If you have been following me, then you know that I am not currently tweeting much. That’s because I have some personal stuff to take care of for the next month or two and my time is limited.
I have received conversions form Twitter. I also can see an improvement in my traffic rankings when I do it.
Yes, I do have conversations with my followers. I think that is important.
Normally, I schedule tweets to posts on my sites, about one per hour. I have been able to continue building a following despite all the commercialism.
As far as the automation goes, there is a post on my site about having 90,000 twitter followers – you might get a hint from that… That’s all I can say 🙂
Thanks David. I looked over your Twitter account and see what you are talking about.
If you have over 100K followers and you’re able to engage with them effectively and share other people’s content while sharing your own, then more power to you! Thanks for the comment.
Hi Morgan, I don’t make it a rule to share other people’s links. I will generally do it when they do it for me. But there are many people who write to me privately and ask me to tweet for them. I’m not willing to do that for just anyone. If there is a mutual beneficial relationship behind it, then I don’t mind. I believe in giving and getting – but there are a lot of people who just want to take. Isn’t it exactly the same as personal relationships and friendships?
We may have to agree to disagree on this subject. I love sharing what I enjoy, not just because I get benefit out of it. The point of social media is to treat each other like human beings and be generous – not just do something because there’s something in it for you.
I share what I want not in the hopes that I’ll get attention back, but because I genuinely love whatever it is that I’m sharing.
Social media is about being genuine and if you happen not to share what you enjoy reading on the web, then that’s your way of being genuine. But it kind of rubs me the wrong way when people do things just in the hopes of getting something in return or because someone is doing them a favor first.
Just my opinion, though. Everyone works social media in their own unique way. 🙂
Hi Morgan,
I got another tip to tweet old post is to change the texts and retweet it with the same article.
@David
It’s nothing happen at all, but others people don’t only like to see yourself, they want to make friend with others as well.
Hi Ferb,
I’m not sure I understand, what do you mean by ‘change the text and retweet the same article’? Do you mean like how I explained in tip #1?
Thanks for the comment!
Although scheduling is a good idea; whenever I tweet I try to custom it to sound more interesting. Like even when I have to tweet the same post over and over again; I make sure I change the words of the tweet so that it does have an appeal to it.
Hi Hajra,
Yes, just like I mentioned in tip #1, change up the tweet to make it sound interesting and different to your different demographics. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Scheduling tweets is a great idea for spacing your tweets out. I am also a big fan of tweet old posts for my blog as it reminds my twitter followers of posts that they may not have read about before.
Hi Richard,
Yes, tweeting an old post can be valuable to new followers and old ones who may not have seen that old post. Thanks for the comment!
This is great advice! I realize I need to tweet my own site more often, and there are ways to do that without annoying people. Thanks for your advice!
Hi Sally,
I’m glad I could help! Good luck promoting yourself. 🙂 Thanks for the comment.
Great advice. I try to keep my twitter client running in the background throughout the day and engage/reply/retweet as often as I can. I also use TweetOldPost plugin, I just wish the frequency and controls were a bit more granular.
Hey!
Yes Tweet Old Post isn’t as easy to manage, but that’s where scheduling tweets comes in. You can better control what goes out there and when, when you schedule your own tweets. It’s a really great strategy to keep a Twitter client open to reply/retweet/engage as well as have those few scheduled tweets. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
I have a problem with this, because my Twitter is linked to various accounts and anytime I post something, the same post bounces around and ends up posting about 4 times on Twitter within 2 minutes. No good… These are great tips and has really made me re-think my strategy on social media.. Specifically with Twitter.
Hi Chris!
Tweeting out the exact same tweet on multiple accounts can also raise a big red flag to Twitter, as it’s against their rules. Plus, I’m assuming you have at least somewhat different demographics and target audiences on each account, so it may not be prudent to spread the exact same message across all of them.
Glad this has helped and good luck with your strategy!
Thanks for the comment.
Great tips. I have used several scheduling services, SocialOomph is my favorite. Buffer is great as well.
Hi Dan,
Thank you! Glad scheduling is working out for you. Thanks for the comment!
Great advice. I try to keep my twitter client running in the background throughout the day and engage/reply/retweet as often as I can. I also use TweetOldPost plugin, I am also a big fan of tweet old posts for my blog as it reminds my twitter followers of posts that they may not have read about before.
Hi Blair,
Great strategy! I agree about tweeting old posts, many followers have discovered posts that they have never seen before and I’ve done the same with others. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Morgan,
These are great Tweeting tips. I use Twitter, but actually am really not very active on it. I retweet posts and blogs I find useful and tweet my own posts when written, but do not find much time to get on Twitter and really post there.
The techniques you speak of sound like they would be very effective… I just don;t know how I can manage to fit it all into my busy schedule. I am truly interested in building my business and interacting with like minded internet marketers as much as possible, so I will do my best to increase my Twitter presence.
Thanks for the great advice!
~Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
Scheduling tweets is a good start, but what is really important in any social media effort is time management. Having a set schedule in which you engage/RT/tweet/Facebook/Blog comment, etc, is SO important.
Good luck and thanks for the comment!
Fab Twitter tip – I’ll be doing this!
Thanks! Good luck!
Great post, Morgan1 This makes a lot of sense! I think it’s important to change the text if you are tweeting the same info within 24 hrs.
Hi Niall,
Yes, it is important to change up the text to make it seem different & interesting. Thanks for the comment!
I find it humorous that we are on a tweeting schedule now. Humorous that we already have other schedules and now we are implementing this. It is a great and effective idea for bloggers and online money makers.
Valid points of not over doing it; do not give it all away at once. Sharing just to share is not cool. Agree they must interest you and your audience to be effective. However, how did we find out about blogging? Someone probably shared it enough for you to check it out, right?
Thank you Morgan
Hi Bryan,
I agree it must be interesting to your audience AND to you. Thanks for the comment!
I’ve never done this before as I think it’s kinda odd but really not as I read this. My blogger friends are doing this. It’s just that I’m hesitant to do it. I’ve been using Hootsuite to schedule my blog post on Twitter. Guess I have to try this one. Now it makes more sense to me.
Thanks
Hi Noime,
Take it one step at a time. These methods do work it just takes a bit of effort and consistency. Once you get your own solid management skills down, this’ll all be a piece of cake. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
I think the main thing is to interact with your twitter followers not just post affiliate links or links to your published articles. It’s social network so you have to be social there and talk with people and join discussion so your “sales messages” will be hidden between your other activities and won’t look suspicious.
Hi Steven,
Yes, engaging is top priority. These are just different methods in order to share content without looking spammy or trying to be over-self-promotional. Thanks for the comment!
Nice write-up. I’ve noticed that a lot of my twitter followers aren’t even especially concerned with my blog, so if all I ever post are links, then they won’t get much benefit from following me. However, some of the Twitter discussions I’ve been able to be a part of have been great!
Hi Josh,
Engaging with your audience on Twitter is first priority, for sure! Just posting links won’t really get you anywhere when it comes to engagement. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Puneet!
Absolutely agree! 🙂 It’s just as important to share other people’s work as people share yours. Thanks for the comment!
Wonderful post and great tips. I just installed ” Tweet Old Post” to see what it is all about and I think I can put some good use to it. As for tweet scheduling, I use twuffer and it is pretty reliable.
Again, great post!
– Josh P.
Hi Josh,
Hope Tweet Old Post works out for you! You’ll probably have to adjust your timing settings so that it doesn’t post *too* often, but you’ll get the right feel for it.
Thank you for the comment!
Isn’t posting the same info again and again is sort of spam. There are many people who do this stuf on Facebook and most of the times I have to block that page.
Hi,
You need to reach different demographics through out the day/week and in order to do that you need to post your information more than once. Twitter is a fast moving tool and tweets get lost real easily, so there’s nothing wrong with reposting information. You just have to do it in such a way that isn’t spammy (by using the tips above) and making sure that you’re still engaging and retweeting in the process.
Thanks for the comment!
Well yes, definitely. We need to stay creative in tweeting the same information without look like spamming or something. Thanks a lot for sharing this!
Hi Andrew,
Being creative is certainly key. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Social media is important for advertising and getting traffic. Scheduling tweets is a good and effective idea.
Dude you have written it very well and the idea is also amazing i must say.thankyou too buddy.
Thanks for the comment!
Hey Morgan,
I heard someone, very successful on the web, recommend making 4-5 tweets in a row because that’s what worked for them. I tried that and it didn’t work for me, I’d rather space out my tweets as you suggest.
I guess the moral of the story is test and do what works for you and your suggestions are a great place to start.
Liz 🙂
Hi Liz,
You’re absolutely right! What may work for one person, may not work for everyone. 🙂 You gotta find your own way and usually that’s through using techniques that others have found successful and then tweaking it to fit your exact needs.
Thanks for the comment!
I love this article. I know that it will really help me i my website marketing on twitter.Thanks
I recently posted 5 Steps To Recruit The Best Employee
Hi Tijani,
Glad to hear it! Thank you for commenting!
I do post non-promotional tweets at least once daily to make sure that I don’t just promote my services and business in Twitter but I think I need to do more. As stated above., 5 would be a good start.
Thanks!
Never hurts to promote others a tad bit more than yourself. 🙂
Thanks for the comment and good luck!
Hey I use Tweet Old Post it is a great plugin really help me increase my traffic
Hi David,
Glad Tweet Old Post works for you! Thanks for the comment.
Hi Morgan,
This guest post is how I found your blog. Lots of good points here. About tweeting everything at once, definitely not a good thing. Always better to schedule if you need to tweet many posts. Just imagine a new tweep follows you and only follows you and a few others. If you send a burst of tweets, all they will see is those bursts. It can be overwhelming.
As for your suggestions, I follow them all.
Hi Brian,
Glad that this post brought you over to mine. 🙂
Yes, you’re right, you definitely don’t want to tweet too much at one time, which is where automation would come in handy.
Glad the suggestions work! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
This is such an important topic. Especially since it’s so easy to look like spam. This post is definitely going to be helpful to me and many other people. Thanks Morgan.
Hi Michelle,
Yes, you’re right, it can be super easy to look like spam these days, especially because the spammers seem to be getting more clever (at least some of them).
Glad this was helpful!
Thanks for the comment!
I agree with using “tweet scheduler”. The only way to get notable and be recognized is to consistently stay in front of your followers. Also, retweet your older tweets from time to time!
Thanks for the info!
Hey,
Yes, staying in front of your audience is quite important.
Thanks for the comment!
different wording is important when it comes to reposting a link.
tips are great though, spreading out tweets is a good point, having them at regular intervals
Hi Hampton,
Yes, different wording can definitely help! Thanks for the comment.
Nice article I use tweet old post and bufferapp to help spread out my tweets. Shame you can’t use bufferapp on G+ yet.
Hi Paul,
Both of those tools are fantastic! Thanks for the comment!
I’m a little late reading my messages, but I appreciate this. I love Twitter and any new tools and rules of usage are great.
You’re very welcome, Marcie. 🙂
Morgan, thanks a lot for these tips, I know they are useful.
My pleasure!
Thanks for the comment.
I have a client who actually thinks that everyone is reading all of her posts to Twitter. She does not want any repeated tweets.
Hi Latoya,
Yikes, that’s unfortunate! Try to show a test of how quickly tweets can go by on your own Twitter.
Thanks for the comment.
Hi Morgan,
Thanks for the tips about Twitter promotion. I have a question about retweeting old posts: I have a Tech Site, most of the articles are about latest mobiles and smartphones. Suppose if I retweet old posts, who will be interested in learning about an old mobile phone which was released 5-6 months ago. So I think retweeting old posts does not work for Tech Bloggers but scheduling tweets does work!
Hi Naser!
Sure, if retweeting really old posts doesn’t make sense for you, then don’t do it, definitely. 🙂 You can also choose which old posts you’d like to share, you don’t have to keep sharing ALL your posts. In fact, I’ll stop sharing old posts after a couple months after they’ve been RTed a lot. Because after that point, it may be irrelevant and it may just get annoying to see the same posts over and over again. It just depends on your personal preference.
Thanks for the comment!