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.
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?