Social media marketing is part of our bread and butter at ENX2. For some clients, it is the bread, and for others, it is the butter. From all the time and work we’ve put into posting for a litany of our clients, we’ve learned a thing or two about how social media sites, such as Twitter, work.
Social platforms can all be very intimidating on their own, but once you get to know them, you see how similarly and naturally these sites work. The secret behind social media platforms like Twitter is that everything that has to do with success, is a two-way street.
The Two-Way Street of Twitter
What do I mean when I say Twitter and social media is a two-way street? I mean the same thing when people say conversation is a two-way street. If you’re trying to have a conversation with someone, do the two of you connect when only one of you dominates the conversation? Do you build any tangible relationships with someone you text all the time but who never replies? The answer is no, but so many people on social media publish tweets and posts as if this isn’t true.
Not everyone has a fandom or a built-in audience attached to them. You probably look at the accounts of major influencers and corporations, with thousands, maybe millions of followers, and think, “there’s no way they’re talking to anyone.”
That can be true in some instances when those accounts have a product or brand that creates need in itself. In all honesty, those accounts are rare and far between, but because of the nature of social media, you hear about them a lot.
More often than not though, those accounts gained the followers they have because they were not just tweeting random thoughts and marketing speak. They would respond to articles and retweet other people that interested them. The best way to connect with someone on Twitter is not by telling them about yourself or your company, it’s by showing them.
Show, don’t tell, is an old and classic adage for a reason. People know who you are and what you stand for by retweeting and commenting about your interests or company. Be like a person, not a machine.
Twitter is not just an art, it’s science. Literally.
When we say science, we mean computer science, so it’s math too. If you just tweet random stuff about yourself all day, you’ll never get any attention. Not only will people not care, the algorithm, or the mathematical science behind social media, won’t care about you either.
The big social media sites have a lot in common, especially with how they work behind the scenes. Their algorithms have things they want to see, things they want to connect to their users, to elevate and get people talking about. When they see engagement, the machines start going, the likes start pinging, and they get your post on people’s timelines. It’s more than just a clever thought.
How to take advantage of Twitter’s Algorithm
Activity is important on Twitter, posting constantly helps you find your way not only onto your followers’ timelines, but those of future followers. At the same time, activity means nothing if your posts have no media content and get no engagement.
Media content is self-explanatory, the Twitter algorithm likes seeing posts with pictures, GIFs, and videos as much we people do. Engagement is a harder nut to crack. Posting to the void does nothing, so here’s where the two-way street of social media becomes clear.
You need to spend time doing five things:
- Liking posts: Hitting that heart button on every tweet that makes you smirk or smile just a little bit.
- Retweet: Help get other people’s tweets out there. Alert your followers to something someone else said that you think is rad.
- Quote-tweet: Make a comment about something someone else said, while highlighting them at the same time.
- Reply: Respond to a tweet where anyone looking can see you and like your response.
- Following other people: You need to find tweets to do all the above. Find accounts with similar interests to yours and make friends.
Liking Posts
Go through accounts and topics that interest you, and like other people’s tweets. This is how you show people what you like, and what interests your account. If you like multiple of someone’s tweets, they may think to follow you. Liking tweets will also help Twitter’s algorithm find better suggestions for you to connect with.
Retweeting Those Tweets
You need to retweet and quote tweet people who say something that sparks conversation. Even if you only have a few followers, the person you’re retweeting gets notified. They’ll appreciate you helping with their own metrics. If you go a step further and quote-tweet, giving your agreeable opinion and adding attention to another tweet, odds are they’ll like whatever nice thing you said. When other accounts like your quote-tweet, it will appear on the timelines of their followers, your potential followers. You’ll see yourself getting more likes and retweets yourself. Do it enough, and do it respectfully, and you’ll see your own followers grow.
Reply, Have a Conversation
Better than any of that, you need to reply to tweets. Quote-tweeting someone will get you more recognition when they like or retweet you, but when you reply you join a thread. Quote-tweets are powerful, but they section off and away from everyone else talking about a popular tweet. When you join a thread, everyone who is looking at this tweet will scroll by your response. Even if they’re coming to respond or look at someone else, they scroll by you. Tweeting a good reply to a popular tweet can see a regular flow of likes by people coming in and out of the thread. If you reply to a popular enough tweet, you can see yourself garnering interaction for hours after the original tweet.
Follow Back!
But most importantly, you can only start doing any of these things if you follow people too. The algorithm only knows what to put on your timeline if you’re following people. The algorithm learns what you’re into and connects you to them by analyzing who you follow and like yourself. You can find popular comments to reply, quote-tweet, and retweet by following popular accounts and accounts with similar interests. Following other accounts, is very much the foundation of any good account.
Getting into Twitter
This is a look into the magic we try to do for our clients, and help our clients do for themselves. We’re constantly trying to learn more about social media algorithms so we can bend them to our success and yours.
There’s no one better out there to help you get your legal marketing account up to stuff on Twitter, Instagram, or anywhere else. When you come to ENX2 Marketing, you come to the right place.
