Here’s a recap of our fave tweets from this week’s informative and insightful chat. We’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to comment below and share your two cents on these questions.
Welcome! Our guest today is @kat_petropoulou. Topic: Building a More Engaged Community on Twitter #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/QpfgMXH9PQ
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
Q1: What kind of engagement does your brand get on Twitter? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/KUEhkprU9F
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A1 We get lots of mentions as we try to keep an open conversation with our users and reply to questions about the platform #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A1: We’ve noticed a boost in likes ever since Twitter made the switch from favorites. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A1: We're quite happy with retweets but getting more clicks can be a challenge. Which is something we are now focusing on #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A1: I get phenomenal engagement when I participate in Twitter chats. Helps my brand tremendously. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A1: Our customers are incredibly engaged on Twitter, and we love talking to them every day. #TwitterSmarter ~ARQ
— Applebee's (@Applebees) April 7, 2016
A1 – I tend to get engagement from music, food, social media, travel and nature related accounts. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/d7PLCTXxfb
— Joe Nielsen (@JoeNielsen10) April 7, 2016
A1: Our company's engagement is growing slowly. Our Employee Advocacy Program has really proven to help! #TwitterSmarter @MadalynSklar
— Kristina Kuska (@Knkuska) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A1: It all depends on what I tweet out and when. I’ve found chats to be extremely useful. in many ways. #TwitterSmarter
— John Birchfield (@jwbirchfield) April 7, 2016
A1: My brand is me … good engagement when I start the engagement. 🙂 #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/FZv5Zd6PtE
— Gary Karr (@garykarr) April 7, 2016
A1 Getting half a million + impression & lot of engagement on monthly basis #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/SLBYYvgSCo
— Varun Kumar (@varunkr842) April 7, 2016
A1: I host a monthly Twitter chat that helps us gain a lot of exposure/engagement. We usually meet future co-hosts on there! #TwitterSmarter
— Natasha West (@NatashaWest_) April 7, 2016
A1: We get great engagement during Twitter chats, including our own (#ContentWritingChat). It's the best way to connect! #TwitterSmarter
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 7, 2016
A1: We get HUGE website traffic from Twitter. Recently, we linked our Pinterest Account & have tripled RT's #TwitterSmarter
— Speaking in Hashtags (@RSASocialMedia) April 7, 2016
A1: The main thing is to consistently tweet and get in front of others. Listen and talk to people. Your engagement will jump #twittersmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
Q2: Do you tweet 24/7? 9-5pm? Every hour? What is your strategy for timing and frequency? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/zzxkUtiYuY
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A2: @thecounter we’ve been experimenting with different mixes of timing and frequency. Once an hour 24/7 works well for us. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A2: ATM we’re trying out 12 tweets/day over different timezones and so far the results are good #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A2: There’s no golden rule for timing and frequency. Test, measure, adjust to see what works for you #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A2 We're tweeting when people are paying attention, sometimes that is during working hours, other times around events. #twittersmarter
— Derek Pillie (@dpillie) April 7, 2016
A2: I set up news tweets from 8am-8pm, but then engage real-time therein. I don't post while I sleep. 🙂 #TwitterSmarter
— Rachel Moore (@Rachel_Really) April 7, 2016
I only tweet when I'm organically on the platform..absolutely ZERO scheduled nonsense at 3AM #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/xBvLJSCZY7
— Brett Pucino (@BPucino) April 7, 2016
I mostly tweet hourly to get a message out. In between that I engage with people by replying to tweets and retweeting. #TwitterSmarter
— Nene Odonkor (@neneodonkor) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar Q2: I keep a schedule set on @buffer to help reach users on different time zones, so a sweet spot between both.#TwitterSmarter
— Emily Ahlbum (@EmilyAhlbum) April 7, 2016
A2: I tweet all day and night. I find articles and schedule them out. I chat w/people. My strategy is to be everywhere! #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A2 – I tweet when I want to share information, or engage in topics which inspire me. #NoSetFormula #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/e09frnpsl0
— Joe Nielsen (@JoeNielsen10) April 7, 2016
A2. We do tweet 24/7. We also repeat tweets 12 hours later to hit users in other regions. It has worked well for us #twittersmarter
— Michael Altiero (@MichaelAltiero) April 7, 2016
A2: For brands, I experiment at various times to see when most people interact. Personally, I do it randomly. #TwitterSmarter
— Rahul (@SanelySocial) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A2: However, we'll ALSO aim to tweet when our audience is less busy on weekends + (occasionally) afterhours. #TwitterSmarter
— Wilde Agency (@Wilde_Agency) April 7, 2016
A2 Also, if you autotweet, you need to be around to engage with people who respond to it, so be around when you can. #TwitterSmarter
— WP Site Care (@wpsitecare) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A2. We stopped tweeting a lot when we realised that quality trumps quantity. Works for us. #TwitterSmarter
— Crowdfire (@Crowdfire) April 7, 2016
Q3: What are your favorite content curation tools? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/1MIpXDTq3D
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A3: I really love @Feedly for keeping all my favorite content sources organized. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A3: There’s a few more I find useful and covered in this post: https://t.co/iaCeFOZgEn #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A3: For my personal account, I’ve been experimenting with @quuu_co and @upflowapp and so far I quite like them! #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A3. My favourite is @feedly and then @klout and then @Pocket #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/226gEexGiX
— Vivek Nair (@vivektweetsso) April 7, 2016
A3: My fave content curation tools are @nuzzel @feedly and Juice from @paper_li. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A3 Twitter lists, Trello, Evernote all help me curate. #TwitterSmarter
— Mike Barzacchini (@MikeBarzacchini) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar Honestly? I visit @Mashable @TheNextWeb @socialmediaweek to read up on all things + curate tweet content. #TwitterSmarter
— Rachel Moore (@Rachel_Really) April 7, 2016
A3) @Feedly rocks! Constantly updating when I find awesome new content sources. @PostPlanner great when ur stuck for ideas #TwitterSmarter
— David Boutin (@dmboutin) April 7, 2016
A3: I have found @nuzzel to be the best for content curation. I'm surprised @twitter hasn't bought it. #twittersmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A3 @Nuzzel @Storify @klout @feedly – sometimes even @Pinterest has been effective – going to start with @buffer too #twittersmarter
— Jeff Dagley (@jdags) April 7, 2016
A3: @StumbleUpon, @Pocket and Twitter Lists #TwitterSmarter
— Speaking in Hashtags (@RSASocialMedia) April 7, 2016
A3) We don't post a lot of curated content, but @getupcontent has been pretty helpful to fill in the gaps. #twittersmarter
— Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) April 7, 2016
Q4: Do you experiment with your tweets to see what works best? Have you tried A/B testing? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/AnHqVrEbDS
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A4: @thecounter is a social statistics tool so measuring runs in our veins! We run A/B tests for our tweets often #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A4: Some of the things we test for: Headlines, visuals, hashtags and best time to tweet. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
I experiment with all of my content, not just tweets. A/B testing helps determine what content to boost. @MadalynSklar #TwitterSmarter
— Andrew Grojean (@andrewgrojean) April 7, 2016
A4: Absolutely. Doing research / A/B testing is necessary if you want to reach the right audience & see what works. #TwitterSmarter
— Natasha West (@NatashaWest_) April 7, 2016
A4. My tests revolve around image/ no image: important text in brackets: Tweet with questions etc #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/VQPalh2Y0E
— Vivek Nair (@vivektweetsso) April 7, 2016
A4: It's important to experiment with your social media posts to see what your audience is resonating with. #TwitterSmarter
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 7, 2016
A4 Always test Tweets – time of day, frequency. The constant is sharing customer-centric content #twittersmarter
— Toby Metcalf (@Toby_Metcalf) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A4: We generally experiment with reposting the same content with different text and/or images. #TwitterSmarter
— Wilde Agency (@Wilde_Agency) April 7, 2016
A4: Heck yes testing is fun! Amazing what difference timing, imagery and an emoji or two can make ??#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/K89Pv3OKPG
— Beth Tourek (@btourek) April 7, 2016
A4 Yes, A/B testing is beneficial for many things. It can give you valuable analytics to help optimize performance #twittersmarter
— Michael Altiero (@MichaelAltiero) April 7, 2016
A4) Absolutely. In my tweet analysis, I found that curated content largely gets ignored. Personal family stuff? Huge hit. #twittersmarter
— Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) April 7, 2016
A4: Testing time of day, frequency/repetition, offer, content length, images. Can't test enough. #LearningEveryDay #TwitterSmarter
— Mike Barzacchini (@MikeBarzacchini) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar We like to try new things and do them at different times of day, like polls and using trending hashtags. #TwitterSmarter. ~tm
— Corner Bakery Cafe (@CornerBakery) April 7, 2016
A4: I'm always experimenting with my tweets and my clients tweets. There is no ONE perfect way to do this. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
Q5: How do you bring value to your Twitter followers? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/jUiDeavrb1
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A5: Also, what's the psychology behind a RT? I’ve summarized some of what research suggests here: https://t.co/uGdDD5h7KE #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A5: Relevant content, compelling visuals, rewards and discounts can go a long way #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
#twittersmarter A5. Just try to deliver honest thoughts, interesting news and great conversation 😀
— Lex (@lexberju) April 7, 2016
A5 Listen first to their interests, connect them to content (ours or others) that matches up & promote what they're doing. #twittersmarter
— Derek Pillie (@dpillie) April 7, 2016
A5 Tweet content that is necessary, timely, informative and possibly with a touch of humor. #TwitterSmarter @MadalynSklar
— Nene Odonkor (@neneodonkor) April 7, 2016
A5 Being Relevant to your follower community, Be authentic, provide relevant info and feed the need #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/w9tsl6CbzE
— Varun Kumar (@varunkr842) April 7, 2016
A5 Researching & listening to them discuss topics of interest, pushing related content to them, asking for feedback #twittersmarter
— Jeff Dagley (@jdags) April 7, 2016
A5: I bring value to my Twitter followers by being present. I listen. I share good, quality info & resources. I help. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A5: People follow you for your opinion. Don't be shy with it! If you're sharing news, add your two cents. #TwitterSmarter
— Nicole E. Spears (@_NicoleESpears) April 7, 2016
Q5: Bring value by listening and promoting. Giving is the lesson of life + social. #twittersmarter
— Winnie Sun ☀️ (@SunGroupWP) April 7, 2016
A5: Anyone can share articles. I try to add unique perspectives to content I share (& ones shared by others). @MadalynSklar #TwitterSmarter
— Andrew Grojean (@andrewgrojean) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A5: By being genuine, honest & courteous to them. Talk like you'd talk like in real. #TwitterSmarter
— Mehul (@mehulgohil) April 7, 2016
A5b: Aim to solve their pain points with the updates you share. Help them out! That's value! #TwitterSmarter
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 7, 2016
A5 – You bring value by remaining consistent, reliable, informative and – wait for it – SOCIAL! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/BAC1I3IGWG
— Joe Nielsen (@JoeNielsen10) April 7, 2016
Q6: When it comes to content, do you prefer visuals, shorter tweets, hashtags, calls to action? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/RXymO8uj6N
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A6: I’d say all of the above. Visuals and shorter tweets for engagement, hashtags for amplification. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A6: It’s important to treat every single tweet as a micro campaign in itself. So CTAs are very important. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A6 I love all of them. I use each one that fits a particular situation #TwitterSmarter @MadalynSklar
— Nene Odonkor (@neneodonkor) April 7, 2016
A6: My preferences is in this order: shorter, hashtags, visuals. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/crdpEv0o4i
— Gary Karr (@garykarr) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar
A6 Infographics is the best as per our experience, in addition to related + live hashtags. #TwitterSmarter— مُحَمَّد الحُمّصِيّ (@MAHsocial) April 7, 2016
A6: There's no one size fits all! Mix and match based on what works, and what makes sense. #TwitterSmarter
— Berrak Sarikaya (@BerrakBiz) April 7, 2016
A6 I LOVE visuals. #s are helpful. Clear topic sentences make me happy! #TwitterSmarter @MadalynSklar https://t.co/95hGkorScS
— Donna Urso (@JustOneDonna) April 7, 2016
A6: Visuals definitely help your tweets stand out in a busy timeline. Just make sure they're eye-catching! #TwitterSmarter
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 7, 2016
A6 I use all of them, as per the requirement. They all makes #Content interactive & discover-able #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/4AG8XFl3mK
— Varun Kumar (@varunkr842) April 7, 2016
A6: It's really important to have visuals. Studies show you get more engagement. It works for me. See what works for you. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar We cannot agree more with this sentiment! Visuals are essential on social media. #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/DrZXctATk2
— Wilde Agency (@Wilde_Agency) April 7, 2016
A6: Am getting good results with hashtags and shorter copy. Want to expand use of visuals and CTAs. #TwitterSmarter
— Mike Barzacchini (@MikeBarzacchini) April 7, 2016
A6: Including CTAs really increases engagement and, more importantly, conversion. #TwitterSmarter
— Andrew Grojean (@andrewgrojean) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar I prefer visuals, gifs or memes always get my attention. #TwitterSmarter
— Ian Patrick Harris (@IanPHarris) April 7, 2016
A6: I LOVE visuals, hashtags and calls to action! These help encourage engagement too! #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/pY5VB7SUgz
— Kristina Kuska (@Knkuska) April 7, 2016
If you want a Call-To-Action use Twitter cards. They're free but hidden in the Twitter ads platform. https://t.co/psyk2QM29Q #twittersmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
Q7: How often do you interact with your followers each day, asking questions & replying to comments? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/vgrWdwX1rd
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A7: I try to spread this throughout the day. It’s definitely the first thing I do once I get in the office. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A7: And of course, replying to comments very often extends beyond office hours. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A7 – I interact with my followers every single day! Nurture those supportive relationships daily! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/MumtMeebYE
— Joe Nielsen (@JoeNielsen10) April 7, 2016
A7 Every day, every mention. Every single one. At least a like. Don't be that person who ignores a new connection. #TwitterSmarter
— Rachel Moore (@Rachel_Really) April 7, 2016
#TwitterSmarter A7 Following up on questions is critical. Nobody wants to be ignored. Which reminds me….
— Jeavonna (@jchapstk) April 7, 2016
A7: Daily! It's important to be present on Twitter. Don't schedule your updates and forget it. Take time to tune in. #TwitterSmarter
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 7, 2016
A7: All day, every day. Well, I do sleep sometimes. But we make sure every mention gets an authentic interaction. #TwitterSmarter
— Berrak Sarikaya (@BerrakBiz) April 7, 2016
A7: I check my Mentions multiple times a day. If you tweet me, I'll respond with a tweet, heart or RT. I'm social! #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A7) Tweetdeck is ALWAYS up. Try to stay in real time as much as possible #TwitterSmarter
— David Boutin (@dmboutin) April 7, 2016
A7: I try to react throughout the day, as quickly as possible. Mobile app + Twitter helps make this possible. #TwitterSmarter
— Mike Barzacchini (@MikeBarzacchini) April 7, 2016
A7: All day, every day including weekends/holidays! Engagement never sleeps!! #TwitterSmarter
— Jennifer Bulandr (@JenniferBulandr) April 7, 2016
A7: If you want better engagement and better connections, talk to people. Interact at least once a day. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A7: every day it's the most important part of Twitter -the conversation #TwitterSmarter
— Nisha Varghese (@Nisha360) April 7, 2016
.@MadalynSklar A7 I respond to everyone – people want to be heard, acknowledged and understood. Don't ignore them. #TwitterSmarter
— Filip Novak (@Filip_Novak) April 7, 2016
A7 As much as possible! Working on interacting with different ones each day. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/BkS8VjuRpG
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) April 7, 2016
Q8. What types of tweets/content has the highest impact when it comes to engagement? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/Ey3XLi3jw1
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
A8: For brands promotions work as long as you don’t overdo it. Twitter polls are also a great way to engage your audience. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A8: And of course rich media like GIFs and video definitely have a good impact on engagement. #TwitterSmarter
— Katerina Petropoulou (@kat_petropoulou) April 7, 2016
A8 – Those which are relevant and consistent with your brand. Also, trending topics help, too. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/F3meOTuK2L
— Joe Nielsen (@JoeNielsen10) April 7, 2016
A8 Content that provokes a very high emotional reaction. #TwitterSmarter
— Nene Odonkor (@neneodonkor) April 7, 2016
A8) Anything that connects on real personal level; documenting my family's life in the biz working together = big hit on FB. #twittersmarter
— Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A8: Tweets that contain the right amount of visual and written content in which users engage with. #TwitterSmarter
— John Birchfield (@jwbirchfield) April 7, 2016
A8 Content that is geared toward your target audience. Know who you are trying to reach before sharing #twittersmarter
— Michael Altiero (@MichaelAltiero) April 7, 2016
#TwitterSmarter A8 Tweets with photos get the most engagement. Retweets of others' photos is a close second.
— Jeavonna (@jchapstk) April 7, 2016
A8 When you tag someone & ask them a question or opinion about a relevant topic – adding humor can be a boost #twittersmarter
— Jeff Dagley (@jdags) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A8: This all comes back to visuals. A good visual paired with the right text will zoom through Twitter FAST. #TwitterSmarter
— Wilde Agency (@Wilde_Agency) April 7, 2016
Q8: Visuals with a good call to action have the best impact for us! #TwitterCards can help with this! #TwitterSmarter
— Kristina Kuska (@Knkuska) April 7, 2016
A8. Ones with visuals and a hashtag to connect with community #TwitterSmarter
— Smooth. (@thesmoothfactor) April 7, 2016
A8: understanding who your audience is and listening will lead you to the relevant content #TwitterSmarter
— Husamettin Erciyes (@husamerciyes) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A8: It varies, but have had surprisingly huge response to direct replies to someone with big/engaged following #TwitterSmarter
— Bruce Mirken (@BruceMirken) April 7, 2016
@MadalynSklar A8: While tweets on "now" moments won't have much of a shelf life, they will pay off with BIG engagement. #TwitterSmarter
— Wilde Agency (@Wilde_Agency) April 7, 2016
A8: Tweets that share quality content or get your audience involved. Ask questions to encourage a response! #TwitterSmarter
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 7, 2016
Take my quick poll: What is the best benefit to participating in Twitter chats? #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
Thank you to my #TwitterSmarter peeps for a great hour of sharing. #YouRock! pic.twitter.com/KmwhapN5ik
— Madalyn Sklar (@MadalynSklar) April 7, 2016
For more tips, advice and resources to help you master Twitter and grow your business be sure to follow me at @MadalynSklar. I’m also available for one-on-one and group coaching and consulting. Get details here.
Be sure to join us every Thursday on Twitter at 1pm ET at hashtag #TwitterSmarter.