As we prepare to bid farewell to 2020, we figured it’s a good time to look at some of the latest features in Twitter. With many people taking the annual holidays to spend time with family and loved ones, it also made sense to keep the conversation light. That’s why we decided that our Christmas Eve chat will feature our beloved community. We fired off questions to our trusty folk, and they responded spectacularly. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: The #TwitterSmarter community!
Topic: What’s new in Twitter: video replies on mobile and Fleets
Format: Eight questions directed at our community. Everyone’s welcome to share.
The best thing about video replies is that it’s quick and comprehensive at the same time. As Alberto pointed out, even if you’re out and about, you can still share a personalized message with people you want to engage with.
A1
Quick, but deep, answers on the run. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/9S2d6J9QTO
— Alberto Gómez (@alberMoire) December 24, 2020
A long term proponent of video replies, Madalyn demonstrated how exactly a video reply looks like. It’s also an effective way to stand out from the rest of the crowd and helps your audience resonate with you.
A1: You can use video replies in a number of ways. Send a quick video to thank someone for sharing your content. Use them to ask or answer questions to keep the conversation going. It’s a great way to stand out! #TwitterSmarter
https://t.co/lUb2ZnEww7— Madalyn Sklar – Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) December 24, 2020
Chaim told us about how he uses video replies to share how-tos and answer questions from his audience. Video is an ideal medium to communicate guides and help-based content.
A1 I often record how-to #LinkedIn videos to answer questions folks send me #TwitterSmarter
— Chaim Shapiro? I'll Help You Maximize LinkedIn!? (@ChaimShapiro) December 24, 2020
Rachel from Express Writers mentioned the golden rule of video replies: don’t ramble on. Keep it short and to the point. This can be challenging, especially if you’re just starting out. To overcome that, though, you have to put yourself out there.
A2: When replying to tweets with a video, keep it short and sweet. It needs to be something that people can quickly watch and respond to. Don't ramble on for ages! #TwitterSmarter
— Express Writers | Your Content Writing Partner (@ExpWriters) December 24, 2020
John pointed out the importance of captioning your videos. A lot of people use social media in public places and don’t always have headphones. Captions and subtitles help everyone, including those hard of hearing, interact with your videos.
A2: CAPTION! Never post a video anywhere without a caption. Period. #TwitterSmarter
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) December 24, 2020
Jake spoke about practicing your videos. The more you practice speaking on camera, the more confident you’ll become and the less filler words you’ll use. Fluency increases your credibility and helps convey your message to a wider audience effectively. You can also practice making videos and not share them—it can be useful self-feedback.
A2: Practice to prevent "filler words."
Leave out words like um, errr, uh, hmmm, etc. A few make the response feel natural, but when the video reply is full of them, it feels distracting.
Remember, the video can be played over and over, so it amplifies it all!#TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/AUXGmnBv9Y
— JZ ? Jake Zachariah (@jzjakez) December 24, 2020
When you’re replying to someone, remember that you’re responding to an existing conversation, and not initiating one. This means, as Cindy mentioned, you shouldn’t go off topic.
A3: Don't go off topic if you're replying. #TwitterSmarter
— Cindy Peña (@cindympena) December 24, 2020
Mehul recommended being aware of your backgrounds. Bad lighting and too much external noise can impact your message negatively. Not only will your audience find it hard to understand you, but sloppy backgrounds also reduce your authority and credibility about the topic.
A3: Keep it to the point, don't use cuss words. No one has time for long videos. Avoid noisy/badly lit backgrounds if you can. #TwitterSmarter
— Mehul Gohil ? (@mehulgohil) December 24, 2020
Carla put it in a perfect nutshell: Fleets are Twitter’s response to Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories and LinkedIn Stories. It’s a short video message that’ll disappear in 24 hours.
A4: Fleets are Twitter stories. They are visible for only 24 hours just like SnapChat, IG stories, FB stories and LinkedIn Stories. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/OgNvoAPiv7
— Carlarjenkins (@carlarjenkins) December 24, 2020
Jim even created a video explaining how to use Fleets. Check it out.
A4. I did a video explaining fleets#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/EXzLPrHPNJ https://t.co/gr9ffea9MN
— Jim Fuhs #VidFest (@FuhsionMktg) December 24, 2020
We love live tweeting from events—it’s a great way to engage your audience. As Lindah pointed out, it’s also a good use case for Fleets. As she said, while a stream of tweets from an event can flood your audience’s feeds, a Fleet could be a snappier alternative.
A5
Businesses can use fleets to live tweet at events as well as share short videos. This ways you will not be overwhelming your followers feed/Timelines with so many tweets in the same event.#TwitterSmarter— #QueenLindah ??? (@LindahMbaisi) December 24, 2020
You can also use it for anything you’d usually tweet about—like product launches, reviews, behind the scenes, travel experiences, and unwrapping gifts even.
Consistency is crucial on Twitter. When you consistently share Fleets, your audience will become accustomed to checking your content regularly.
A6: Fleets Do's & Don'ts
☑️ DO share to Fleets consistently so people get used to checking in and seeing your posts. It makes a huge difference.
☑️ DON’T forget to share high-quality content that your target audience will be interested in to keep them engaged. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar – Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) December 24, 2020
However, as Madalyn mentioned, don’t skimp on the quality of your content. Just because Fleets are short-lived doesn’t mean you don’t have to put in effort.
If you haven’t tried Fleets yet, it’s the best time to do so. As Jake reminded us, it’s still relatively new and Twitter is observing how people use and engage with the feature.
A6: DO try it out. DON'T miss the opportunity.
The great thing about Fleets is that it's new, so the rules are… well, there are no rules!
Twitter is still evaluating how its users will engage with Fleets, so try everything and see what works! ? #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/OW68xsax4m
— JZ ? Jake Zachariah (@jzjakez) December 24, 2020
If you’ve already done Stories on Facebook and Instagram, you’ll find Fleets pretty much the same. As Madalyn said, because it’s still a new feature, you can use it the same way as Stories and can even cross-post content.
A7b: The main difference right now is there are no bells and whistles. Fleets is very basic. And that's okay with me!.#TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar – Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) December 24, 2020
The easiest way to incorporate Fleets into your strategy is to repurpose content from elsewhere.
A8: Easy. You can repurpose them across your other social media stories. I repurpose my IG stories' content onto Facebook and LinkedIn stories. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/E7pckKUw8P
— Carlarjenkins (@carlarjenkins) December 24, 2020
You’ve likely seen people on Instagram share their latest post in their Stories. You can do the same thing with Fleets. Share your best tweets in your Fleets and give it a more extended exposure.
A8: One great way to use Fleets is by sharing some of your best tweets to gain more exposure. Since tweets have such a short lifespan, this can help get them seen by more people in a 24 hour span. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/HsqgysP680
— Madalyn Sklar – Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) December 24, 2020
Well, folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks for reading through to the end. Check out this Twitter Moment that Joana put together. If you feel like taking some time off on New Year’s Eve, join us on #TwitterSmarter next Thursday (December 31, 2020) at 1pm ET. It’ll be a community chat and we’ll be discussing some more of the new features on Twitter. Hope to see you there!
But if not, Happy New Year from all of us at #TwitterSmarter. May your 2021 be better than… well, better.
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all the things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.
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