Have you ever looked at your Twitter feed and wondered what else you can do to make it work better? Even if you have an engaged community on Twitter, it can seem like there’s so much more you can do and get from the platform. So this week on the chat, we spoke to none other than Madalyn Sklar, our resident Twitter expert about being #TwitterSmarter. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Madalyn Sklar
Topic: Being #TwitterSmarter
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
Honestly, there isn’t one. When Twitter increased its character limits from 140 to 280, it received a lot of backlash. Now though, people are comfortable with 280 characters, and they don’t always use up all available characters.
A1b: I remember when Twitter changed from 140 to 280 characters. I wasn't too happy at first. I always felt what made Twitter, Twitter was the short 140-character tweets. I quickly saw that longer tweets were pretty cool. Most still do short tweets. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
However, there’s been some research into this, often looking at tweet lengths and corresponding engagement. The sweet spot seems to be between 71-100 characters. That’s a big margin. Madalyn’s advice is to experiment extensively and see what works for you and your audience. Ideal tweet length can vary based on the nature of the conversation and whether or not you use any media.
After all, as Melissa so nicely put it, what’s really ideal is using as many characters as you need to convey what you want to convey.
A1: Ideal is whatever gets your idea across in the minimum amount of words. #TwitterSmarter
— Melissa Chiou (@melissaC_says) January 19, 2023
Madalyn loves engaging with all of them because they’re all great ways to visually enhance your message. They’re also excellent for grabbing attention in a busy feed.
A2a: Personally, I love it all! Images, videos, and GIFs all perform well on Twitter. Adding some sort of visual interest is a great way to grab attention in a busy feed and get people to stop scrolling and connect with you. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
If she had to pick one, though, Madalyn would always choose custom GIFs. If you’ve been on the #TwitterSmarter chat, you’ll know that Madalyn and many of our regulars love using their own GIFs. These personalized GIFs also garner a lot of enthusiasm and engagement from others. It’s a great way to show your audience a side of you they’ll never see otherwise. Check out this chat summary from when #TwitterSmarter veteran, Christine Gritmon, joined us as a guest. She spoke about how brands can get the most out of custom GIFs.
A2c: Check out the #TwitterSmarter chat recap when the awesome @cgritmon was our guest and she shared her us the power of using custom GIFs on Twitter. https://t.co/IfXEkDDqUw
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
It’s also worth noting that even though a lot of people like engaging with visual media, some won’t—as George pointed out. There may be many reasons for this: If everyone’s sharing visual elements, it might clog up the feed and distract people, GIFs and videos might trigger or disturb people who are sensitive to movement-based visual stimulations, and visual media without explanatory alternative text might limit people who use screen readers from consuming content. This is why it’s essential to experiment with your content and understand what your audience wants.
A2: Nothing. I depend on the strength of my ideas. GIFs, emojis, videos are usually distracting. #TwitterSmarter
— George Silverman | The MindSkills Guy (@GeorgeSilverman) January 19, 2023
Madalyn likes that Twitter chats and Spaces make it easy to meet new people and expand her network.
A3a: What I love most about Twitter chats and Spaces is how easy it is to make new connections. They create a safe space for everyone to open up and share their opinions. Thanks to chats and Spaces, I’ve been able to network with people from around the globe. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
Not only has she been able to share her expertise through chats and Spaces, but she’s also learned a lot from the many people she meets and engages with on the platform.
A3c: Another great thing about using chats and Spaces is that you can learn something new. Everyone is sharing their thoughts, offering tips and tricks, and so much more. It doesn’t get better than that! #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
Check out this article on Madalyn’s website about how you can use chats to meet people and learn. If you’re keen to learn more about Spaces, have a look at this article about how Spaces can benefit your brand.
A3e: I'm a big believer in the power of Twitter Spaces. My article will show you 5 ways it can benefit your brand. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/zbELyRN8IL
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
Cindy‘s favorite aspect of chats and Spaces is that she gets to listen in on a broad range of topics that help her look at things in a new light.
A3. Too many things!
I like:
– Different topics that you can talk about
– Great way to engage with new people and your peers
– You get to read/listen to great feedback and it makes you think differently #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/1YL8orbquX
— Cindy Peña (@cindympena) January 19, 2023
Madalyn uses Lists to keep up with her favorite creators.
A4a: I love using Twitter Lists as a way to stay updated with some of my favorite creators so I can see what they’re talking about. This ensures I don’t miss out on any opportunities to engage with them. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
She also has a couple of helpful articles on her website. This one discusses how you can use Twitter Lists, and this one explains how you can create your first list, step-by-step. Check them out!
A4c: I also have a step-by-step guide on how to create Twitter lists. #TwitterSmarterhttps://t.co/IWxEEju3Rq
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
DiKayo told us about how she uses Lists to organize brands that she wants to contact for her podcast. That way, she can go through them one at a time, whenever she can.
A4: Mainly to keep track of companies I want to hit up for #DataFemme sponsorship. Often I don’t even reach out for a long time. I just save the profiles in a list so it’ll be easy for me to methodically go through when I’m ready. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/79ddxYqtxA
— DiKayo | dikayo.eth ♠️❤️♣️♦️ (@dikayodata) January 19, 2023
Matthew uses Lists to organize tweets about events and conferences that he’d like to attend or hear from.
A4. Lists are THE key organizational tool for me, especially around conferences and events. #twittersmarter
— Matthew Rehrl MD 🖋 (@MatthewRehrl) January 19, 2023
Subjective. If you find that you start a thread and have said everything you wanted to say in three tweets, stop at that. A thread becomes uninteresting when the tweeter starts to ramble. That said, if you need 15 tweets to illustrate your point clearly, then that’s what you should do. Have a look at Madalyn’s guide to Twitter threads to learn more about how you can use this feature effectively.
A5b: If you’re not using Twitter threads, learn all about them here. #TwitterSmarterhttps://t.co/5vLkciMxab
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
Carrie echoed Madalyn’s advice. She also told us about how some people tend to thread tweets within threads. This can quickly become confusing and turn off any readers. Try and keep things simple and straightforward. My personal favorite tip about threads is to number them as you go so that the reader has some continuity. Numbers are particularly helpful when people start replying to a single tweet in a thread.
A5: As many as it needs to be but succinct. I'm ok with the final tweet asking someone to retweet.
I've seen a trend where there are threads within threads within threads…ugh…it's too much.— Carrie Reagh (@carriereagh) January 20, 2023
We all come across tweets that we want to read later. Bookmarks are a great way to save these tweets, as Madalyn explained. It’s even handier if you subscribe to Twitter Blue, which lets you categorize your bookmarks into folders.
Check out Madalyn’s article to learn how you can use Bookmarks.
A6b: Because I'm a @TwitterBlue subscriber, a great feature is the ability to put your bookmark tweets into customized folders. I find it invaluable! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/fdP3EPmLgi
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
That said, our friends from GiveWP explained the real struggle of remembering to go back to those bookmarks. So many of us like the idea of returning to our bookmarks, but the truth is, we don’t always do. Besides, if you bookmark too many tweets, without Twitter Blue and folders, it can be hard to find what you need even if you do go back to your bookmarks.
A6: It saddens me to say that I bookmark things and rarely go back and look at them. Out of sight, out of mind.
Also, if you're not a Blue sub, then they are a nightmare. #TwitterSmarter
— GiveWP 💚 (@GiveWP) January 19, 2023
The most obvious way to monetize your Twitter account is to periodically share links to products or services that generate sales for you. Madalyn promotes her coaching and consulting services, and online courses, as well as her lead-generating marketing activities like her weekly Spaces, chats, and podcast.
A7b: I use Twitter to promote my paid services like coaching and consulting as well as my online courses. And also my lead magnets, podcast, rooms in Spaces, and other marketing strategies that help produce income for me. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
You can also use Twitter’s features like Super Follows to create subscription-based content and the Tip Jar where people can leave a tip for you.
Madalyn likes to try out new things regularly, and as a result, she uses a lot of tools. Her favorites include Agorapulse, SocialJukebox, Buffer, Brand24, and TweetDeck. Have a look at this article to learn about 9 great social media tools you can use to manage your business.
A8b: The tool I use the most on Twitter is @Agorapulse. It's a great time saver! I love using it for organizing and scheduling my evergreen tweets. Plus you can easily add team members and generate reports. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/KZmKKcmvDr
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
Madalyn loves Agorapulse because it saves her a lot of time. She uses it to schedule her evergreen tweets, collaborate with her team, and check her progress periodically. Learn more about Agorapulse here.
She uses Brand24 to keep an eye on any mentions of her brand or #TwitterSmarter, both on Twitter and on external media like other social channels, blogs, and podcasts. TweetDeck is also a brilliant Twitter tool that’s easy to use and free. Have a look at this summary of a #TwitterSmarter chat with our guest, Warwick Brown, where we discussed how to use TweetDeck effectively.
A8d: If you're not using TweetDeck, you are missing out. We recently had @warwickabrown here as a guest here on the #TwitterSmarter chat sharing loads of valuable insights. https://t.co/HLDWs5cvIe
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) January 19, 2023
Other tools our chat participants vouched for include, Ecamm Live, Canva, Hypefury, Easil, BlackMagic, and StreamYard. Go on, check ’em out!
Well folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks for reading through and for more great insights from our chat with Madalyn, have a look at this Twitter thread. If you like this summary, you’ll love the real-time chat. Join us next Thursday at 1 pm ET for #TwitterSmarter. We also have an after-chat on Twitter Spaces at 5 pm ET. See you there!
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all the things—marketing stuff to pay the bills; haiku and short stories so I feel wholesome. A social media enthusiast, I hang out with the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and am always happy to take on writing gigs.
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