Summer Blogger Scene: Top Blog Twitter Tips

Until about six months ago, I was under the impression there were no bloggers in the DC area. Most of the blogs I followed were people in NYC, San Fran and oddly, Texas. And then I found CapFABB, followed closely by BloggerScene and my Feedly and inbox exploded with local reads and events. Following a really fun Spring BloggerScene,  last week I was a panelist for the Summer BloggerScene party at Lost Society hosted by the Fashionably Broke and Ashley in DC.

While you already know I work in nutrition,  you may not know part of what I do is in the social media sector. Which to anyone who knew me growing up, is hilarious, as I never had a personal Facebook page. But years later, I've given several presentations on Twitter and I also manage two large Twitter accounts for brands/associations. So the best thing I can contribute to a blogger group, is my behind the screen knowledge of Twitter optimization through the eyes of a brand.

 I've shared my full tips (and I didn't get to share all of them!) below some of the photos from the night. 

Joanna of Cline Rose and Lauren of DC Girl in Pearls are kindred spirits. I want Joanna's sense of interior design (that's her job!) and Lauren reads my mind for clothing staples. Also, give me a break here. It's summer in DC and hair gets big. 

The two other panelists of the evening were Mel and Liz. Mel is the photography expert and Liz spoke on life and blog balance. She's going to law school, with a job, and a blog. Mad props girl. 

So in love with my new clutch/strap bag from Lou Lou!  Also, white nail polish= faux tan appearance. 

Krista and Kristen from This Is Our Jam are hilarious. When they told me they wrote a music blog, I forewarned them I am the least trendy music person ever. EVER. And then when they echoed my love of James Taylor, the Beatles and Earth Wind and Fire, I wanted to high five them.

Okay, so let's talk Twitter.

Here are my top blogger tips for optimizing your Twitter experience! 

Best Twitter Tools 

• Manage Flitter: A twitter diet that allows you to remove inactive accounts/people who are not following you back.
• Hoot Suite/Tweet Deck: Schedule Tweets
• Mute.ly: Annoyed by a hashtag or a chat going on? Mute it temporarily.

The Happy Medium of Tweet Content

• 50% sharing other people's content. Find things relevant to your brand and share!
• 30% your expertise: People want to hear your opinion and gain knowledge about your specialty. Insert your thoughts and opinion into news.
• 10% personal: Share photos, behind the scenes, and random thoughts
• 10% self promotion: Listen, sometimes you need to toot your own horn or it won't be shared at all. Remind people of your services/products and where else they can find you

Tweeting Too Much or Not Enough

• Tweet at least 1x/day, 5x/week or be forgotten.
• If you're an avid tweeter (me), make sure you have the right balance of tweets so it's not all self promotion or all links.

Where do you find Twitter content?

• Smart Brief industry email updates 
• Magazines: Keep a pen nearby when you read to mark inspiration.
• News feed: Use Pocket (app) to save content to read later.
• Other blogs: huge duh. 
• Google alerts for certain phrases

How do you get people to follow you?

• Ask yourself “Would I follow this account?”.  Look at your 3 most recent tweets because that's what people see when they first click over.
• Be present, not inactive.
• Be valuable. Share things other people don't.
• Do your tweets make sense? If they are just hashtags and handles, I don't want you in my feed.  
• Do you have an obvious mission statement or heads up of what people can expect from you in your bio?
• Is your brand cohesive from your website to Twitter? Alter your background, banner and avatar to match. Even if your Twitter handle is different from your blog name, people will still know they found the right person. 

Any tips on connecting with brands and media?

• Make the first move and reach out to them first. LOTS of people follow an account, make us notice you by tweeting to us with interesting information.
• Include product handles whenever relevant
• Continue to cultivate a relationship by sharing their links or news and inserting your POV or expertise 
• Follow up with an email, mention you’ve connected several times on Twitter

 What are yor twitter tips? Did I miss you at the event? Introduce yourself!

photos