Sunday, January 27, 2013

Ten Twitter Tips


Hey there,

Just wanted to share ten twitter tips. If you're familiar with Twitter, you'll probably recognize some common advice, as most of this is nothing new.

However, I wanted to share some that I thought were particularly crucial for artists and arts organizations who handled the basics, like setting up the account, and are taking baby steps forward. 

I actually listed them, but then looked for links to further elaborate on each.

Hope some of these help:
  1. If you are going to start a Tweet with a mention, make sure to put a period first if you want everyone to see it. Otherwise only people who are following you and the other person will see the "conversation". More on this at artsbizblog.
  2. Instagram photos are not previewed media in Twitter anymore. If you can, take the time to share it in Twitter, for those of your followers that aren't on and don't want to go to Instagram. More on this at CNN.
  3. Throw in a non-review quote every now and then. Inspirational or funny, broad or specific to your discipline (like from a notable artist in your field), you get the idea. Here are some quotes from the Marketing Mamma.
  4. The only person sync-ing to Facebook saves time for is you. Take the time to translate to Twitter, especially if you are mentioning artists or arts orgs on Twitter as well. Several more reasons at Leah Creates.
  5. Put in hashtag(s) and link first (if any), so you know how many characters you have left to work with. More about hashtags at Hubspot.com.
  6. Make sure you are monitoring Twitter during the weekend and/or any time you have events, not just during your office hours. Check out this post at Know Your Own Bone.
  7. If you're not using Twitter as a platform for your community to talk with you, then they will talk about you, for better or for worse. Read more about ignoring tweets at Young Entrepreneur.
  8. If you are tweeting for an organization, then make sure the organization is aware of pertinent communications, via the appropriate people (i.e. tweets from funders to the development team, local/regional arts agencies to the artistic and executive directors, partners to program managers, etc.). The social media manager needs to be integrated with and connected to everyone else at the organization. Check out this relevant post at social media today.
  9. Sharing is caring. Don't be afraid of retweeting other arts happenings in your area, especially if your space is dark between exhibits or shows.  People like when you use your platforms to be a resource for your community, and not just your own personal cheerleader. More on that at this Radian6 blog.
  10. Be yourself: an artist. Be creative and express yourself. :-)
Yeah, I figured that last one was self-explanatory.

Let me know what you think, if you have any questions, or other tips you'd add,

- JR

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