Blog Archives

The nine secrets behind irresistible tweets.

February 6 2013  |   Brett  |  Comment
Icon for Post #3317

According to Evergreen Search there are 9 specific characteristics behind great tweets. It’s a perfectly OK list but it neglects some proven, measured ways to gain more retweets (the proof that you are tweeting well).

1. Images. Attach interesting images whenever you can. Pictures still tell 1000 words.

2. Links. Tweets containing links are retweeted far more often than tweets containing no link. It makes sense – how interesting can one be in 140 characters? People who never tweet any links must be just talking about themselves, shooting the breeze or – mercy – sending inspirational quotes.

3. Opinion – strong, consistent, confronting – works.

Lots more advice about Twitter and tweeting on our site.

Tagged , ,

Makeover your Twitter page

October 17 2012  |   Brett  |  Comment
Icon for Post #3209

Some simple ways to take advantage of Twitter’s new display options care of Social Media Examiner.

Tagged , ,

Twitter responses matter so get thy tweet on.

June 13 2012  |   Brett  |  Comment
Icon for Post #2811
twitter example for government

If people Tweet to you...

If you would like to lead an army of Twitter followers (like those who follow @Hootville) you will need to do more than just tweet messages out. You will have to show that you really give a damn about communicating via Twitter by respond to incoming tweets. 

Of course this means you will have to monitor Twitter closely. Well you already check reception, the phone, emails and the mailbox so monitoring Twitter should not be a great burden. Should it? Imagine getting this tweet above. Best advice:

  • Respond and respond quickly, preferably via a direct message. Or…
  • Suggest immediately via twitter that the tweeter telephones you.

    ...you better tweet back. Quicksticks.

 

 

 

Do something – and do it fast. And if this seems new or strange, get used to it as more and more people will be tweeting you. There will be lots more advice like this as part of our upcoming Social Media Savvy 101 webinar.

Tagged ,

When to tweet?

May 27 2012  |   Brett  |  1 Comment
Icon for Post #2717
 
when to retweet

Take the weekends off.

You tweet hard for the money, no doubt hoping that your followers will recognise your genius and retweet you. Well genuises, you can take weekends off as it seems that retweeters have better things to do on Saturday and Sunday. At least this is what this chart from HubSpot reveals.

 

 

getting more retweets

Ask and thou shall retweet.

 

Humans are strange but utterly malleable. As this HubSpot graph to the left shows, ask followers to retweet your content and they will. Even the wording of how you ask effects the influence you wield. Who knew? You do. Exploit it.   

 

Tagged , ,

Get more retweets, more often

May 20 2012  |   Brett  |  Comment
Icon for Post #2641

If you are tweeting it’s natural that you want your content to be retweeted. (For newbies, “retweeting” is when a recipient of your message, forwards it to her followers.) 

Having your content exposed to more people is a key way to build your following. It’s a particularly honest way to build your following as only strangers who are impressed by your content will choose to follow you. Very meritocratic.

get more twitter followers

People love links.

So what content is most likely to be retweeted? Take a gander to the left at this graph from Hubspot.com which shows that tweeters who usually contain links in their tweets are the most retweeted.

This tallies with what we know about successful content – don’t talk about yourself, share something of value. Sometimes that value may be found courtesy of a link to your site but often it will be a link to a news site, a blog, a picture.

Note that neither inspirational quotes nor bitchy 140-character diatribes about conservative politicians fall into this category. Nor do “Good morning / good evening” tweets.

Tagged ,

How influential are you on Twitter?

March 21 2012  |   Brett  |  Comment
Icon for Post #2380

There are various ways to measure one’s worth as a Twitterer – the number of followers you have, the difference between the number of followers you have and the number that you follow and of course how often your tweets are retweeted. Hell – you may even analyse the value of the contents you disseminate.

social media training

Just 191,738 places to go...

One free, immediate way to measure and track your worth is at Retweet Rank which measures your retweets and ranks you accordingly. We mention this not because Retweet Rank ranks Hootville in the top 6% of tweeters globally but because…you know…we care about you. Deeply.    

 

Tagged , , , ,

copywriting, social media, eNewsletter and SEO webinars

October 4 2011  |   Brett  |  Comment
Icon for Post #1814

It’s official. The internet is for more than just online shopping and pornography. It’s also for training. For the first time we’re offering a smattering of our training via webinar for everyone, everywhere:

Copywriting Savvy 101: write copy worth reading. We ignore spelling and grammar to look at writing in the real world. Improve your releases, letters to editors, opinion pieces, appeal letters, CEO columns and more. How? Well how about getting to know your audiences first, developing a copywriting brief and getting those in charge to adhere to an editorial code of conduct? Plus we’ll work on quotes, headlines, captions and more. (New additional session) Thursday October 20 at 12.30am. Read more…

SEO Savvy 101: Help your website meet friends and influence people as it rises to the top of the Google heap. Nonprofit-related search terms are (relatively) uncompetitive – page one is there for the taking. Our achievable, inexpensive, minimally-nerdy ways to improve your search engine results can be actioned immediately. This is aimed at anyone wanting more from their website – marketers, fundraisers, volunteer co-ordinators and CEOs – not techie types. Thursday October 27, 10am to noon. Read more

Social Media Savvy 101: move from using social media to exploiting it. Learn to battle Facebook’s EdgeRank system and discover ways to build a cult-like Twitter following. Also: finding and deciding content, dealing with negative comments, when to post. We’ll look at nonprofits using social media to its best advantage and yes, we’ll overview Google+. Thursday December 1, 10am to noon. Read more…

eNewsletter / eMarketing Savvy 101: eNewsletters aren’t sexy but they reach more people, more reliably creating more response other options. Save thousands of dollars while reaching thousands of people. Agenda: moving from Outlook to a genuine eNewsletter system, creating and building databases, analysing statistics, finding the right content, trigger emails, tricks of the trade. Thursday December 8, 10am to 12.30pm. Read more…

Of course you can always commission a webinar or workshop for your group. Dozens do and and they’re all getting smarter than you courtesy of: Media Savvy 101, Marketing Savvy 101, Speak Savvy 101 and Online Savvy 101.

Webinars and workshops are backed with notes and follow-up coaching. Glowing testimonials, details and bookings at www.hootville/training or call Brett de Hoedt, Mayor of Hootville Communications 03 9017 1062.      

 

Tagged , , , , , ,

Use Google Analytics to track your social media

July 19 2011  |   Brett  |  1 Comment
Icon for Post #1652
Google Analytics dashboard

The truth, the whole truth and...

If you have a website you need to measure its performance. Duh.

Chances are you use Google Analytics, (left) which is free and effective though there is a delay in its results which can be frustrating if you want to know if the tweet you just sent out has lead to a spike in web traffic.

Anyhow now Google Analytics can also measure your social media stats as this article from the always helpful SocialMedia Examiner attests.

Mind you…just how many of us check our stats more than…quarterly? These are the sort of tough questions asked in Online Savvy 101.

Tagged , , ,

Get some RT amore

February 22 2011  |   Brett  |  Comment
Icon for Post #67

Want to start your own revolution with Twitter? Or maybe just feel that you’re doing more than sending 140 innocent characters into the wilderness never to return. You want your twitterings to catch on but how? Well some nerdy research type have been spending their time (and possibly tax payers’ money) to find out… Read More

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,