This is the third and final part of the series. You can catch up with A Gourmantic Affair with Twitter – Part 1: Seduction and A Gourmantic Affair with Twitter – Part 2: Relations.
Separated by the safety of an LCD screen, Twitter and I sat across from one another. Over a piping hot coffee, I mused,
“I don’t like you and you don’t seem to like me. We either call it quits or we make it work. Preferably my way.” (92 characters)
And so we argued, sulked and eventually reached a compromise. Here is what I have learnt and what has been working for me since the day Twitter and I came to a mutual understanding and called it a truce.
Five Lessons I Learnt from Twitter
1. Your followers are following your tweets and NOT your website
The primary goal of using Twitter was to promote Gourmantic yet the results left me unsatisfied. Then I learnt a very tough lesson: The majority of your followers aren’t interested in your website. Most follow without even a visit. Therefore if you use Twitter as a one way tool to promote your blog, it will always yield poor results. Experience has shown me that the rate of click-through from Twitter is poor compared to leaving quality comments on other blogs. I had to face this reality and change my way of thinking.
2. Tweet within your interests
Twitter can be an effective personal PR campaign and like a business, I learnt to provide interesting and informational tweets that relate to my niche market and audience. I talk about things that interests me. I often tweet links to good articles about food and travel that I bookmark for my future use. These are what I like to share with others. Applying the 80-20 rule of 80% useful content and 20% self promotion was a workable compromise.
3. Give your personality to your tweets
Twitter made me feel I was compromising some of my personal traits so I can join the cool kids. While I am not comfortable tweeting my whereabouts or activities until after the event, I now aim to inject a little of my personality into my tweets so that they have my voice which makes it more natural to me.
I have recently changed my Twitter name from the website’s name to Ms Gourmantic, to give an indication that I was human, female, and not just a website logo. It is a small compromise but one that allows me to remain anonymous for the time being.
4. Build relationships with the people whose content you like and to which you relate
Using Tweetdeck has simplified keeping up with others and building relationships instead of relying on tweets pouring in. I have become more active in promoting others’ blogs and retweeting posts that leave a lasting impression on me. I engage others by replying to a tweet that piques my interest. I learnt not to think about it too much and act based upon my initial reaction.
I apply the usual courtesies I extend people in life. I always thank those who mention, retweet or recommend me. I give a little public thank you when due, something I am known to do naturally either at work or in a social environment. I maintain my true nature and apply it to the medium.
5. Set a time limit on Twitter and stick to it
My prime directive will always be to write ahead of any time I spend on Twitter. By setting a maximum of half an hour per weekday, I can juggle both without compromising too much or feeling guilty. I have stopped studying behaviours and tweets. I no longer waste time on Twitter and end up feeling overwhelmed. I finally get to use the medium, and I do it my way.
The Future of Twitter
Twitter and I have come a long way since our early spats. Once I applied the lessons I’ve learnt, I started to look forward to my allocated tweet time and enjoy the connections I make with people. But what about the ROI? Has Twitter brought a significant number readers to Gourmantic? Sadly, no. But as a brand name, it has reached a wider audience which one day may decide to pay me a visit here.
For the moment, Twitter and I will remain lovers at large, drawn together in heights of passion then mutually respecting some private personal time.
At least we have become an item.
Ms Gourmantic
Tweets by Gourmantic
[…] Next: A Gourmantic Affair with Twitter – Part 2: Relations and A Gourmantic Affair with Twitter – Part 3: Compromise. […]
What a great three-part post! Thanks for the shoutout there and I think your ground rules that you established are great! Looking forward to tweeting with you AND keeping up with your blog!
Mardi: Thank you for your kind comment. My ground rules are working well for now and it pleases me that I have finally found a way to make Twitter enjoyable.
As do I! 🙂
Ok, this post totally cracked me up. I had similar issues with Twitter in the beginning and was forced into some of the same conclusions. Our relationship is okay at best, but like you, I am working on tweeting within my comfort levels -and Tweetdeck and a time limit are essential for me too!
Shannon: Your comment makes me feel better that I’m not the only one who struggled with it initially. The comfort level you mention is crucial to my enjoyment. I can understand how people get addicted and luckily, I have escaped.
Tweetdeck is my favourite out of other tools, be it on the laptop or the iPhone. Such a time saver!
Great post. Tweetdeck is a must I agree. Twitter takes a lot of work and now that we are on the road full time, we don’t have the time to dedicate to it. We have fallen out of the loop a bit even if we try to tweet posts. It is because of what you said about giving tweets a personality. When we were at home, we could tweet with personality and build relationships, now we are tweeting quickly and without personality and noticing a drop. Twitter is fabulous, but man, it is time consuming. Super advice!
Dave and Deb: I couldn’t imagine tweeting to the same extent while travelling. During my last trip, I tweeted updates and highlights of the holiday, and I found even that was a little time consuming. I don’t know how you two manage it!
Insightful series, I enjoyed it very much. I do find Twitter a good source of traffic however, but I think it takes a few good tweets before people come check out your profile or the links you’re posting. Timing tweets for particular times of the day is also a good way to make the most out of each tweet.
Anil: Thank you for the kind comment 🙂 I am yet to sing the praises of Twitter as traffic generator. The odd post might get visibility and hence I get more followers but to garner regular readership from Twitter, that has not been my experience.
I agree on the timing of the tweets. However, it’s difficult to coordinate when readership/followers are scattered around different time zones and one has other commitments. It would be worthwhile if Twitter provided the functionality to set a time or two for certain tweets.
Thought provoking series. Can’t help but sense a little disappointment from it. A lot of effort for little gain?
Chris: As I was explaining to a friend recently, it takes a lot of effort on Twitter to get one post noticed then you start all over again. No guarantees, of course. But you have to look at it as a marketing and networking tool and decide if you want to invest the time.
This sums up a lot of what I have found – that the conversion rate isn’t proportional to the effort expended. It almost seems like there is an active reluctance amongst tweet followers to follow links… even if it’s just to an image on Flickr. I can’t help but wonder if they see it in reverse to me – that looking at web content, images or blogs only subtracts from valuable tweet time. I much enjoyed your ‘Trilogy of Twitter Terror’. 😉
Dave: That’s a good point about seeing it in reverse. I too wonder how many people retweet without even checking an article or a link or a photo. Maybe it’s the aspect of garnering 1000s of followers on Twitter, who knows. I’m not one who gets to play the popularity numbers game.
I like your ‘Trilogy of Twitter Terror’ title much better than mine. If only this weren’t a comment, I’d retweet it! 😉 j/k
[…] platform has become a personal PR tool that no self-respecting blogger can ignore. Not even me. We use it to communicate, network with others, exchange information and give our blog posts the […]
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