First off, did I ever mention that I’m one of 559 people Shaquille O’Neal is following on Twitter?
(There are 2,804,494 people following him).
Had to throw that out for my Arizona SEO friend!
Anyway…
I’ve heard quite a bit lately that…
Twitter just takes too much time…
or
I don’t ever really see much come from my Twitter efforts…
You ever thought or heard this?
Both are valid concerns, I guess.
Twitter does take time.
It can be hard to see immediate results from Twitter efforts (depending on how you define “results”).
However, I wanted to share a real-life success on how to get lots of buzz (and viral marketing – which means links and brand building) via Twitter.
How I Went Viral Via Twitter
(sounds kind of scandalous)
Step 1: Guest Post on a Credible Blog
Step 2: Send a Few DMs to Twitter Friends
Be careful with this suggestion. I recently read an interesting article about “how to piss off your Twitter followers” that said this:
Unless you’re trying to get more exposure for some noble charity or cause, asking people to RT your tweets just makes you look pathetic. Enough said on that front.
Step 3: Let Credible Twitter User Know About the Article
- Obviously the post has to be something half way decent if you expect any response.
- Obviously the post has to be something related to what the Twitter user Tweets about.
- Obviously, if you do this too often, you’ll be annoying and get un-followed!
Step 4: @CopyBlogger Re-Tweeted the Article
Thanks to @copyblogger (Brian Clark) for his willingness to pass on the article and link to his Twitter followers.
Step 5: The Viral Explosion Began!
I did a little “self-promo” initially but look at the effects @copybloggers RT had on the article distribution…
What this proved for me:
5 Simple Keys to Twitter Viral Success
- Don’t Spam all Your Twitter Friends asking for a RT.
- Source other valuable articles within your blog post. In other words, provide good content that is RT worthy.
- Don’t self-promote too much. I was on the phone yesterday with Dan Hollings (Why Follow @dhollings) who explained Twitter in one easy statement -”Twitter is like a “cocktail party” – you can’t just talk about yourself over and over again – you’ll lose people.”
- Become friends with Twitter folk who have good listeners. A big part of having good listeners is being actively involved. If you’re a “once-in-a-while” twitter user, chances are that not many people really listen to you at all. The easiest way to monitor “listenership” is found in the proof above. If one friend RTs your stuff and then hundreds of their friends RT it, you know the friend has good “listeners”. Once you’ve found a friend with good Twitter listeners, refer to Tip 1 of this simple checklist
. - Thank the hand that fed you. Even the big names in your industry appreciate a “Thanks.”
What success (or failure) have you had using Twitter to go Viral?
How can you now implement this without annoying people?
@billymitchell1
Nate, thanks for providing such common sense advice that a beginner or experienced user can benefit from.
Additional proof that your approach works is how I found this article. I am one of the 124,782 people that follow @askaaronlee and he just tweeted the link.
Between him, @copyblogger and shaq your words have been read around the world many times already.
But I have one question. Your bio mentions you’ve been a twitter user since 2007. Since you obviously know what you are doing, I assume you intentionally use a generic avatar. Why?
Anyway, thanks for the great advice and congratulations on the success you’ve already had demonstrating how well it works when put into practice.
@mollermarketing
Hey Billy,
Thanks for the comment! Not sure why my avatar isn’t showing up on this site. It you go to my twitter account, you’ll see my picture and all that.
Stay tune, I had pictures in this post too and need to email them to the right people.
Thanks again for the comment!
@Matt_Siltala
Thanks for the mention here Nate! It’s funny because only until I had Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals) answer me and talk back and forth with me on Twitter did I realize how cool it really is to have someone of that stature following you on Twitter. Still could care less about Shaq tho
hahahah
@mollermarketing
Matt,
Glad Larry is following you and you now understand how I feel.
Only reason you don’t care about Shaq is because he left your team for greener pastures
Thanks for all you’ve taught me about SEO and online marketing!
@Matt_Siltala
Nate, hahah I am GLAD hes gone! He did not do a single positive thing for us. Just slowed our style of play down. He’s a has been that should retire!
@mollermarketing
What’s funny is that “has been” is make $21M this year in Cleveland! I wish our industry paid “has beens” that kind of dough! LOL
@flashtweetapp
It is interesting to forget real world social rules when we are behind a screen. Great article.
shameless plug: For more social media news and twitter tips, check out our blog! http://flashtweet.com/blog/
@david_j_parsons
great tips. I agree with you fully on the guest posts, great tips. Thanks.
@sonicsista
great tips, thanks for sharing. I’m just starting out tweeting for my business and getting to know my way around the Twitterverse so this kind of information is really valuable! And some of it, of course, just plain common sense and good manners.
@krenee76
Thanks for sharing these tips – getting that type of exposure really does require a very delicate dance – it’s like walking on thin ice, one wrong move and crash! For me, guest posting on high traffic and credible sites, such as this one and then having it discovered by people with a great number of followers retweet it is what created my viral experience. I really try not to bother people about RTing things for me – I prefer that they do it on their own, without my pleading.
@ViralTweeterTV
You would be surprised at the amount of people that just rt your stuff because they saw it or thought it was of interest. SocialOomph and Hootsuite are good twitter tools to keep up with your retweets and then giving them an rt back if you feel they are worthy of one.
@lynsearthenergy
I like to read what you write and have learned from you one person I met on twitter is coming to may area in March and we are getting together isn’t that wonderful
Gust posting on a popular blog is definitely the best way to go viral on Twitter. Even getting your site mentioned on a big blog works as well
@Usarzewicz
Since I begun using tips from Twitip (at last!) I’m gaining followers, slowly but steady. It’s a reason good enough for me to use these fresh tips, too!
Very interesting. A good insight on using Twitter to expand your audience. Thanks for the information!
@Ileane
This is pretty cool. I’m really glad you stressed the point about DM’s. Some people send wasted DM’s like: Thank you for following, you can go to my website…
Trust me, if I’m following you, I’ve been to your website already. Now that I know you use those automated DM’s I might just unfollow you. LOL
Thanks for the tips.
how is the correct way to DM
@mollermarketing
@lleane – glad you liked the tips. I HATE automated DMs too. Thanks for the comment!
@seolinkbuildingservice – let me know how you implement the tips and how they help.
Building your community in twitter takes time, you have to figure out who you are on twitterland and find your forte so you can attract readers that enjoy reading and conversing with you.
I never realized we were supposed to actually talk to people on Twitter – am I odd ?
@daniel_su
Step 2 was something that I never thought of and I think it’s really a good method. But I agreed with what you said, asking people to RT looks pathetic sometimes.
The bottomline is providing valuable contents, socializing around and getting good listeners is the key to branding yourself.
These all tips which you can share is really interesting these is one of the popular way to go viral on twitter these all information which you can share is really great.