HootSuite Twitter Application is a great resource for Associated Content writers, especially for those who prolifically post to blogs and various content sites. A friend recommended the HootSuite Twitter application to me by telling me about the ability to submit RSS feeds, thus saving time and energy better devoted to writing more content. Adding my Associated Content RSS feed made promotion a snap, considering that the autopost feature often does not work correctly for me. Other than RSS feeds posting to Twitter on autopilot, what else makes the HootSuite Twitter Application a must have for Associated Content writers?
HootSuite offers tracking tools
One of the best aspects the HootSuite Twitter Application is the ability to track links. Once a URL is tweeted from HootSuite, it is trackable and stats are available for viewing daily. This has been helpful to me personally because I want to know what type of topics are generating retweets and also which ones are getting clicks. This feature has also helped me tweak titles. While my Associated Content articles are SEO optimized for Google searchers, they may not have a catchy enough title for the Twitterverse . If I have previously written something related to a trending topic, I can easily tweet my Associated Content articles with a more Twitter-friendly title.
Retweeting is easier with the HootSuite Twitter Application
Using Twitter to retweet is cumbersome, but using HootSuite, which provides an easy to use button to retweet, makes retweeting tweets of fellow Associated Content writers an easy process. I have found that retweeting of others’ Associated Content article links usually leads to them to reciprocate by retweeting one of my Associated Content or other content site articles. The retweet button makes it easy to take the time to promote other writers.
Use HootSuite to add a column of favorites
When the list of fellow writers participating in Associated Content’s Twitter Contest became available, I eagerly followed them all. However, in the space of a week, I more than doubled my following. This made keeping track of favorite friends very hard to do using Twitter. HootSuite solved that problem with its ‘Add a Column’ feature. I am now able to keep up with close friends and other individuals that I wish to keep tabs on more easily. The ‘Add a Column’ feature is also helpful for following tweets with hash tags. If I want to see those tweets with the #bestofac hash tag, I need only add a column in HootSuite to do it for me. This ability, in my opinion, is one that makes the HootSuite Twitter application invaluable to Associated Content writers who typically have a large number of friends.
Interacting with friends helps avoid appearance of spam, Twitter bombing
Writers who use Twitter as a dumping ground for their Associated Content articles may find that the only followers they gain are spam or porn followers, soon to be purged when the folks at Twitter get around to cleaning house. Tweeting links of other Associated Content writers as well as links to other content that others might find interesting helps to avoid the appearance of spamming and helps break things up so that you are not Twitter bombing. The HootSuite Twitter application allows users to schedule tweets, and scheduling them will help decrease the chances that your tweets will show up as a Twitter bomb on your followers’ Twitter pages. No one likes a page hog and spreading out the tweets helps greatly with the annoyance factor. To promote approximately 20 articles of Halloween content, I made a conscious effort to tweet 5 of them per day so as not to clog up my followers’ pages. I also made an effort to retweet others’ work, other links I found interesting and also news sites’ links that were hot news topics that day. Tweeting only your own content lends an air of narcissism so it is best to appear well rounded and not just focused on promoting your own content.
Who Do I follow via the favorites column I created on HootSuite?
Not everyone in my favorites column is an Associated Content writer. In the past month, I have been following @ResourcefulMom, a mom blogger who hosts site warming parties. I have participated in several Twitter parties in which prizes could be won and have won two free coupons for food items. Long standing companies and start up sites recognize the value of micro-blogging as a tool to reach out to their audience. They know that using Twitter as a market research tool in today’s technology-based world is smart business sense.
I also follow @SwagBucks, a search engine that rewards users with digital dollars, to find out where the latest Swag Codes are to boost my Swag account. In the past year, I have redeemed for countless $5 Amazon.com gift codes based on my own searching, snagging of free Swag Codes and from referrals. Keeping up with the Swag Guy (TSG) literally means money in my pocket.
Associated Content writer friends that I follow closely are Nina Rotz (@writingdivas), Tamara L. Waters (@kamirusma), Lisa Mason (@lisaswrite), Jennifer Budd (@buddchick) and of course other news contributors such as Brad Sylvester (@Sly102), Jan Corn (@jcorn1), Ryan DeVault (@Ryanatac), Angie Mohr (@angiewritergirl) and Hartley Engel (@HartleyEngel).
Parting thoughts on my use of the HootSuite Twitter Application and Associated Content’s Twitter contest…
Associated Content’s Twitter contest was a great opportunity to force myself to take a long, hard look at just how I was using Twitter as a promotional tool. Becoming a more active member of the Twitterverse has shown me that followers come when you fully participate. I won’t say that I’ve seen a huge jump in views directly attributable to Twitter promotion techniques, but I would say that I feel that the connections that I have made and continue to make each day mean that I am reaching a broader audience. HootSuite’s Twitter Application has been a pivotal tool for me in helping me get the most out of my time promoting there. HootSuite’s organizational and tracking tools will help any writer better manage their promotional efforts on the popular micro-blogging site.
Follow me on Twitter: @PinchingAbe
