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"Ten Tips for Twitter" early access.
🕑 Added 2021-04-28 21:24:25 +0000 UTC[I haven't edited the video yet, so here's the script and audio for Patrons!]
SCRIPT:
HOW TO USE TWITTER
Last week I made a video explaining why Twitter sucks ass. At the end of the video I was somewhat at a loss for what to do about this, and while some people suggested other solutions like Mastodon and decentralized social media, those don't solve the issue now. So, in this era of Twitter, what do we do?
Well, I've done some research into Twitter's workings and I'd like to offer a guide. I won't call these "hacks" because "hacking Twitter" means something different, so here are some Twitter Tips. These are especially useful for creatives.
#1: Play the Game
Before I get into anything specific, I just want to say. If you're using Twitter for self-promotion, branding, or just to get your art into the world, I think that's wonderful, but the most rewarding way to use twitter is as intended, as a social media platform first and foremost.
I see a lot of people who get on twitter and aggressively promote their own stuff without interacting with others. Reply to creatives you like, look at your replies, and talk to people. Act like everyone there is a potential new friend. This is how I've made many friends the site over and opened myself for many networking opportunities.
I've seen the term "clout-chaser" thrown about a lot, but don't worry. Unless you're exploiting people, it's not "chasing clout," it's just... Making friends. You know. That thing people have been doing for tens of thousands of years.
#2: Tweet and Reply
I mentioned in the last video that the timeline is a strange beast. For your tweets to be seen by followers, you should tweet frequently. A good habit is to just... Kind of tweet anything that pops into your fucking head. You don't really need a filter. The best thing you can get on your tweets isn't likes or retweets, but replies. Replies represent people willing to engage with your tweets on a level above just pushing a button to like or boost it.
Also get in the habit of replying to others. Replies get sent to the mentions tab of whoever you're replying to, so they'll usually see it. Just talk to people.
If you're not the type who tweets often, then it might be a good idea to encourage people to turn on notifications for you. This especially goes for people with separate art accounts.
#3: Retweets vs Reposts
On Tumblr, it used to be that posts would be circulated for months, sometimes years. The Tumblr account Heritageposts finds such blogs and boost ancient content. Tumblr's economy of posts is VERY different to Twitter. Where it's common on tumblr to see years-old posts, on Twitter, it's rare to see posts that are more than a few days old. Tumblr also circulates posts from deactivated blogs, which isn't the case for Twitter, which deletes posts from old accounts.
I'm not sure whether this is due to Twitter's back end, in other words, Twitter actively suppressing old posts, or because users on Twitter get bored more quickly, but it's the case. This also goes for Retweets.
To summarize: Tweets that are more than a few days old do not get circulated. Period. Therefore, if you've made a funny meme or video or just a very good post, it's wise to delete them and re-post rather than retweet if you'd like to boost viewership.
Let's say I've got a funny picture of Tom Scott I edited with the Jerma face and engagement has died down, but since posting it I've gotten some new followers. Instead of Retweeting the old post, which will be suppressed, post it anew, wholesale. This also gives you a chance to re-caption it.
The reposted work might get less engagement since people have already seen it, but it doesn't matter.
You might be worried that people would get annoyed at these reposts, but I really wouldn't worry about it. No one cares if you repost a funny meme or two, and they might appreciate seeing it again.
#4: Searching and Archiving
Another field that Tumblr has a leg up on Twitter for is archiving. Twitter has no archive whatsoever, so unless you want to scroll for days, make sure to keep this tip in mind.
The Twitter search feature is very useful if you know how to use it. If you remember a phrase you used in an old post, a good way to find it again is to search the phrase, then type (from:[youraccount]). That way, twitter will limit your search to YOUR account. This can also be done for other accounts.
It's not ideal, but another way to archive it is to use a notepad document to keep posts you put a lot of effort into or add some kind of tell-tale phrase to posts you put effort into.
#5: Photo Power
This one is simple. Text-posts get less engagement than posts with photos. Again- Not sure if this is due to user habit or Twitter's backend, but there you go. Even if it's just a watermarked stock photo, people will like it.
#6: Videos
Videos on Twitter are also useful for engagement. If you have a YouTube channel or a video-based project, making previews compatible with Twitter is a good idea. Twitter allows 2:20 which is considerable for the site. It's also recommended that if you have a music project to post videos, even if it's just a waveform.
A good tool that's free to make quick Twitter-compliant previews of your music is Avee player.
Since Twitter mutes videos by default, make sure to include "Turn on Sound" in the video itself at the beginning or in the post. Encouraging retweets is also acceptable.
#7: Copyright Scrubbing
If you make a meme that uses a copyrighted song or footage from a film, make sure to delete it after a week or two. Twitter copyright is incredibly strict and people get suspended for just one infraction, sometimes from videos that are years old. Don't keep them around. They'll stop getting engagement after a few weeks anyway. This goes double for fancams.
#8: Diversify
Your presence should not be exclusive to Twitter. Facebook groups, YouTube channels, Discord servers, and even Tumblr are better and less volatile platforms to operate on. Many, MANY people have been banned from Twitter for small infractions. Twitter should be considered a very bad platform for retention and hosting. Don't use Twitter links to host images. Don't use Twitter to build engagement.
If you do get suspended, you'll have to start your following from scratch, which is very difficult without other mechanisms.
#9: Self-Promotion
Twitter is a terrible platform for self-promotion. Unfortunately, it is one of the largest platforms FOR self-promotion.
The reasons for this are myriad, but the main reason is that Twitter suppresses links. Again, I can't confirm if this is back-end or user preference, but tweets with links always get less engagement. I've run some tests, and for me at least, identical tweets with links get only HALF the views than the ones without.
This means that links to other platforms like Youtube and Deviantart will ALWAYS be suppressed. What this means is you'll have to lean on other things such as branding. Using graphics that have the name of your page in them helps, mentioning your pages without linking them helps, and if you make a promo video for a Youtube vid, post the link in the replies so the original post won't get suppressed.
That said, very few people actually CLICK the links. Twitter wants desperately to keep you ON Twitter. This means that you have to play the long game. Build recognition and you'll catch some people.
Again, don't be afraid to repost either if it's been a while since you've promoted something.
Twitter might suck, but it's better than other sites like Reddit, which have explicit anti-self-promotion rules for some reason. That travesty is a topic for another time.
#10: Turn off Push Notifications
There is nothing that Twitter notifications can give you. I'm serious. Turn them off. If you turn them off, the notifications in-app still appear. Push notifications just distract you and try to drag you back onto the site.
This isn't conspiratorial or anything, but Twitter is trying to get you addicted. Resisting this is vital. Consider using Twitter on Desktop instead of the app and don't turn on push notifications to open yourself up to distractions.
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And that's it. Ten tips to improve your Twitter experience, whether as a creative or not. I hope these helped, they helped ME and I had to figure them out the hard way.
If you have any tips, post them in the comments and I might make a follow up video.
I'd like to thank this month's patrons.
Today's anti-sponsor is Raid Shadow Legends. I tried the game and it blows. It's garbage. It's worse than Clash of Clans. It's so riddled with loot boxes and microtransactions, all to prop up the abysmal gameplay. No shade to any channel who DOES promote this game, as YouTubers need to eat, but I'm not promoted by them so I don't have to suck their dicks. If you want to put yourself in a skinner box that will exploit you play Overwatch. Then at least your shitty game has a community around it.
See you next time.
