Susan Uhlig

Tweetdeck

When I started using Twitter, author Jenn Bailey taught me to use Tweetdeck. I don’t know why I stopped but recently I was reminded of its uses. One of my favorites is being able to schedule tweets. For some silly reason, I had totally forgotten this fact so was using my calendar to remind myself to tweet about things on a timely basis. Now I’m back to using Tweetdeck and scheduling those tweets. Ahh, the simplicity! (Tweetdeck automatically connects with Twitter. Here’s a tutorial on using the app.)

Hashtags

In a group Zoom discussion about Twitter, someone asked how to find active hashtags. Debbie Ridpath Ohi has a collection specifically created for writers here. There are two pages full. However, groups are added and groups change. I often use the simple method of typing a hashtag and seeing if something pops up. Some popular ones I see frequently are: #WritingCommunity, #amwriting, #writingtips, #writerslife, #amquerying and specifics to category and genre: #picturebook, #middlegrade, #YAFiction, #mystery, #scifi, #fantasy, etc. Upper and lowercase are not necessary, but often used for visual clarity. There are also ones related to events: #PBParty, #SCBWINY21, #Storystorm, #writingworkshop or pitch parties: #PBPitch, #pitmad, #RevPit. Here’s a list of 2021 pitch parties. (Need more info on hashtags? Check out this resource.)

Images

In a limited test, I noticed my posts with images got more traction (likes and retweets). The article on “17 Twitter Marketing Tips That Actually Work” agrees, and even mentions that emojis help. If you don’t have your own images, my favorite go-to site for free photos and illustrations is pixabay.

Analytics

Author Nancy Castaldo explained analytics to me. It’s how you can see what is happening with your tweets. On the menu on the left, click on More, then choose Analytics. Right now mine shows that in the last 28 days, my number of tweets is down 44%. I’ve had 635 visits to my profile—down 23%. Mentions are down 18%. However, followers have gone up by 10. And my top tweet earned 593 impressions. The top tweet with media (image) earned 231 impressions. So, what is an impression? How many times a tweet is seen. I’m sure these numbers are very low, but it is still interesting to see what is working.

You can also check an individual tweet. In the upper right corner of your tweet, click on the three dots, then chose View Tweet activity. You can then see impressions and engagements. Twitter explains right there on the pop-up window what each means. FYI, you can’t see analytics on someone else’s tweets.

Following Versus Followers

You want to have more followers that those you are following according to this article “How to Get Noticed on Twitter — 15 Tips for Writers.” So, I went looking for ways to cut down on who I was following. At first, I was manually looking at people’s profiles. I found some hadn’t tweeted for years! But what a time-consuming method. Internet to the rescue, there are programs that can suss out those people. The one I chose—easy to use and free—was UnTweeps. Here’s the site that introduced me to it. Am I there yet? Not quite, but it is more even than it was.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any tips to add, please feel free to share in the comments.