Social media is growing rapidly and needs to be considered when you think about ways to get your name and your work out there.
Twitter is probably the most referred to in the social media tool kit, but is also one of the most misunderstood. Twitter is a powerful PR tool that anyone can gain access to but not everyone uses it effectively. If you use twitter strategically you can drive eyes to your work, which in turn, can help you reach new markets and even sales.
Twitter Do’s
Tweet about:
• Art and art sales
• Exhibits and workshops
• Upcoming events
• Site postings – Tweet a link to the new piece you just posted on AC
• Articles published about you and provide a link to the article
• Your other social media networking tools; links to LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, etc.
• Use hash tags (#) to give context to your tweets. This also allows others to jump into a conversation with you based on that topic. For example; I love #art.
• Tweet at least once a day if not more. Set aside an hour daily to work on your Tweets. Search Twitter for relevant news and find other tweeters you would like to follow.
• Tweet about newsworthy issues.
• Tweet smart messages, not useless information. You’ll gain more followers with smart tweets and lose followers when you post useless or improper tweets.
Twitter Don’ts
Don’t:
• “Flood” – Flooding is posting tweets back-to-back, in essence flooding your followers with too much at once.
• Be rude or use otherwise offensive language – your tweets are read by many more people then you even know and you want to make sure that everyone knows that you are a professional.
• Use a piece of your work or logo as your profile picture. It is called “social media” for a reason, people want to see who they are talking to.
• Use hash tags (#) on every word. Use them sparingly.
Getting Started on Twitter
To “tweet” you must first create a Twitter account.
To start, sign on at www.twitter.com
Click on Get Started/Join
Fill out your information
Full Name
User name
Password
Create an account.
Complete a few more parts of your account before you can start to “tweet”
Settings – include all the information you would like to have public, from design for your Twitter, to color. Using Devices in your Settings you can connect to your mobile phone, as well.
Profile – fill out all the information you would like to have public For example, Artistically Connected’s profile is:
Name - torontoartbiz
Real Name: Brittany O’Donnell
Web- http://www.artisticallyconnected.com
Bio- I’m a Canadian art consultant & lover. I founded Artistically Connected - online marketplace to buy & sell original art - & art contributor @ZouchMagazine
Once you’ve completed your Settings and Profile you are ready to “tweet”. Remember, tweets are limited to 140 characters or less. Messages have to be: to the point, quick, succinct, honest, and carry a web link when possible.
Post A Tweet
Click on the home tab on your homepage and start typing your message in the box just below "What are you doing?" If your tweet is over 140 characters you won’t be able to click Update. You simply have to shorten your message to be allowed to post it. If you have a link to share but it is too long. Go to www.tinyurl.com and enter your link. It will shorten it for you.
The Home Page
On your Twitter homepage you can also find hyperlinks with numbers of:
Following – allows you to see # of people you are following
Followers – allows you to see # of people following you
Updates– allows you to see a history of tweets you have posted
@torontoartbiz – allows you to see people who have re-tweeted your tweets
Direct Messages/DMs – allows you to see a history of direct messages you have sent. DMs are different from updates as they go directly to the person selected and can not be read or seen by others in your network. You can only DM those who also follow you.
Favorites – allows you to file away your favorite tweets
RT – Re-Tweeting someone else’s tweet.
Follow and be Followed
When you think of twitter, think of it as a networking event. All the people you want to connect with are here - when you follow them - and when they say something you can make an appropriate comment on, do it! Join in on the conversation. By doing this they will view your profile and click on your URL to see your work.
To find these people on Twitter, you can use the Find People tab on your Twitter home page. Select from few options:
• Find on Twitter: type in the name of a person you are searching for. If they have a Twitter handle, you’ll see their page and can click Follow directly under their name.
• Find on other networks: provides a search on Gmail, Yahoo, or AOL email.
• Invite by email: allows you to enter multiple email addresses and send an invite to your contacts to follow you on Twitter. Your contacts will receive an email that includes a link to your Twitter handle, allowing them to click Follow and start following your tweets.
• Suggested Users: Twitter offers you, based on your profile and settings, a list of users you may be interested in following.
Or you can use the Search tab at the bottom of your Home page to:
• type in keywords relevant to your target audience (artist, interior decorator, gallery, art magazines, homes stages, local news)
• use hash tags – insert # before your keyword (#art, #gallery, #followart, #artists, etc.) to find a grouping of people tweeting about the topics
From this you will get a list of results, review the list and select those that are relevant to you, or you would like to follow. Most people will follow you if you follow them.
Twitter sends out email notifications each time someone starts to Follow you or sends you a DM (direct message). Once you receive these email notifications, you can leverage them by viewing each one of the followers homepage to determine who they are by reading their profile and clicking on their link. See what they are tweeting about. Is it useful information? From this, decide from this if they would be a good person to follow. If you decide that they are, see who else follows them. You may find others that may be interesting to connect with.
It is important not to overwhelm yourself with Twitter and Twitter monitoring. Designate fifteen minutes - preferable in the morning - to post an update. Then monitor your Twitter account once in a while throughout the day and when applicable post a new update. At the end of the day, review all the tweets received, and select which ones you would like to reply to, or re-tweet.
Keep in mind, if you decide join Twitter, make sure you Tweet often enough to make it worthwhile. Its a work in progress work a little each day and don’t forget about it!
I look forward to hearing from you on twitter!
@torontoartbiz A.K.A Brittany O’Donnell
Related Articles
- Twitter guide for Newbies (tacito.com)
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