Using Twitter for Mutual Back-Scratching

As someone who had a Twitter account for months, and not really used it, I'm now realizing just how useful it is - especially if everyone plays the game.

The game? Mutual back-scratching. On Twitter there is something called retweet, or RT for short. This is just a simple thing of clicking on a link, which will pass on a tweet (posted item on Twitter) to the feed of everyone who follows you. Now, without sounding like a multi-level marketeer, there is huge potential to increase page views for your Associated Content work on Twitter. If you are followed by 30 people from Associated Content on Twitter, and they all have 100 followers, then if one of your AC pieces is retweeted by all 30 then that's a sizeable audience. It won't be 3,000 - because a posted item is only in a feed a short time for those with many followers, so many will miss seeing the RT. Some of the same people will also be receiving the same tweet several times over, of course. But if any of the non-AC people retweet, and any of their followers RT, too, you can see the potential. Trust me, you could have a million page views in a day in no time! I jest. But, you should be able to up your PVs by a few dozen a week easily if you post only several links a week to your work, and just a handful of people RT your material.

It's also important to actively build up your own list of followers. I have just under 1,400 Twitter followers at the time of writing, and I'll normally get between 20-30 PVs for every tweeted article I post - even if it's not retweeted. My poetry and art does less well. Photos and audio do slightly better. I thought maybe the time of day would make a difference, i.e. when America's waking up, but it does just seem to be down to what tickles people's fancy. I put up something about a Rubber Dodo Award on my website, and that got over 50 PVs in no time.

It's quite easy to build up followers, as you'll be unlucky if at least a third don't follow you back (celebrities will rarely do so!). You have a limit of being able to follow 2,001 people - unless you have over 2,001 followers (Twitter has this rule to stop spam). So, if you only get 500 followers on Twitter, then, as long as you've made sure that they have similar interests, you should get PVs for ever posted AC-related tweet - as long as you stagger your postings. If you post 50 AC-related tweets in an hour, people will mistake you for a spammer. This is also another reason for using RT - to promote other people's work as well as your own. It makes you look less of an egomaniac!

Make your Twitter page interesting and personal, write about things you do, what you like, and promote other websites you like. Don't forget the humor either. Making someone smile can encourage 'em to look at your pieces just as a thank you for brightening their day.

Anyway, here's the deal. I will RT a tweet for a tweet. Just leave a comment on here (with your Twitter page address), or message me on Twitter that you like the idea, and I will start to RT your tweets. I will start the ball rolling, so there's no pressure on anyone. If I don't RT for a day or two, then don't retweet any of my material. That's the fair way of doing things.

My Twitter page: http://twitter.com/paulrance59