How to Get a Viral Buzz on Twitter
First off, did I ever mention that I’m one of 559 people Shaquille O’Neal is following on Twitter?
(There are 2,804,494 people following him).
Had to throw that out for my Arizona SEO friend!
Anyway…
I’ve heard quite a bit lately that…
Twitter just takes too much time…
or
I don’t ever really see much come from my Twitter efforts…
You ever thought or heard this?
Both are valid concerns, I guess.
Twitter does take time.
It can be hard to see immediate results from Twitter efforts (depending on how you define “results”).
However, I wanted to share a real-life success on how to get lots of buzz (and viral marketing – which means links and brand building) via Twitter.
How I Went Viral Via Twitter
(sounds kind of scandalous)
Step 1: Guest Post on a Credible Blog
Step 2: Send a Few DMs to Twitter Friends
Be careful with this suggestion. I recently read an interesting article about “how to piss off your Twitter followers” that said this:
Unless you’re trying to get more exposure for some noble charity or cause, asking people to RT your tweets just makes you look pathetic. Enough said on that front.
Step 3: Let Credible Twitter User Know About the Article
- Obviously the post has to be something half way decent if you expect any response.
- Obviously the post has to be something related to what the Twitter user Tweets about.
- Obviously, if you do this too often, you’ll be annoying and get un-followed!
Step 4: @CopyBlogger Re-Tweeted the Article
Thanks to @copyblogger (Brian Clark) for his willingness to pass on the article and link to his Twitter followers.
Step 5: The Viral Explosion Began!
I did a little “self-promo” initially but look at the effects @copybloggers RT had on the article distribution…
What this proved for me:
5 Simple Keys to Twitter Viral Success
- Don’t Spam all Your Twitter Friends asking for a RT.
- Source other valuable articles within your blog post. In other words, provide good content that is RT worthy.
- Don’t self-promote too much. I was on the phone yesterday with Dan Hollings (Why Follow @dhollings) who explained Twitter in one easy statement -”Twitter is like a “cocktail party” – you can’t just talk about yourself over and over again – you’ll lose people.”
- Become friends with Twitter folk who have good listeners. A big part of having good listeners is being actively involved. If you’re a “once-in-a-while” twitter user, chances are that not many people really listen to you at all. The easiest way to monitor “listenership” is found in the proof above. If one friend RTs your stuff and then hundreds of their friends RT it, you know the friend has good “listeners”. Once you’ve found a friend with good Twitter listeners, refer to Tip 1 of this simple checklist
. - Thank the hand that fed you. Even the big names in your industry appreciate a “Thanks.”
What success (or failure) have you had using Twitter to go Viral?
How can you now implement this without annoying people?
© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.
How to Get a Viral Buzz on Twitter
