5 tips to boost your articles with Twitter

Published on December 30 2011 by about-en

How do you get your OverBlog articles out there? Insert the link to your article (the short URL version) and write a cool tweet in order for it to be retweeted by as many Internet users as possible, and to reach all the communities.

Here are a few tips:

Tip number 1: Aim at the maximum Retweets!

When you write a tweet, the goal is not only for your followers to read it... Try to write one that your followers will retweet (republish/share). This way your tweet will travel beyond your community, into the communities of others... This way you can spread your articles further than your own friends. You might also get new followers, killing two birds wuith one stone!

It can spread like wildfire!

You have 140 characters to write a tweet. Try to be convincing, imaginative and funny.

Tip number 2: Reach out to certain Internet users and follow them

You want to get more followers, show your expertise and spread your information. Follow the persons who might be interested in what you write. Then, you can ask them questions or give some some feedback. To do this you must put a @ before the Twitter name of the person you want to reach out to.

Example: You want to get the OverBlog_UK team and Ebuzzing's VP Tech's attention. Here's a tweet you could send, linking to one of your articles:

@OverBlog_UK @kerkobeg Ideas for OverBlog's new version: create a Timeline and propose nice designs.

(+ add a short link to your article)

The persons you mentioned might answer, they might also retweet your message and start following you.

Tip number 3: Insert short links to your blog's articles

Feed your followers! Share your links. If Twitter URL shortener is not enough, you can use websites specialised for this need, like Bitly.com, Ow.ly, etc.

If your long URL is:

http://about.over-blog.co.uk/article-translate-your-blog-automatically-95119898.html

Go to Bitly.com - here's an example of a generated short URL :

http://bit.ly/sVBCbQ

In the end, your tweet might look like this :

@OverBlog_UK @kerkobeg Ideas for OverBlog's new version: create a Timeline and propose nice designs. http://bit.ly/sVBCbQ

Create bridges between your blog and your Twitter account: that's a great way to boost your articles' audience.

Tip number 4: Include hashtags

Hashtags are symbolised by "#". Their purpose is to categorise tweets by keyword. Clicking on a hashtag will open a page with all the tweets of the same category. The most popular hashtags are often featured in the top words put forward by Twitter. Therefor, hashtags can facilite the promotion of your articles.

Example :

OverBlog in 2011: the numbers #audience #blog #overblog http://bit.ly/t7IEZn

A hashtag can be typed anywhere in the tweet. With a little experience you may insert them inside your tweet's sentences, but be careful because this might make your tweet harder to read.

Example :

#OverBlog in 2011: the numbers #audience #blog http://bit.ly/t7IEZn

Tip number 5: Quickly send your tweets

You can start to write messages (tweets) as soons as you have created your Twitter account. But this obliges you to login to your account regularly.

We recommend that you use OverBlog's automatic publication application. This way you can publish the links to your articles automatically on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, without having to login to each of your accounts. You authorise the linking once for all, and then you control it all through your OverBlog interface, using just one simple click!

You may also use the sharing buttons present on each of your articles.

You can use tweet management apps too, like Hootsuite.com, Tweetdeck.com or Seesmic.com. They let you create short URLs automatically, run searches, and monitor keywords, etc.

Using Twitter is like using a sounding board, but you must be patient and build your community

Text it! Don't stay put in your corner of the Web!

Follow OverBlog on Twitter for all the lattest news and some real-time statuses.