Growing Your Twitter Network: A Bufferchat Recap

Founder of the Twitter chat, #Twittersmarter, Madalyn Sklar, stopped by #bufferchat to share her insights on how to grow your Twitter network.

Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, every week on Wednesdays, 9 am PT/Noon ET/4 pm GMT, for valuable industry insights and networking with nearly 400 other smart marketers and community managers.

What got you started on Twitter?

From Madalyn:

• I first heard about Twitter during SXSW Interactive back in 2008. Everyone was talking about it. It was the big buzz!
• I love being an early adopter. I’ll get on the app when it’s new and first starting to grab a buzz with the techies.
• I fell in love with how simple Twitter is. 140 characters. I dig that! I prefer short and to the point vs long and wordy.

From the community:

• “As often seems to happen, Twitter was for pleasure and fun first, and then I found business applications. Now it’s my job.” @benbrausen
• “I got started because of the short, status-update style posts. Never thought it would be such a crucial platform for news.” @margotcodes
• “When I became a recruiter. I had the account but never used it until this year. Great way to interact with candidates!” @josewats

See all the great answers to question 1 here!

What are your go-to Twitter tools?

From Madalyn:

• My Go-To Twitter tools are @Buffer @Hootsuite @echofon @feedly @nuzzel Juice (an app from @paper_li)
• Tools are so essential to your Twitter success. If I could only use ONE tool, @Buffer would be it. I’m serious. It rocks!
• My favorite content curation tool is @nuzzel. I recommend everyone check it out at http://nuzzel.com
• My favorite scheduling tool is @Buffer. It’s such a great platform that helps me “work smarter not harder.”
• When I participate in Twitter chats I use @tweetchat. It’s my favorite.
• I’m a big fan of @IFTTT. It can make life so much easier!

From the community:

• Buffer
• Canva
• Followerwonk
• SocialBro
• TweetDeck
• Feedly
• Nuzzel
• Hootsuite
• Unfollowers
• Medium
• Tweetbot
• Twitonomy
• Nuvi
• Pocket
• Sprout Social
• Klear
• Crowdfire

See all the great answers to question 2 here!

What is your favorite thing about Twitter?

From Madalyn:

• My favorite thing about Twitter is the connections I make. Every day I meet cool, new, interesting people.
• We call Twitter the cocktail party of social media. I have met more people here than any other platform.
• Many connections I’ve made on Twitter have turned into business for me. I do coaching/consulting. I have online courses.

From the community:

• “It is also my favorite place to go for big events! Award shows, SXSW, Presidential Election, you name it!” @lafitara
• “I love how Twitter challenges you to be more creative w your writing & thoughts. It pushes you to be concise & interesting.” @nataliebergen
• “Twitter is instant messaging for the world. You could send a message to anyone on Twitter and make an impact.” @morganandrewv

See all the great answers to question 3 here!

How do you build meaningful connections on Twitter?

From Madalyn:

• You build meaningful connections on Twitter by being real and transparent. I meet so many people because I open the doorway.
• It starts with the content I tweet. I share good, quality info. I engage with people. I participate in chats regularly.
• Whenever someone compliments me or shares my content I give thanks with a tweet, RT or favorite. It’s important & impactful.
• And you have to be consistent on Twitter. Use it daily. Post good, relevant content at least 3 times a day minimum.

From the community:

• “Acknowledge originality (even if person is a stranger). Share more of other people’s work than your own. No quid pro quo!” @jgombita
• “Actually engage with other users. Retweet, reply, and favorite and those who know how to use the network will reciprocate” @socialeyze
• “Transparency is key. Have a personality. Be authentic. Be timely in responding. Stop broadcasting and actually engage.” @katloughrey

See all the great answers to question 4 here!

What advice do you have for growing your following?

From Madalyn:

• Here are several ways to grow your Twitter following: Twitter chats, engaging with people and sharing great content.
• Twitter chats are a great way to get yourself in front of lots of people at once. This will help you grow your following.
• You’ll increase your following when you take the time to engage with people because it shows you care.
• Posting good, quality content regularly will increase your followers dramatically. Become a trusted source of information.
• Be consistent and be visible. You will grow your followers exponentially when you do this.

From the community:

• “Be yourself, engage and get involved with twitter communities” @sales_prodigy
• “Follow & engage w/people & brands who genuinely interest you, see who they engage with, & engage w/your followers.” @bengibbons
• “Don’t focus on numbers, just on quality. Share great content + engage and it’ll grow organically!” @jakeapeters

See all the great answers to question 5 here!

What advice do you have for growing your following?

From Madalyn:

• Find Twitter chats that resonate with you and then take the plunge and jump right in. Don’t be afraid to participate.
• So many people “lurk” in Twitter chats. They are afraid to participate and share their two cents. Don’t be afraid!
• Participating in Twitter chats is like speaking at the podium and having everyone’s attention when sharing your knowledge.
• During last night’s #InfluencerChat, I talked about the importance of visibility. This applies to chats. Be seen!
• Mark Schaefer talked about Twitter lists on my #TwitterSmarter podcast. http://bit.ly/twittersmarter

From the community:

• “You have to be fast! Use #TweetDeck when you can, it allows you to multitask your streams & keep up a little better.” @deespeciale
• “Gotta borrow from Nike on this one. Just Do It. Also, be sure to engage w/others and not just shout out your own stuff.” @weitraubl
• “Be real. Help. Think of others, don’t just mirror your thoughts.”

See all the great answers to question 6 here!

How did you decide on your twitter bio?

From Madalyn:

• I wanted my Twitter bio to showcase my WOW factor. That would be my #3 Social Media Power Influencer ranking in Houston.
• I also wanted to show off my #TwitterSmarter chat & podcast. And that I’m the founder of @GoGirlsMusic & host of #ggchat.
• When it comes to your Twitter bio, I always stress the importance of making it compelling and using all 160 characters.
• My FREE #TwitterSmarter online course is being launched this week. Sign up for my mailing list here: http://www.madalynsklar.com

From the community:

• “Short, simple, and to the point. It will likely be updated every few months to keep it fresh.” @yung_adQ
• “I followed some advice from the people @buffer & some other community building experts AND it’s always a work in progress.” @noordinaryrenee
• “I thought about what I wanted to convey to those visiting my profile! Just wanted it to be as much of me as possible!” @joelrrenner

See all the great answers to question 7 here!

Thank you so much for everyone who joined in on this great chat!

Catch #bufferchat each Wednesday at 9 am Pacific/noon Eastern and join our Google+ community for the latest news. We also have launched a brand-new Slack community to continue these awesome conversations all week long! Join 500+ people there!

Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

Image sources: UnSplash