Raise your hand if you're on Twitter.
That's what I thought. I think it's safe to say that most of us are on Twitter these days. And most of us seem pretty good at it. But I feel like I suck at Twitter. You hear all these tips about using Twitter. Be social. Follow "like" Twitter users. Interact. Discuss. Post more than just blog promo.
I definitely use Twitter to promote my posts. I use Hootsuite to pre-schedule my tweets so I don't have to worry about it during the day. But I get so busy during the day that I never get on there to post anything else. And then when I get home, I have to cook dinner or go work out or I just want to sit down and read, not jump on Twitter for the next hour.
I want to tweet more, but I feel like I never really have anything interesting to say. Some people just have a talent for Twitter. They post witty things that make me laugh and I'm just not good at that. Occasionally I can come up with something good (and by occasionally I mean like once a year...). So then I just sit there scrolling through my feed without contributing anything.
I try to tweet people and interact, but I just feel like I don't do it enough. So the majority of my tweets are blog promo. Which you are definitely NOT supposed to do. Fail. It's not that that's all I want to use Twitter for. It's just that I either:
1. Don't have time to go on Twitter between work and life, or
2. I have nothing interesting to say.
Does anybody else feel like this? Or are you really good at Twitter? Share your secrets and tell me how to be social on Twitter!
I feel that I always arrive to twitter conversations right as they are winding down. So like you I often feel it is used too much for self promotion and not enough for socializing. Though I do have a core group of blogging friends that I interacted with regularly. I just keep trying.
ReplyDeleteYes! I always arrive like 1 day after everyone has been talking and by then it's too late. I hate that! At least I'm not the only one right? :)
DeleteI go through phases with Twitter. Sometimes I'm really on my game and want to talk about ALL THE THINGS and talk to everyone! But then I go through others where I seriously have nothing to say. At all. Nothing is going on. I have nothing funny to say. Nothing interesting. I might be having a rough couple of days so I know anything I say will be complainy. And then other times I don't say much because I don't FEEL like it. I don't feel like holding a convo. I think sometimes I get socialized out. And then there's not having time...I mean, I can't always tweet during the day so I go throughout my day not saying much and then it just kind of sticks for the rest of the time.
ReplyDeleteMaybe make a goal to ask one question to Twitter per week or telling Twitter about something you are excited about book-wise? Like sometimes I find I get back in the swing of interacting if I do something like having Twitter pick out my next read. Sometimes I can't choose and Twitter likes choosing so that's always fun! People always have opinions! Maybe being intentional about it for a little bit will help you feel more "in the swing of it"
Mostly for me it's the lack of time. I used to be on Twitter all the time, but then I went back to work and now I just really don't have time. And then when I do get on Twitter, I feel sooo out of the loop.
DeleteThat's a great idea! I definitely want to interact with my followers and other bloggers more. Thanks for the advice!
I don't have an account and I have no desire to start one. I don't have time as it is, to add something else to my life :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, honestly, I probably wouldn't have one if it wasn't for my blog. But it's such a great way to network with publishers and just socialize with other bloggers. Of course, that's only if you actually use it. Lol
DeleteI do the same thing. I usually scroll through Twitter to read about what other Bloggers are doing but will rarely tweet non-blog posts myself. It's the same for Facebook for me. I don't know why. I guess I just don't really feel like sharing quick sentences about how my day has been going or what I'm thinking :/
ReplyDeleteYeah... I just feel like no one will care? I guess I find my days boring...go to work, come home, cook dinner, read, go to bed. Repeat. If I do tweet it's usually on the weekends when I'm doing something fun. And I'm even worse about my blog's facebook page.
DeleteI get this! Okay, except I am on twitter all the time. I mostly chat with people about stuff. But when I was in school, I was soo busy during the day that I'd check it and if I had notifications I'd be like oh except.. the conversation is basically over now... or there'd just be too much to scroll through so i didn't. Same thing around the time of the wedding. I just disappeared for awhile. now since I'm only working part time and am just trying to find a job... I'm on it a lot. Ha.
ReplyDeleteYes exactly! When I was unemployed I was so good about being on Twitter and interacting and doing all the things you're supposed to do, but now that I'm working again, I'm like urgh! no time! Fail.
DeleteI don't have a Twitter account, so I guess I'm more of a failure!! :) It just seems like one more thing that will suck time that I don't have. Oh well!! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteIt does suck a lot of time. Time that I don't have. But it's so good for blog promo and for meeting new ppl/interacting. I just wish I had more time to devote to it.
DeleteHaha I like this post :) I've been getting a little bit better at it, but sometimes I feel like I suck, too. The problem is that you have to be really vigilant about it. Twitter only works as a social tool if you're actually participating in stuff A LOT. Like every day, multiple times a day. When I take the time to actually do that, I love it and I end up having a lot of cool conversations with people! But sometimes there are weeks when I'm just so busy that the only thing I post for days is blog promo stuff. And that's when I feel like I suck. But as soon as I make the effort to recommit to it and actually use it how it's supposed to be used, it 's much better! haha. Funny how that works.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic!
Yes, exactly! Twitter only works if you're on it all the time, interacting, reading updates, responding, posting your own stuff, etc. I totally agree that I have the BEST time when I actually do commit the time and use Twitter for what it's for, but it's so hard to find the time. Hopefully I will get better at it soon!
DeleteYes! My thoughts exactly!
ReplyDeleteI know that Twitter is such a good resource for making blogging buddies, establishing a brand, and keeping up to date on all the bookish news, but...I just don't know how to use it effectively. Like you said, some people just have a knack for tweeting-- I'm just not that person.
From time to time, I'll go through spurts where I have twitter on my phone. But, more often than not I'm overwhelmed by it, so I end up deleting the app. I'll check it during lunch break, but then I won't have time again until just before bedtime. And in just a few hours it's like a million tweets surface. How do I keep up?! Where do I start?!
Sometimes I think I'm just being stubborn. So many other people seem to get along fine with this form of social media. Why can't I?
- Jackie
I know exactly what you mean! When I was unemployed it was so easy because I just checked Twitter practically every hour. Now that I'm working again, it's so hard to find time! And like you said, if I check in the morning by lunchtime there's a million tweets and it's super overwhelming. I think maybe I follow too many ppl as well? It's hard to keep up when you're following a couple hundred ppl.
DeleteI got twitter in 2009 and was pretty terrible at it for like the first three years. I think the problem is I wasn't following people that are nice to talk to. I don't think there's really a good way of telling that you're "good" or "bad" at twitter, and although I have more followers now and I tweet more often, compared to many other twitter accounts I probably still suck at twitter! I mean, I've been nagging on there all weekend about being sick and nobody has tried to cheer me up :P
ReplyDeleteI post more now because I have fallen out of love with facebook and I get a lot more intelligent banter and news access on twitter. I also like the anonymity to some extent (a lot of my friends do follow me on there but I do feel more free to say whatever I want).
I think the biggest secret to twitter is to convince YOURSELF that you are super interesting, and that your thoughts are worth expressing. Honestly, the things people respond to on twitter are sometimes pretty mundane but I think the thing is that twitter gives us a platform to relate to people and all that jazz, so... I guess that's why I like it.
[I do also get a fair amount of blog traffic from twitter, so that's nice too. :P]
Yes, I do get probably the majority of my blog traffic from twitter.
DeleteI love what you said about convincing yourself that you are interesting. So true. I guess if I believe it's interesting, somebody else out there will likely agree right?
I have also fallen out of love w/fb. I still use my blog's fb page to cross-promote, but honestly, I don't get that much traffic from it and it's just not as effective as Twitter. And I also agree with Twitter being a bit more anonymous. I think it's because there are so many ppl on Twitter that almost as soon as you say something it's swallowed by thousands of other tweets.
Thanks so much for your awesome comment! <3
I understand. I'm actually a really private, introverted person. So for a long time, I didn't really talk about my personal life at all on my blog, especially on social media sites like twitter. I didn't even use a picture of myself ( I had that cartoon girl forever, rememeber?). Then I decided that I really liked when the blogs that I love got personal and shared a bit more. So I decided to try to 'stretch' myself and be a bit more open. It's uncomfortable sometimes, but I've made some great friends. :)
ReplyDeleteHowever, I tend to either be on or off completely. I'm not very consistent. I have large periods of time where I stay offline, with my phone in sleep mode so that I can read uninterrupted and be with my family. I think trying to keep up with everything all the time will always be impossible for me.
I do remember the cartoon girl! Love that you've opened up a bit more. It was hard for me too when I first started, but I actually really love sharing personal things on my blog now. The community is so overwhelmingly awesome and welcoming. I love it.
DeleteYeah, sometimes I wish I could just turn my phone off, but then I panic and think I'll miss something important. But I agree that keeping up with everything all the time is probably impossible. I guess I'll just do my best.
I have a lot of these same problems with Twitter, you aren't alone ;-). I find it easiest to get into conversations by responding to someone else's tweet, since then I'm not trying to come up with something earth-shaking to say but am just having a nice chat about books :D
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not alone! I agree. I think I do okay with responding to other people's tweets, but I definitely fail at starting the convos.
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