13 Hot Tips for Promoting a Blog Post on Twitter

by: Carol Bryant

A sponsor wants to work with you. The brand wants to give you money. A paid blog post means that there are expectations set upon you to deliver to the brand. If you don’t deliver, chances are high the brand won’t want to work with you again. Surprise, surprise: Brands talk to each other. A lot of folks don’t think they do, but as a veteran in the pet industry, trust me when I say it: Brands talk bloggers to one another. Some share the same PR firms, some have reps who float around brand to brand, and others just converse the way folks do when a commonality exists.

One of the elements of a successful sponsored brand post includes social media shares. If you are a member of the BlogPaws Community and you registered to receive paid opportunities as they arise, then you are familiar with influencer campaigns. If you want to know more about paid opportunities with BlogPaws, click here.

Let’s assume you receive the “yes,” we want you for this campaign. Maybe you don’t work with brands at all, but you want to, or at least monetize your blog posts in some capacity. Getting the word out on Twitter and doing so with a purpose while not pestering your followers is a fine line.

Here then are hot tips for promoting a blog post on Twitter, no matter what type of blogger you are and no matter how long you’ve been blogging:

(1) Grow a Twitter Following

The more engaged followers you have, the better off you are in the long run. Click here for tips on growing a Twitter account: and remember, slow and steady wins the race.

(2) Say More in Less:

Twitter allows for 141 characters now. That does not mean you need to use every one. Consistently over the years, the studies I read state that shorter tweets, such as those 100 characters or less, tend to get a higher interaction rate than longer tweets. Be creative in what you say. When you’re tweeting a link to your blog post, get creative. Try making really short tweets that invoke interest in your blog article. They work. Did you just write an amazing blog post for a sponsor? Tweet it out more than once!

When you’re tweeting about your article, keep in mind that you don’t need to stay with the title of your post.

Here’s a Felissa tip: Want to track your tweets?

You can always create a spreadsheet where you copy and paste the link to your tweet so you can keep track that way.

(3) A Title Says Everything

How amazing is the title?  Which of these titles catch your eye and make you want to click?

Review of the Acme Dog Treats #sponsored

How Dog Treats Got Me a Marriage Proposal #sponsored

Of course, the second one caught your eye, right? Think of those headlines that you see on the cover of grocery store magazines. The publishers know they have seconds to get your attention, so the headlines call out to you. Blog posts are the same way. There are millions of blog posts being published every week. Stand out.

Click here to read more about how to write a good blog post title.

(4) Use Hashtags

Just don’t overdo it. There is a how and a when formula to hashtag formulas.

DO

• Be as specific as possible when using a hashtag. If you want to connect with other cat bloggers, try #catblog #catblogging and/or #catblogger.
• When creating a new hashtag, ensure that it isn’t already being used. No one actually “owns” a hashtag but you certainly don’t want to Tweet with a hashtag that has previously been used. You can easily find this information by searching for a hashtag on tagboard.com. Type in “funnydogs.” Of course, this is heavily used so there is nothing new about it. However, you can jump on the #funnydogs hashtag bandwagon if you post a funny photo of your dog on social media.
• Do connect with other like-minded bloggers in your niche and engage in Twitter chats, including #BlogPawsChat. Online Twitter chats are a fantastic way to network, learn, connect with other bloggers, brands, and ask questions while growing a Twitter account. Ensure the #BlogPawsChat hashtag, for example, is included with every tweet or folks will not see what you have to say. The #BlogPawsChat takes place on Twitter every Tuesday night from 8 to 10 pm EDT except the third Tuesday of the month.
• Let your hair down and show a sense of humanity or humor, maybe even both. If I take a cute picture of my dog wearing a sweet outfit but looking annoyed, I might hashtag #IWillGetEven, for example. It’s not that I think tons of people are going to be hashtagging that, but it is funny and may even do more for a Tweet than one loaded with hashtags.

DON’T

• Don’t over hashtag a tweet or social share on Instagram, etc. It is incredibly annoying and appears somewhat spammy to see something like this. Less is often more.
• Make a super long hashtag. #ILoveMyDogAndHeIsSoCute is not a good example; #cutedog and #doglover are more appropriate.
• Use hashtags in the same way on Facebook as you do on other social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Clicking on Facebook hashtags will take you to a stream of posts that contain the same hashtag. You must, however, put the hashtag in the original post. Go light on Facebook hashtags; there are mixed feelings about them. Some say they work and others say they do not. More about Facebook hashtags.

(5) Call People Out

One of my best tips to gain followers: Say hello. Create a list of people you want to tweet to from time to time. Jump on the bandwagon of popular days, like #FF or #WW and tweet to a group of folks. Ask a few folks to check out your blog post, as long as you are not being pesty. Always shorten your blog post. Use a bit.ly shortener or ow.ly shortener.

(6) Tag the Brand

Yep, I like to see my name in lights: And on Twitter, those lights are tags, as in tagging someone on a tweet. Show the brand you are on the radar.

(7) Get to Triberr

I am in some Triberr “tribes” and we share each other’s content regularly on Twitter. Consider starting or joining a current tribe.

(8) Put the Time Into It

Spend at least a half hour on Twitter two times each week. This is a half hour that you are actually interacting with people and  not just sharing your Blog Posts or re-tweeting others. Actually engage in a conversation. (Join #BlogPawsChat on Tuesday evenings from 8 – 10pm Eastern Time: We do this every Tuesday except the third Tuesday of each month). If someone follows, sometimes you follow them back. Yes you should still check their profile information and see what they are tweeting about, but as long as it is not a spam account – you should follow back.

(9) Be Reciprocal

Want people to share that great blog post you wrote for a brand? Retweet content from other pet sources and not just your own blog content. Talk to people and engage. Put the social in social media. Share content on Twitter that would make you want to engage with it if you saw it going through your twitter feed. Ask yourself is this something that you would click re-tweet on or join in on the conversation.

(10) Tweet Images

You took really great photos for the blog post, right? Tweet some of them out in the right Twitter size. Engagement on tweets goes way up with images, especially of cute animals like those associated with your blog posts!

(11) Use Trending Topics

This is imperative, and yes it is time consuming but once you get the gist of it, it’s fun and engaging and helps your blog content! Perhaps you did a treat on fun games to play with your dog. During the #Olympics hashtag I created some dog Olympics moments. I had one Olympic athlete actually retweet one of my cute dog photos. Images + trend + pets = success

(12) Don’t Be a One Trick Pony

You are a blogger but that does not mean send out links to posts only: ZZZZZZ! Ask questions, retweet, make people think, be a resource, connect people, and talk to folks outside your niche.

Also, by one trick pony, be sure to tweet the blog post more than once: you want to target different times, different time zones, and more than one tweet. Brands are watching.

(13) Big Ninja Secret

Half the time promote your stuff/ask questions/be engaging and not spammy and the other half of the time, talk to people, retweet them, take a genuine interest in what folks are saying. Did you know that well under 5 percent of your followers actually see a tweet unless they go directly to your Twitter account and look at all your tweets? And who does that these days? So you need to be on the radar of people and make every character count.

Did you like this blog post? Click below for more. Are you using Twitter for blog post promotion?

How to Write a Blog Post Brands Will Love

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