From Twitter Infant to Influencer

Posted on by Zoe Malliaros

Throughout the semester  I saw noticeable growth in regards to both my Twitter followers and my Klout score. I began with 1,675 Twitter followers and finished with 1,738. As I already had a considerable following, the followers that did join in from 8/29 to 11/20 increased my influence on Twitter by 1.04%.

Aware that I would have to benchmark this change come December, I paid close attention to who my new followers were. 55% of new audience members were COM 427 classmates, and after close observation, I was able to identify a majority of the remaining 43% as users interested in politics, fashion, travel, entertainment and New York City culture. There were several followers (about 2%) whose interests I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but for the most part my new followers were producing and engaging in the same types of content as me, and I was able to enhance my personal brand around this nuanced community.

I credit this substantial statistic to Tweeting with hashtags such as #NYFW, #socialmedia, #electionday, #debatenight, #election2016 and #ImWithHer. These small sectors of Twittter are the most common and popular hashtags that I used that I believe can be credited for drawing in a crowd with similar interests to my own. In addition to these hashtags I included GIFs, photos and videos for the Tweets’ respective topics, which I hadn’t done as often prior to COM 427 and I noticed a significant increase in sharing and engagement, leading to success on the follower front. Along with these elements I quoted Tweets with content I admired that I thought would excite my own audience. A large number of  Tweets I didn’t include visuals and rich media or quotes of such things didn’t hold a candle to the engagement of my Top Ten Tweets you will see in my below analyses. I familiarized myself with my audience and connected with them to stand out in the fast-scrolling Twittersphere. Such creation of relatable and timely rich media content was a key component to the growth I experienced.

The spike in Twitter followers also had an effect on my Klout score which grew from 56 to 61, a total of 1.10% during the entirety of the course.

My most successful Tweet with 548 impressions included a Vine with none other than a French bulldog:

Not only was this Vine adorable to watch, but by including #HappyMonday I was able to partake in a worldwide conversation about this dreaded weekday. This particular Tweet was also relatable to my classmates and fellow college students as it pertained to midterms, which we all love to hate.

When it comes to a time of crisis, nobody join forces quite like New Yorkers. As soon as I saw this Instagram from The Standard Hotel on the High Line in NYC, I was astonished by the timeliness and relevance of the content as well as the kindness after an explosion in Chelsea had taken place and many were seeking shelter. The hotel utilized its enormous following to provide help to New Yorkers affected by the bombing all while enhancing its social responsibility reputation in a time of need. With a substantial amount of followers in NYC combined with my fascination by this quick and genius strategy, I had to share to express those feelings to spread awareness. This Tweet was my second most successful of the semester with 272 total engagements.

My strategy of quoting Tweets with impressive media proved to be successful:

Before this semester, I hadn’t quoted many Tweets to share my opinion and would reply to the publisher instead. I found that quoting them gave me more of a voice, and the original content appeared right underneath my own words so my audience was able to follow along closer and reach a better understanding of what I was communicating. My Tweet above about #KENZOWorld received 24 engagements, 7 of which were detail expands to view the original content which was an extremely aesthetically pleasing video, and I received 5 likes for my commentary. Thus, I was able to gauge more interest from my followers by sharing my words along with the video from WWD. The same can be said for my quoted Tweet about Buzzfeed which received 17 total engagements,  2 of which were detail expands to view AdWeek’s Tweet I was reiterating, 8 likes for my own opinion and a Retweet. These are the most valuable of the engagements as they show me my tactic worked. Again, I saw success with my Tweet about fashion brands and social influencers by quoting The Fashion Law with 40 total engagements, 10 of which were detail expands, 12 likes and 2 Retweets. Once more, this reinforced my thinking that quoting Tweets was the way to go.

Breaking through post-election depression also proved beneficial for engagements:

Receiving 38 total engagements, this Tweet was an outlier to what I like to call Trump shock. It was a moment I was able to take my followers away from the craziness surrounding the surprise over the President Elect and remind them that there are positive causes worth switching their attention to, specifically F Cancer, a charity started by a fellow Syracuse University student.

I experienced exceptionally favorable outcomes by using photos in Tweets:

After our Periscope challenge in class and many laughs from this particular group, my followers seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did with 80 total engagements. This was a fun look inside the classroom for others to get a chance to see what COM 427 was all about and also encouraged the use of Periscope, another platform although owned by Twitter, which is something new for many to peruse.

I kicked off my first #NHsmc Tweet of the semester with the GIF and an astonishing 300 engagements. I thought it was funny, appropriate and very on-brand for myself to use this GIF of Kim Kardashian winking on her smartphone. This is how I pictured myself feeling like a social media pro by the end of the semester and now analyzing these results, it’s pretty accurate! By the engagement numbers many of my COM 427 classmates and fellow SU students can relate too.

Another example of relatable content and how college students love to hate midterms. This satirical Tweet featured actual photos of supermodel Bella Hadid taking a fall during her walk in the Michael Kors New York Fashion Week show and received 181 total engagements.

This selfie, which I strategically hash tagged #selfie, of my sorority sisters and I during recruitment received 149 total impressions. Again, for many of my followers and classmates this content is relatable. This has been a recurring theme with Tweets that I used images for because it gives followers a real look at what I’m saying, not simply words. By using rich media I’m able to communicate greater and extract more emotion, thus increasing the level of engagement I receive.

The most essential elements to social media success on Twitter are connecting with your audience, staying relevant and productive and utilizing rich media to make your content dynamic and sharable. I thought I knew the ins and outs of Twitter before August 29, but I was only familiar with the most basic layer. In COM 427 I was able to test out different ideas and tactics to grow both my knowledge and my following. In addition to learning and implementing the strategies above and seen on my Twitter, it’s extremely important to like what you’re creating and sharing because that passion reflects the success of your Tweets and across your social media platforms.

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