Part 1: Influence
Twitter follower growth: 21 followers
- September 4th 2019: 2 followers
- By the end of the month I gained 7 new followers for a total of–9
- October 2019: gained 5 for a total of — 14
- November 2019: gained 7 for a final total of — 21
Percentage of growth: 950%
Looking back on this semester, it is extremely interesting to see how my profile grew through the multiple techniques used to not only develop, but influence my audience. The first, and most important technique I incorporated was truly understanding my voice and style throughout my posts. Since I created the Twitter account for this course, I had never tweeted before and wanted to make sure my tweets reflected my true self while also being relatable and engaging. That being said, the main techniques that worked were (in no particular order)
- Including rich media (interactive images and videos, links)
- Understanding my audience (demographics)
- What type of content they interact with most, best times to tweet
- Tweeting about prominent issues or relevant news
- Creates conversation, establishing my knowledge on particular topics
- Using relevant hashtags!
- Incorporated trending hashtags so users were more likely to see my posts
- Mentioning popular influencers and brands
- Broadened my audience by attracting their followers, increased Twitter impressions
What didn’t quite work…
- My more personal tweets did not do as well as others. However, I think thats because I was tweeting more individualized things in the beginning of the semester when I didn’t have many followers to interact with.
- For some posts, the media I incorporated could of been better quality and more engaging.
In terms of the class Instagram I made, my results and techniques were pretty different. This was also a new account made primarily for this course, so my following started at zero.
Instagram follower growth: 23 followers
Overall likes: 50
- From October to November, my average amount of likes grew 0.31, from 6.83 to 7.14
I found that my more personal posts are what received the most engagement. This is because all of my followers consist of classmates and friends who can connect with my posts on a more intimate level. Looking back at the account now, I found myself posting a few pictures that weren’t real time, using the #latergram method, as the images ranged from weeks to months prior to the posting date. The account was really fun to work with, as it felt like an archive of some of my favorite photos that I havent shared on any public platforms. It felt different from my regular Instagram account because I didn’t feel pressure to impress anyone. The posts as well as the captions, were raw and spontaneous.
Part 2: Execution
Top 10 tweets/posts from this semester.
My top tweet:
This is my overall top tweet, and I was honestly not surprised that it included Margot. It was one of the first tweets we had to post, the assignment being “mention a micro influencer.” Margot and I have been best friends since high school, and I have been lucky enough to see not only her Youtube, but personal brand grow into something amazing. Although the tweet was extremely simple, it is a really great example of how mentioning influencers with a large following can help draw engagement to your posts. Margot commented and liked the tweet, which explains the over 2,000 impressions as well as 100 profile clicks. Margots comment was a more personal response, as she included a nickname many of my friends from home call me (Hanny). I think this also establishes the more personal relationship we have, which in result caused her followers to want to click my profile in order to get a deeper look into Margots private life.
I was definitely surprised this was one of my top tweets as it was the first tweet I had to post for the class! I joined the class late and wasn’t very confident with my tone of voice at that point. I based the format of the tweet off of what my other classmates had shared, and the main reason I think it received many impressions and profile clicks is because I had to mention the professor who like Margot, also has a strong amount of followers on Twitter. What I find interesting about this tweet in-particular is the 19 hashtag clicks, other than the tweet above, its the most I received on any post. I believe this large number occurred because of other students in the class who like me, were getting a feel for what was expected, as well as my new followers who wanted to see what this class was all about.
This tweet was a favorite of mine, as it felt more personal and relates to my interests. That being said, I was able to incorporate some of my favorite influencers who also have strong passions for fashion and beauty. The hashtag #FollowFriday was something I had never heard of before, and is supposed to help others recommend people to follow. To execute the post, I picked three women who I have been supporting for a while and truly admire. Since all of my followers are certainly not beauty lovers, or Youtube watchers, I made sure that the people chosen were relatable on multiple levels. The technique used here was curating a post that connected to my followers while also keeping the message personalized. Also, by mentioning these popular influencers, it broadened the audience that was interacting with my post, and in return, attracting their followers. That explains the 43 media engagements, and 3 link clicks. Margot also liked the tweet, which again, helped to promote it further. In addition, by including images of the influencers profiles, it provides my audience with a deeper view into what I’m sharing.
This is my most recent tweet, and another favorite. As stated before, I love all things beauty so this topic is extremely interesting to me. Recently within the beauty community, more so on Youtube, influencers of color have been terribly disappointed with multiple major makeup brands, more specifically with their limited foundation and concealer shade ranges. These consumers claim that they are unable to find a shade that matches with their personal skin tone. That being said, brands like Fenty Beauty, Rhianna’s up and coming company, promotes the hashtag #newgenerationofbueaty as the brand prides themselves in providing over 50+ shades for everyone. The technique used here was tweeting about prominent issues in-order to create a conversation with my audience, as well as establish ethos on this particular topic. I think the image I included also really supported the message as it displays many beautiful women of all different backgrounds, who can all use Fenty Beauty. Because of this, the tweet received the most retweets, likes, and even media engagements. The 9 profile clicks was also a result of these techniques, as other users may have found my post through the relevant hashtag.
This tweet emphasizes the techniques, tweeting about relevant news, and including rich media. Justin Bieber getting married was one of the most significant news stories for the month of October, and many people have been following the new and exciting details surfacing about the wedding. I think the article I linked really influenced the tweet, as the images provided are exciting and captivating. This was one of my first tweets where my caption had more of a sarcastic and personal tone. That was because at this point, I had found on Twitter analytics that many of my followers were girls, majority whom are my friends, who like me have been “Bielbers” from the beginning. I hoped it would engage my audience by providing a more relatable story line. That said, I received 3 link clicks and 3 profile clicks. To promote this further, I could of included more hashtags such as #bielbers or even tagged Justin or Hailey.
Media views: 67
Detail expands: 2
Media engagements: 1
Profile clicks: 1
This tweet includes my first GIF ever made. It was fun to create and received a lot more engagement then I assumed. I picked a topic of relevance which at the time was Midterm week, and made the caption something humorous and relatable. Although I did receive 3 hashtag clicks, I certainly could have included more hashtags to increase the overall number, and to then attract more users to see the post. This was the tweet that I had scheduled to repost on Twitter Analytics, which also influenced the amount of media views and impressions, but overall, I think that the tone and reliability supported it further.
Impressions: 197
Total engagements: 2
Profile clicks: 2
This tweet emphasizes the techniques, mentioning popular influencers and brands, as well as, including rich media. The tweet also includes the hashtag #ICYMI which was something I had never heard of before until learning about it in class. I wanted to pick a news story that interested me, and one that my followers could connect with. Fenty X Savage is Rhianna’s new lingerie brand that promotes inclusivity. The entire line was made for all shapes and sizes, and emphasizes body positivity, and freedom of expression. What was so cool about the launch, is that Rhianna developed a fashion show like no other which included famous models, singers, and dancers. The fashion show aired on Amazon Prime and documented the entire process Rhianna and her team went through in-order to create a show the world has never seen before. Being that I stand strongly with inclusivity, I felt as though the show stood as an important catalyst for the topic, and that anyone could benefit from watching the exciting video. To promote the show, I reposted Rhianna’s launch tweet hoping to attract her followers and provide deeper insight. However, the tweet itself was not one of my top posts leaving me with only 2 total engagements. I think what didn’t work was that I did not include enough supporting hashtags, and could have included additional images from the fashion show. For example, I could have incorporated the famous models Bella and Gigi Hadid who walked the runway, or singers Halsey and DJ Khalid who each performed their new hit singles.
My top instagram:
Likes: 10
Comments: 3
This image is from my travels abroad, and was my top Instagram post on the account. To execute the post, I chose a picture from a few months ago, one that wasn’t real time hoping to foster nostalgic emotions. The photo is of my friend and I exploring a different country, as users can see the beautiful sky line of Nice, France behind us. I chose a picture that is simple, yet exciting, one I would probably post on my regular Instagram account but never got around to it. I added a filter from VSCO, specially S3, to enhance the color of the water and sky. I tagged the location so users who don’t follow me could find the post if they were searching for something relating to the area, and made the caption personal, as well as included an emoji to further emphasize my emotions. After analyzing, I noticed that half of the likes I received were from random accounts that did not follow me, most likely due to the tags. In addition, many of my followers are friends who have also experienced the amazing opportunity of studying abroad, so I believe the subject matter resonated well with most of them, as it develops pathos.
Likes: 9
Comments: 3
This image just truly makes my heart melt! Its a carousel post of my best friends puppy that I adore. To execute the post I included adorable photos, as well as, relevant hashtags to help promote the post further. Again, I noticed that a handful of the likes came from random users, and all of the comments were my friends gushing over the precious dog.
Likes: 9
Comments: 2
This post is an image from my hometown, a spot that many of my friends and I visit to watch the sunset. To execute the post I picked a photo that would resonate with my friends who follow me, overall, trying to understanding my audience. The caption I used provided a more personal touch, as I stated that the image was at my favorite place. I also used a filter to brighten the photo, bringing out the beautiful colors in the sky, which makes the image more eye catching. I believe the post received so much engagement because my close friends could relate, being that they have been there with me. It brought my followers together based on a common location we all love and have enjoyed.