From August to December: Building My Influence on Social Media

Posted on by Erin Eagle

Part 1: Influence

Social media has been a huge part of my daily life for years; however, I just began to utilize Twitter professionally during this class. I created a Twitter account during my teenage years but became pretty inactive soon after. So, I began with 79 followers on my Twitter, most of whom were also inactive followers from my past. Today, I have 103 followers, making my percentage of growth 29%.

Over the course of three months, I learned some tactics to increase my influence and network with individuals at Syracuse University and beyond.

Some techniques that worked for increasing my influence and network include:

  • Engaging with my peers on Twitter by following them, engaging with their Tweets, and staying up to date with their content
  • Implementing hashtags and tags within my Tweets
  • Incorporating rich media into my Tweets
  • Analyzing the times when my followers were most active on FollowerWonk (usually around 10pm), and posting accordingly
  • Scheduling content via TweetDeck
  • Searching for trending topics on TweetDeck
  • Engaging with micro influencers
  • Analyzing my most successful Instagram content on SquareLovin

Some techniques that did not work for increasing my influence and network include:

  • Using no hashtags or tags
  • Tweeting about subjects not relatable to my audience
  • Not Tweeting or engaging with other people on a consistent basis
  • Tweeting in the middle of the day (between 12pm and 4pm)

Part 2: Execution

Top 10 Tweets/posts-

  1. Target Micro Influencer in Industry

Analytics:

  • Impressions: 2,464
  • Total Engagements: 95
  • Engagement Rate: 3.9%

In this Tweet, I targeted micro influencer Jennifer Rubio, who is the founder of Away suitcases. I tagged Jennifer, the podcast that I heard her featured on, and the company Away. The Tweet received six likes. The How I Built This Podcast and Away liked the Tweet. Adding these tags was crucial in helping to target Jennifer, reach a wider audience, and gain impressions.

  1. Emulate Voice

Analytics:

  • Impressions: 484
  • Total Engagements: 40
  • Engagement rate: 8.3%

In this Tweet, I emulated the voice of Hoda Kotb in her usual “Happy Tuesday xo” Tweets with an inspirational quote. The Tweet received three likes and one reply. I believe it had a high engagement rate because it incorporated rich media in it- a graphic of an inspirational quote; and the tone was positive and happy. However, the image was automatically cut off by twitter, making it hard to see if someone were scrolling through the timeline quickly. If I were to create a Tweet like this in the future, I would make sure the image is the correct dimensions for Twitter before posting.

  1. Tweet Threading

Analytics:

  • Impressions: 1557
  • Total Engagements: 11
  • Engagement rate: 0.7%

In this Tweet, I highlighted the opening of Blaze Pizza in Syracuse, New York. I retweeted a Tweet by The Daily Orange and added a comment. The Tweet received two likes, one of them being from Blaze Pizza. I believe this Tweet received a lot of impressions because it included the Tweet from the Daily Orange, which is an account that has 36,400 followers.

  1. Create a GIF

Analytics

  • Impressions: 636
  • Total engagements: 13
  • Engagement rate: 2.0%

For this Tweet, I created this GIF of Simone Biles doing a backflip using GIPHY. The Tweet received four likes. I believe two things made this Tweet successful- the timeliness and the relatable aspect of it. The Tweet was posted just weeks before the World Gymnastics Championships that Simone competes in. At the time, there is excitement around the gymnast among gymnastics-lovers. I also used the hashtag #SimoneBiles to help gain additional impressions. In addition, the inclusion of rich media, a GIF, made the Tweet more relatable to my followers. Finally, I posted this Tweet around 10:00 pm, which is the time my followers are most active, based on my FollowerWonk analytics.

  1. Follow Friday

Analytics

  • Impressions: 6124
  • Total engagements: 170
  • Engagement Rate: 2.8%

For this assignment, I used the hashtag #FollowFriday and highlighted some fashion bloggers that I love. I utilized TweetDeck to create a public list including each of these influencers. Aimee Song, one of my all-time favorite bloggers, retweeted the Tweet, and Bryan Boy liked the Tweet. I also included rich media – screenshots of each of their profiles, to make it easy for people to check them out.

  1. Viral Content Challenge

Analytics

  • Impressions: 841
  • Total Engagements: 188
  • Engagement Rate: 22.4%

For my original Viral Content Challenge, I created this meme that poked fun at college students for ordering so much food. I believe this Tweet was one of my most successful because it was relatable and timely. The Tweet is relatable to my audience of mostly college students, who probably have also been too lazy to cook their own food many times. In addition, the Tweet was timely, because it was posted in the midst of the fall semester.

  1. Cross Promote Another Social Media Account

Analytics

  • Impressions: 474
  • Total Engagements: 60
  • Engagement Rate: 12.7%

In this Tweet, I promoted my fashion Instagram, which is an account I have been working on for several years. The Tweet received three likes. 39 engagements were media engagements, which included image clicks. Adding a screenshot of my Instagram and using emojis were key strategies in making this Tweet successful.

  1. Google Trends

Analytics

  • Impressions: 524
  • Total Engagements: 37
  • Engagement Rate: 7.1%

For this assignment, I searched various topics on Google Trends. Eventually, I chose to test a major rivalry: pizza and pasta. I decided to choose which Italian staple to eat for dinner based on the results. Pizza was the obvious winner, so I Tweeted a photo of the pizza I ate that night, and a screenshot of the Google Trends results. I also added popular emojis- the “heart eyes” and the “pizza”. In addition, I used the hashtag #pizza. The Tweet received three likes, and 26 out of the total 37 engagements were clicks on the incorporated media.

  1. Instagram Post at Newhouse

Analytics

  • Likes: 7
  • Comments: 0

In this Instagram post, I posted a photo of Corey DuBrowa, VP of Global Communications and Public Affairs at Google, who spoke at Newhouse in October. I edited the photo on Adobe Lightroom to make it brighter and bolder. I also added the tags @google within the caption, and @CoreyDuBrowa within the post. Editing the photo and adding tags were two key strategies in this post. Only two minutes after posting, Corey DuBrowa liked the photo.

  1. LinkedIn Post

LinkedIn Post

Analytics

  • Impressions: 732
  • Likes: 9

For this assignment, I reposted an article about Snapchat and its use of Augmented Reality. I changed my tone to fit in with the more professional, well-written LinkedIn posts. I also added many hashtags that related to the topic, including #Snapchat, #AugmentedReality, #SocialMedia, #DigitalMedia, and #Technology. These hashtags, and the addition of a deep link likely helped me reach 732 impressions on this post.

Final Reflection:

Throughout this semester, I have learned various strategies to build my influence, gain engagement, and network with people in my desired industry. I realized the importance of effective social media use. As I completed assignments, I began using more techniques, like the addition of hashtags and tags within posts, adding rich media, posting timely and relevant content, and Tweeting at times my followers are most active on the platform. Using third-party platforms like TweetDeck, FollowerWonk, SquareLovin, and Twitter Analytics helped me understand what worked and what did not work. I will use these skills to continue growing my professional social media accounts.

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