How I Became a Twitter Influencer In Three Months

Posted on by Colleen Callander

At the start of this class, it had been months since I’d used my Twitter account. I created a professional one last fall to promote my radio news stories for class, but since then, it’d been pretty inactive.  I could have used my more personal account that already had more than 500 followers and thousands of tweets, but I wanted to start fresh to build my brand and engage with other professionals.

I saw a lot of growth during the 3 months of tracking, August 29 until November 20.  I started with only 9 followers and ended with 66.  Not only were these just people in my class, but they were also people with whom I engaged with, targeted, and accounts that found me through specific hashtags I used. My Klout score saw a 176.85% gain.  It jumped from 14.56 to 40.31 over a 90 day period. I think these jumps came from regularly generating content from my account, tweeting about topics with relevant hashtags and media, and engaging with a variety of people.

My Top 10 Tweets:

1. 

This tweet received a lot of engagements.  I think it’s because I included a photo and targeted a business. Once Rook Coffee retweeted it, its followers started liking my tweet. This shows that when engaging with another handle, you should tweet content that will make them want to share it with their thousands of followers.

This Tweet Saw: 2,366 impressions, 243 engagements, 10.3% engagement rate

2. 

I would consider this one of my top tweets from the class because not only does it make me feel nostalgic whenever I see it, but the bright content is pretty attractive. Also, who doesn’t love a good food pic? I think people clicked on the photo so they could see what foods were in each picture, which is what earned it engagement. Also, I used #Syracuse to connect to more people in the area.

This Tweet Saw: 321 impressions, 38 engagements, 11.8% engagement rate

3.

I thought this was a fun tweet because it incorporated 3 of my favorite things: coffee, ice cream, and the TODAY Show. Quoting tweets seems to always earn some type of engagement because you’re usually quoting something interesting, which makes people want to look at it and engage with what you had to say about it. It’s always a good way to communicate without directly replying. It shows that you’re providing some feedback or comment about it, but you don’t have to tweet at them directly if it’s unnecessary.

This Tweet Saw: 374 impressions, 6 engagements, 1.6% engagement rate

4. 

This tweet earned 4 likes and is very relatable to all college students. Although I didn’t directly target anyone with a tagging a twitter handle or using a popular hashtag, the tweet is relevant to all of us college kids who dread cooking for ourselves. However, the GIF takes it to a whole new level by adding some humor, and I credit that to the engagements!

This Tweet Saw: 293 impressions, 19 engagements, 6.5% engagement rate

5. 

Posting a #throwback is always a good idea if you want to get content out there that may not be timely anymore. Here, I tweeted out a picture of me and my friends after our half-marathon last spring. The hashtag probably helped, not only to give context to the photo, but also because it put my tweet into the #throwback feed, where people are always browsing.

This Tweet Saw: 321 impressions, 38 engagements, 9.2% engagement rate

6. 

Here is one of my attempts to make my meme go #viral.  I was happy with the engagements I received and it helped me realize what was working and what wasn’t for my viral content campaign. I exchanged emojis for words which made it fun, and used #WednesdayWisdom to grow my audience. From here on out, most of my tweets for the campaign contained a popular hashtag relating to a specific day of the week.

This Tweet Saw: 519 impressions, 125 engagements, 24.1% engagement rate

7.

I had to tweet about my feelings when I was struggling to apply to for my visa. The experience also lent itself to the use of the most popular emoji at the time: the laughing/crying face…which is exactly what I was doing.

This Tweet Saw: 111 impressions, 11 engagements, 9.9% engagement rate

8. 

Of course I had to tweet on #ElectionNight since it was 1. historic and 2. an awesome experience for me to see it behind the scenes. I received a lot of engagement from this since I tagged the Newhouse School and CNY Central. I wish they would’ve retweeted me, but I’m happy they at least liked it!

This Tweet Saw: 373 impressions, 18 engagements, 4.8% engagement rate

9. 

I was able to use my Twitter influence to promote a cause I felt was important. I made sure to tag the University and I found the twitter handle of a Syracuse mental health organization to help localize a national issue. Everyone has a voice and expressing it through social media can raise awareness and make changes!

This Tweet Saw: 359 impressions, 21 engagements, 5.8% engagement rate

10.

Finally, I had to include my boyfriend in my top tweets of the semester. To be honest, I thought it would attract some engagement from loyal #FNL fans, but I guess I didn’t target them well enough. Looking back, I should have tagged a Friday Night Lights fans handle, since thousands of users follow those.

This Tweet Saw: 137 impressions, 2 engagements, 1.5% engagement rate

 

 

Overall, I found that businesses and organizations love positive Twitter engagement, so I was receiving likes and retweets from accounts such as Newhouse and Rook Coffee when I used their handles. This helped me gain even a greater following. I’ve learned through my tweet results to always think about targets when creating Twitter content, and to find ways to make it relevant enough to other things to grow an audience.  This semester, I’ve learned how to express myself and my interests in a professional and creative way!

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