In this episode, we're talking with Twitter expert Madalyn Sklar about how to use Twitter effectively and how you can build a bigger, better community.

If you ever wished you could find a friend who really understands Twitter and pick her brain, this is the episode for you. We learn five top strategies that Twitter expert Madalyn Sklar shares to help us get more out of the platform and to build a stronger community.

Question: How do you create a strategy for using Twitter?

Answer: It doesn’t have to be a fancy, drawn-out strategy, just have a clearly defined plan in place. Have clear, trackable actions that are tied to your business goals. Write down your thoughts and put them into action so that when you’re building your community, you have a better chance of building influence and reaching people when you have a plan.

Question: What is the best kind of content for Twitter and how do you plan your content?

Answer: It’s important to do a variety of things – tweets, blog posts, images and videos. In addition to your tweets, Moments is a great feature to utilize. A Twitter Moment is a set of curated tweets, like “best of” tweets, chats or evergreen content that were tweeted about a topic. You can create a Moment in Twitter that appears in the menu of your profile. Evergreen content can be put into Social Jukebox on an autopilot schedule. Think about using Twitter to storytell using video. Twitter allows 140 seconds (that’s 2 minutes and 20 seconds) of recording. Live shows are also a great idea when it comes to using video on Twitter. You can do recorded video or livestream and connect it through Periscope.

Question: What are the best ways to use Twitter Lists?

Answer: Twitter lists are an under-utilized feature that is incredibly powerful. You have the ability to take a group of people and make your own stream of tweets. If you follow a lot of people, you can create a Twitter list as a way to create smaller feeds of information. Twitter Lists can be public or private. Make lists for “your eyes only” and set them as private for your reference. Or you can make them public which can be seen by anyone and it also allows for people to subscribe. As an example, Social Media Marketing World creates a Twitter List of the speakers every year which you can subscribe to. POWER TIP: If you’re placed on a Twitter list you don’t want to be on, go to the creator’s profile, block them, then unblock them and that will remove you from the list. As you can see, the possibilities are endless with the Twitter list feature.

Question: Why do you think Twitter chats are the best way to build an engaged online community?

Answer: There’s no better way to connect with like-minded people on a regular basis than with Twitter chats. You’ll meet people faster in a Twitter Chat than anywhere else. When you’re surrounded by other people that are like you, talking about the same topic, you’re going to make connections. If you would like to start your own chat, it’s important to choose a hashtag that represents what you’re trying to do. You can start a chat with or without guests. When you host a Twitter Chat, you can connect with people all over the world, which is awesome. See Madalyn’s list of The Very Best Twitter Chats for Social Media & Marketing.

Question: How do you measure your impact on Twitter?

Answer: Twitter browser analytics shows you a 28-day summary of tweets, impressions and profile visits. Make sure your profile is amazing so when people are viewing your profile, you’re capturing them as a follower and they’ll click to your website. Have a good profile picture. Your header is the prime real estate, so make sure your image says who you are and what you do. Your bio is 160 characters and should include a description that’s reflective of what you do. Use hashtags sparingly and methodically to send people somewhere, like to your website, registration, event, etc. You can update and change your bio as often as needed.

Take Action

Sign up for Madalyn’s Secret Sauce to Boosting Your Twitter Presence. Also, tweet us your biggest takeaway using the hashtag #CTCPodcast

How to reach Kami:

If you’d like to learn more about Kami Huyse, visit her website at www.zoeticamedia.com. You can contact her by email at kami@zoeticamedia.com or tweet to @kamichat.

How to reach Madalyn:

If you’d like to learn more about Madalyn Sklar, visit her website at www.madalynsklar.com. You can contact her by email at madalyn@madalynsklar.com or tweet to @MadalynSklar.

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