How to Grow Your Twitter Following

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

Too often I get asked, “how do I get more followers on Twitter?” A lot of times I want to reply with, “Well, how do you get more friends?”

Think about it, in offline world, people will probably gravitate to you for being friendly, interesting, and helpful.

Now, how does this translate to Twitter?

  • Being friendly

Being friendly on Twitter is different than in real life. You can’t show emotion in your face or give inflection in your voice, but what you can do is reach out to people.

If you see a great article and want to tweet it, go ahead and give that author credit when you give the post link. Chances are, that author will at least say thank you (I know I always try to!). If you are following someone whom you think gives great advice, let them know! Don’t grovel of course, but showing extra appreciation besides a retweet doesn’t go unnoticed.

Try using Listorious. It’s a great site where you can list your favorite Twitter users in different categories and see who’s top ranked across different topic areas or industries. Why is this helpful? So you can pinpoint who exactly you want to start reaching out to.

Jump in the conversation on Twitter chats. Find top level figures in your area of interest tweeting and most likely you’ll find at least one mention of a Twitter chat pretty early on.

  • Being interesting

Please tell me you don’t just talk about yourself, but that you offer pieces of advice, words of wisdom, and content that you created that’s actually professional. But beyond being a professional, you’re also a human first. Be funny, but don’t be inappropriate. What’s inappropriate? That’s up to you. But remember, Twitter is a public form of communication and your boss or your grandparents may just stumble upon it. I can’t tell you how many times I don’t find someone personable online and unfollow them, or at least lose interest.

Don’t just broadcast information (tweeting an article/blog post title and link). Remember, you’re a human so act like one.

  • Being helpful

Read the news! Offer the latest info by finding content through authority figures on Twitter, articles from top news outlets and blogs through your Google Reader. If you tweet once a day, people will forget about you. If you tweet 1,000 times a day, people will want to forget about you. Make sure you find a happy medium- maybe 8 to 10 tweets a day on a consistent basis- and make sure that content is a mix of new information, retweets, and engaging with others. Make sure at least 7 to 8 out of every 10 tweets are on topic. The other tweets can be funny or maybe more random, like mentioning you’re going to a baseball game that evening.

Also, when someone finds your content or skills especially valuable they reach out. Don’t over promise anything, but don’t be against helping someone new.

Other ideas can be found on this great infographic by Twiends.

Through Twitter I was able to find my last full time position, have been able to “attend” many offline events taking place in time zones I couldn’t get to otherwise, have met new friends in San Francisco, and found many contacts related to my blog work.

Like everything else in life, you get what you give. There isn’t a magic answer to getting more followers, but really, do you need more followers? Try instead to focus on the audience you do have, even if it grows slowly. Having others engage with you on a deeper level than one click to follow (think: tweets and retweets of your content, true Twitter conversation, click-throughs to your site, and asking to connect off of Twitter) is weighted more heavily anyway, at least in my book.

Have a subject you want to learn more about? Email me at prettyinnovative@gmail.com.

Three Creative Ways Twitter and Fashion Mix “Offline”

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

Having a shirt from the Twitter office is pretty cool. But now it might be fun to step it up a notch and involve Twitter further in my wardrobe. Here are three pretty cool options:

The Twitter handle necklace

I ordered one of these for my friend’s graduation and she loved it. Customers have the option of buying a silver or gold necklace, custom made, to reflect their Twitter handle (or hashtag of choice).

Source: Survival of the Hippest

The Twitter dress

Just  this summer, Microsoft Research introduced a dress that displays tweets. How does it work? By way four Lilypad Arduinos, a laptop, a projector, and a Processing sketch. Interestingly, the dress is mainly made out of paper; a nice juxtaposition to the digital words that flit across the skirt. Check out Electricfoxy’s interview with Asta Roseway for more details!

Source: http://www.ecouterre.com/

The Tweet Mirror

If you’re not sure if you look good in a particular outfit, and need instant feedback, check out the Tweet Mirror, by Netherlands-based Nedap Retail. All you have to do is stand in front of the mirror in an outfit you’re deciding on and take a picture. The photo will be sent to friends on Twitter and answers will be received by cell phone. Last year, this invention was awarded a retail technology prize.

Source: DailyDOOH

Needless to say, Twitter is becoming more ingrained in the fashion industry “offline”. What do you hope to see next?

Introducing The Pretty Innovative Scoop

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

I’ve been getting a lot of great feedback on my daily Twitter paper that I publish so let me make a proper introduction.

The Pretty Innovative Scoop is a daily publication that goes live every morning at 8 am PST. The paper is broken up into a few main sections, including Headlines, Arts & Entertainment, Technology, Education, Stories, Health, and Leisure. On the front page is the live feed from the list I used to create the paper (you can choose from adding a Twitter list or select hashtags to generate content).

Content includes tweets about fashion and technology, from more than 200 Twitter accounts on my digital fashion list. Categories include:

Fashion Magazines/Sites, Fashion and Tech Magazines, Fashion and Tech Blogs, Style Blogs/Bloggers, E-Tailers and Social Shopping Sites, Wearable Tech Artists, Analysts, Fashion Networks, Personalities, Fashion Brands and Designers, Retail Stores, Fashion Week and Other Events, Fashion Illustrators, Fashion PR/Marketing

What I like best about the paper (and reading others’) is the organized format. Considering that I spend way too much time on Twitter (for work and for play), it’s nice to see the same content spread out in a newspaper format. Besides, I come from a print background in writing, so it’s nice to see real-time news return to a print publication style.

Etsy Find: Personal Branding Goes Offline

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

So there I was, surfing Etsy tonight to see if there were any new Twitter inspired pillows and I found these fabulous stockings. Posted just yesterday, these “tattoo socks”, as they’re called, sell for only $18. Though the person who’d wear them would certainly show that they know all about personal branding, but how much of a Twitter fanatic would you have to be to wear these?

Besides, are these even super cute… or are they super creepy? I’m not sure, but seeing most of my friends call me a (fashionable) nerd anyway, I might just have to wear them sometime and see what sort of reactions I get to find out for myself!

From Vogue to Twitter- Three #NYFW Bloggers Discuss The Changing Scope of Fashion Week Coverage

Posted on by Ashley Laurel

Ah, Fashion Week. The freshest high fashion looks draped on sexy models. Camera flashes blinding those lucky enough to sit front row. Fashionistas swarming to New York in skyscraper high heels to catch a glimpse of Anna Wintour or Phillip Lim. And, wait… the Internet?

The Internet, or more accurately, social media, is becoming increasingly infused with high fashion marketing techniques. And this year, social media plays the biggest role yet in Fashion Week history.

New York-based Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of MyItThings.com Yuli Ziv has found that in the past year alone, social media based fashion marketing has increased due to three factors: the economic situation (which causes brands to get innovative with their marketing), the platform for brands to directly interact with customers and the image control brands can maintain by responding to customers’ complaints or questions.

Crosby Noricks, founder of PR Couture: a blog focusing on fashion PR, marketing, social media and promotion, agrees that social media is playing a growing role in how fashion brands are marketing themselves.

“As brands work hard to build their following on sites like Facebook and Twitter, there are new opportunities to engage directly with the brand. Whether that is a photo contest, live chat or a design your own handbag contest, individuals begin to own a piece of the brand and to tell their part of the story,” San Diego-based Noricks says.

However, others are also adding to the story.

This year, more than 80 bloggers have teamed up to cover New York Fashion Week through InsideTheTents.com, a site dedicated to exposing the world to what really goes on inside the Bryant Park Tents through technologies like Twitter, Flickr, live blogging, and video streaming.

Nadine Kam, features and style editor for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and fashion writer/stylist for HI luxury magazine, is one of these bloggers. Kam, who’s been doing fashion writing for about 12 years, covered New York Fashion Week as a blogger two years ago.

“This time around, I’ll also be adding a video component to my blog and I may do some live Tweeting,” Kam says.

Noricks, who’s attending New York Fashion Week as a blogger for the first time (and also part of InsideTheTents.com), followed the site’s coverage last year and found it very informative.

“InsideTheTents does a great job of providing a format to showcase all the great content that comes out of Fashion Week in a way that legitimizes the voice of the fashion blogger and respects their contributions,” Noricks says.

Hawaii-based Kam finds that social media has allowed her to quickly stay up to date and in touch with the fashion centers of the world, and she believes that it will help everyone keep up to date with Fashion Week this year.

“I think Twitter will be indispensable this year in getting out last-minute party, fashion tweet-ups and event notices,” Kam says.

Follow Yuli Ziv, Crosby Noricks, Nadine Kam and other InsideTheTents.com bloggers on Twitter to keep up to date on their Fashion Week adventures.