I read a funny tweet the other day about a mom tweeting with one hand because her son was sitting on her lap while she sat at her computer. That is my life too so I thought I'd share a couple of tips about how to be most efficient when (and if) you get to tweet.
First of all, Twitter may seem like a colossal waste of time - what you just ate, that you're sitting in the doctor's office, etc. To me, Twitter has almost completely replaced my need to watch the news and is a fabulous resources for anything you may be interested in - specifically, raising kids as a mom.
Not only can you follow all the major news outlets, you can also follow people who have the same interests as you do. There are many, many moms groups on Twitter. One of the biggest is Twitter Moms @twittermoms - with over 357,000 followers! Check out Twellow for specific people who have listed themselves into categories. Here is the Preschool/Toddler category link to find others who most likely tweet about kid stuff. There are over 2,300 people listed in this category!
A great application that can save you a ton of time is Hoot Suite. This application allows for you to centralize your social outlets in one place - your Twitter account(s), LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. Then you only have to log in to one place. The functionality is not 100% that of the actual direct application but it is SO easy to check all accounts, tweet for any of those accounts with one mouse click as well as schedule tweets for later. So if the baby is napping, you can type out your tweets and slowly tweet them throughout the day.
I use Hoot Suite a lot because I tweet for @TeachingToddler as well as my personal Twitter feed @mnewtontinlin and my business @SunriseBusiness. The best part is that I can choose which account to post specific tweets to, or I can tweet to all of them if I think it's a general and important topic that all those followers would be interested in.
Other ways to simplify the process is to link your Twitter account to your Facebook account so when you tweet, it posts to your Facebook page, or vice versa. I have also done this with my LinkedIn status - because it's a business-oriented networking tool, I have hooked my status to the @SunriseBusiness feed so I can post interesting information to both my personal network on LinkedIn and to my business network on Twitter. All of this allows for one less window to manage and "kills two birds with one stone" so to speak.
If you are going to post links (and I recommend you do) you should use a shortener so you can fit more commentary into your tweet. There are many; I particularly like bit.ly. If you set up an account, you can track how many people click your link, when and what country they are from. It's fascinating for a numbers geek like me! Hoot Suite also allows you to shorten as well, and then track the clicks. Shortened links in tweet are an extra reason for people to retweet you as well since it leaves room for their additional commentary.
If there are specific people you really like to hear from, you can create lists of topics and then add those people to the lists - like nutrition, attachment parenting, good deals, etc. This is a great way to filter specific information you are looking for. You can also set up mobile notices for those tweeters you REALLY like. It will text you their posts whenever they add something new.
So, link your account together with Hoot Suite, use Tweet Later for convenience, find others interested in what you are interested in through Twellow and use shorteners to allow for more commenting and a better chance of being retweeted, make lists or set up mobile notices of your favorite tweeters. This will help you maximize your time on Twitter while your little ones are running around (or sleeping, if you're lucky!). Happy Tweeting!
First of all, Twitter may seem like a colossal waste of time - what you just ate, that you're sitting in the doctor's office, etc. To me, Twitter has almost completely replaced my need to watch the news and is a fabulous resources for anything you may be interested in - specifically, raising kids as a mom.
Not only can you follow all the major news outlets, you can also follow people who have the same interests as you do. There are many, many moms groups on Twitter. One of the biggest is Twitter Moms @twittermoms - with over 357,000 followers! Check out Twellow for specific people who have listed themselves into categories. Here is the Preschool/Toddler category link to find others who most likely tweet about kid stuff. There are over 2,300 people listed in this category!
A great application that can save you a ton of time is Hoot Suite. This application allows for you to centralize your social outlets in one place - your Twitter account(s), LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. Then you only have to log in to one place. The functionality is not 100% that of the actual direct application but it is SO easy to check all accounts, tweet for any of those accounts with one mouse click as well as schedule tweets for later. So if the baby is napping, you can type out your tweets and slowly tweet them throughout the day.
I use Hoot Suite a lot because I tweet for @TeachingToddler as well as my personal Twitter feed @mnewtontinlin and my business @SunriseBusiness. The best part is that I can choose which account to post specific tweets to, or I can tweet to all of them if I think it's a general and important topic that all those followers would be interested in.
Other ways to simplify the process is to link your Twitter account to your Facebook account so when you tweet, it posts to your Facebook page, or vice versa. I have also done this with my LinkedIn status - because it's a business-oriented networking tool, I have hooked my status to the @SunriseBusiness feed so I can post interesting information to both my personal network on LinkedIn and to my business network on Twitter. All of this allows for one less window to manage and "kills two birds with one stone" so to speak.
If you are going to post links (and I recommend you do) you should use a shortener so you can fit more commentary into your tweet. There are many; I particularly like bit.ly. If you set up an account, you can track how many people click your link, when and what country they are from. It's fascinating for a numbers geek like me! Hoot Suite also allows you to shorten as well, and then track the clicks. Shortened links in tweet are an extra reason for people to retweet you as well since it leaves room for their additional commentary.
If there are specific people you really like to hear from, you can create lists of topics and then add those people to the lists - like nutrition, attachment parenting, good deals, etc. This is a great way to filter specific information you are looking for. You can also set up mobile notices for those tweeters you REALLY like. It will text you their posts whenever they add something new.
So, link your account together with Hoot Suite, use Tweet Later for convenience, find others interested in what you are interested in through Twellow and use shorteners to allow for more commenting and a better chance of being retweeted, make lists or set up mobile notices of your favorite tweeters. This will help you maximize your time on Twitter while your little ones are running around (or sleeping, if you're lucky!). Happy Tweeting!
Picture credit: JM Http://www.logodesignweb.com/stockphoto
