Breaking down Twitter for artist promotion

1. The SVA Office of Career Development Presents:
Twitter 101 for Artists
June 20, 2013
#svasm
@suzannemozes

2. Also Known As …
Wickedly Creative
and
Intelligent People
who
Feel like Luddites

3. Where did this info come from?
I give thanks and gratitude for using content from:
• @sree, http://sree.net
• @stevebuttry, http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com
• Pew Research Institute
• Mediabistro.com
• 99u.com
• Emptyeasel.com
• @mashable

4. Introductions
• Name
• Artistic Discipline
• Recent success/challenge with social
media?
• What would make today’s seminar a
success for you?

5. Twitter Is …
“ Twitter is a real-time
information network
that connects you to the
latest
stories, ideas, opinions
and news about what
you find interesting.”

6. How are we defining social media?
*sharing content with
people in your
network

7. Top Four Sites for Artists
1.Behance
2. TWITTER
3. Facebook
4. Linkedin

8. What is engagement?
*Listening, joining, leading and enabling
conversation
*Elevating meaningful conversation
*Responding to ideas
*Commenting in an authentic way

9. Buzzwords
• Community
• Authenticity
• Meaningful
• Conversation
• Exchange
• BRANDING

10. Artistic Citizenship
*Following people you find helpful
*Liking/commenting on other content in a
meaningful way
*Sharing content you find helpful and
adding your own commentary
*Writing notes of admiration
*Reaching out and inviting others into your
network

11. Why spend time on Twitter?
*Connects you to
viewers, clients, galleries, artistic
communities
*Directs you to news
*Communication is changing and you
don’t want to fall behind
*Stay abreast of trends
*Read interesting
information, blog, reports, etc.
*Learn breaking news in your field
*See others’ portfolios

12. Why actively ENGAGE on Twitter?
• Make new contacts
• Write tight and compact
• Showcase your portfolio
• Practice Artistic Citizenship
• Use it quickly
• Expand your business
• Showcase your expertise
• Share what you’ve learned
• Learn from people you
admire and respect
• Find inspiration
• Sense of belonging to a
larger community
• Bring eyeballs to your
portfolio/website
• Earn new commissions
• Job search
• Add to skill set on resume
• Find new trends
• Create, craft, and enhance
your artistic brand

13. Twitter Language
• Twitter (noun): Software/Platform
• Tweet (noun or verb): An update
• Tweeps (noun): Your followers
• Retweet (noun or verb): To pass on a link or
thought (can be quote, paraphrase, starting
point)
• Tweetup (noun): A physical gathering of
tweeps
• Fail whale (noun): Over-capacity graphic

14. Lingo
• RT Retweet
• MT Modified Tweet
• REPOST RTing yourself
• HT Hat tip (saying thanks)
• OH Overheard
• LMK Let me know
• FTW For the win
• <3 Love
• DM Direct Message

15. Hashtags
• Acts like a tag on Flickr or Google
• Regular hashtag - use existing hashtag if
there is one
• Event hashtag - search before launching
a new hashtag (#svasm)
• Breaking News
• Humorous (use sparingly)

16. Hashtags for Events

17. Multiple Hashtags for a Single Event

18. Hashtags

19. Getting Started
1. Open Account
2. Choose a handle (think of it as a tattoo)
3. Write a succinct, honest, clear bio
4. Include Website, Portfolio, or Behance Link
5. Download Twitter app to smartphone
6. Follow people
7. Start tweeting

20. @hillaryclinton

21. Writing Your Bio
• Be honest and direct
• Fine to include humor
• Feel free to use hashtags
• Do not write “Aspiring Anything”
• Succinct
• Change as often as you like while retaining core
profile
• A branding statement
• Don’t use exclamation points
• Give a sense of yourself and humor
• Never assume someone knows what you do

22. Great Bios

23. @teditorTed

24. Great Bio

25. @reaganart

26. Bad Bios
• writer, reader, wolf-girl & literary editor
• Friend of Zach Galifinakis
• The man who works; The man who thinks; The
man who does nothing.
• Napper/Writer/Obscure Reference Maker
• Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
• I am Alan Yentob, creative director of the BBC
• Author

27. Twitter Basics
• 140-character limit (but don’t use all 140)
• Attribute (“retweet”) with RT@name
• Direct-message (DM): for private
communication
• Link Link Link: tinyurl, bit.ly, etc.
• Hashtags (#): helps searches for tweets

28. What makes a good Tweet?
@Sree’s Social Media Success Formula:
Helpful Generous
Useful Credible
Timely Brief
Informative Entertaining
Relevant Fun
Practical Occasionally Funny
Actionable
*How many attributes can you manifest in your
tweet?

29. Capitalizations

30. The Ideal Checklist for Great Tweets
*Opinion/Commentary
*Contribute to a conversation
OR begin a conversation
*Insight/Engagement
*Choice Capitalization
*Date and Time of Event
*Hashtag
*Image

31. A Good Tweet Looks Like:

32. A lousy twitter feed looks like …

33. What should I tweet about?
• Link to a new blog post
• Link to an event that you attended
• Retweet a colleague with a link
• Reply to someone
• Tweet something insightful or funny
• News in your field
• A photo
• What you read
• Advertising(but be careful)

34. Who do you follow?
• Who has art like yours?
• Whose art to do you like?
• Which galleries host art that you want to repped
by?
• Are you represented by a gallery? Follow the
artists they rep.
• Reading articles that cover topics that you find
interesting? Follow subjects and author.
• Use Google Alerts.
• Use Hashtags to focus in on important stuff.

35. Strategies For Following
• Find someone you like on Twitter and follow who
they follow
• Let Twitter/who_to_follow guide you
• Direct competitors
• Newsmakers
• Artswriters
• Area Organizations
• Journalists covering your field
• Colleagues in other communities
• Galleries/Production Houses/Magazines/Editors
• Experts in your field
• Current/potential customers
• Family and friends

36. What’s more important?
Who you follow
or
who follows you?

37. How do I build followers?
• Tweet often
• Find & follow likeminded people
• Be conversational
• Live tweet events
• Give more than you ask for
• Be yourself
• Use less than 140 characters
• Add commentary to a tweet about reading
• Use capitalization sparingly
• Don’t overuse hashtags
• Whining is disliked; upbeat sentiments are
valued

38. Cutting Through the Noise
Given the definition of twitter (noun): A
series of short, high-pitched calls or sounds.
• Lists
• Develop a value-driven network
• Look at favorited tweets
• Follow suggestions from Twitter
• Set a time limit and set an intention for
your time on twitter

39. Twitter Apps or Add-Ons
• Tweetbeep & Tweetscan: Google alert for Twitter
• Twitpic and Instagram: sharing Photos
• Vine: sharing short, looping video
• TweetDeck and Hootsuite: Arrange twitter
feeds, schedule tweets, create filters
• Twtpoll: poll your network
• Qwitter: track who doesn’t follow you
• Twitalyzer: Twitter Analytics
• Twiangulate: graphing hidden networks

40. Qwitter

41. Time Management
• Curate your twitter feed
• Integrate it into day
• Tweet a few times a day
• Check “mentions”
• Use lists, alerts & saved searches
• TweetDeck, Hootsuite
• Change your media diet
• Find the right time of day that your
people go to the water cooler

42. Looking for a Job
Via @mashable
• Follow the industry you are interested in, and participate in communities you care about.
• Don’t just retweet what others are saying; create meaningful content that people care
about. Be a thought leader.
• Use Twitter as a jumping-off point to your more detailed online profiles — a personal blog or
LinkedIn profile, for example.
• Many companies have job-related Twitter handles. Following those is a great way to keep
tabs on job openings, rather than searching the company's website.
• Build your network before you need it; engage with people who do what you want to do.
• Don’t be overly professional. Twitter is a great way to showcase your personality and talk to
people about your interests.
• Don’t just use your Twitter as a means of self-promotion — be interested in what other
people are doing and engage with them. Share others' stuff before your share your own.
• Actually network. Build lists for people across different disciplines. Join chats. Interact and
start conversations. Initiate discussions with people who inspire you. It’s okay to step outside
of your comfort zone.
• Share content that is valuable. The more relevant contributions you make, the more others
will want to continue to follow you.

43. To Get Going
• Tweet about 10 times/day
• Follow about 10 more people/day
• Set up a list
• Follow another list
• Ask a question
• Reply to tweets
• Direct-message tweeps

44. Etiquette No No’s
• Following a ton of people to get them to follow
you, and if they don’t unfollowing them
• Sending template tweets
• Spelling Twitter handles incorrectly
• Not including a link
• Releasing private information owned by someone
else
• Infringing on copyrights
• Reposting without giving attribution

45. The Only Rules …
Give more
than you take.
&
Always Respond

46. Words to the Wise
• Let Twitter be a creative outlet
• Make it work for you
• Find pleasure in overflowing information
• Find the time of day that works best for
you
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
• Set a time limit
• Don’t be afraid to hype yourself and
others
• Use an out-of-office message

47. Final Advice
Don’t answer:
“What am I doing?”
Answer:
“What am I thinking?”

48. Contact Me
• http://twitter/svacareerdevelopment
• smozes@sva.edu
• suzanne.mozes@gmail.com
• http://twitter/suzannemozes