How to turn Twitter into free publicity
By Paul Green
Last week I was asked to appear as a studio guest on the BBC radio station in Northampton for their weekly media slot.
And the cool thing is I didn’t solicit the appearance… they approached me and asked me to do it!
This isn’t a rare occurence. I regularly push myself to all sorts of media outlets, offering expert PR comment on business marketing stories and issues.
The unusual thing this time is that the radio station had found me through Twitter.
Not using Twitter yet? Where have you been?
Twitter is a way of telling people what you are up to in “real time”, and in 140 characters or less. These posts are known as “tweets”.
You choose to follow people, which means you see their updates, and they can choose to follow you back.
It has been around since 2006 but has only really entered the mainstream consciousness in the last six months or so.
Celebrities such as Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry made it popular here, while in the US actor Ashton Kutcher (who’s married to Demi Moore) was the first to get a million people following him (as I write this he’s just under two million followers).
I’ve been on Twitter for a few months and have just over 200 users (hooray – thanks!).
Last week I started to follow local BBC radio presenter Bernie Keith – and that was what lead to my studio appearance.
Bernie and his team saw I was following them, came onto my Twitter page, visited my website and read up all about me.
And that helped them decide I could be a good guest for the media slot.
I’ll admit, this may have been a one-off. But there’s also a chance that I will get more media attention in the future from Twitter.
Here are 3 steps that could help you use Twitter to get free publicity as an expert in your field:
1) Plaster your expertise all over your website: If you’re an expert in something you need to spell it out for people. Set up a page on your website dedicated to you and the things that make you an expert. List qualifications and experience if relevant. Don’t be shy; this is about helping your business not just your ego. Make sure you put a photo of yourself on there. Journalists will want to see what you look like (it’s another way to assess if you are suitable or not).
2) Make your Twitter page relevant: Anyone that notices you on Twitter will visit your Twitter page first. So make sure it gives a brief summary of your expertise and includes a link to your website.
3) Follow relevant journalists: For journalists or radio presenters to notice you, you have to follow them first. Identify the ones you are interested in and Google their names plus the word Twitter. This is a very effective way to find someone’s Twitter account. To follow a journalist (or indeed anyone else), visit their Twitter page and click the grey “follow” button. Many Twitter users are curious about the people that are following them, which is how you could end up with journalists checking you out. If you’ve followed steps one and two, that might generate media interest. An added benefit is that you get a better idea what these journalists are interest in. That makes it easier for you to make story suggestions to them that are more relevant.
This is a new thing for me and I’m keen to know if it works. If you try it with some success please let me know.
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