Social Media Tips from @HeyRatty

heyrattyMy my, hey hey … @HeyRatty is here to stay. We included Michael Ratty in our “Who to Follow in Boston” Twitter Guide because of his journalistic tendencies and also because he has the uncanny ability to tweet about news, sports, and politics while remaining someone we’d like to be friends with. And it’s not all #seriousbusiness; he’s also hilarious.

 

Hey hey, my my, @HeyRatty can never die. Because his Twitter Tips are now immortalized:

 

 

1. It sounds clichéd, but BE AUTHENTIC. Use your own voice. People these days have a good Bullshit Detector, and the knob on that detector is turned up to ELEVEN on Twitter. I haven’t gained Twitter followers by being the funniest or smartest person in Boston. I’d like to believe I’ve done it by being authentic. Not in a rude IDGAF way, though. When people start following me, they know they’re going to get snarky thoughts about the MBTA and sports and politics and movies. Oh, and lots of Instagrams of food. If those aren’t your bag, you probably shouldn’t follow me.

2. Don’t worry about who you follow, the cream rises to the top. Most of the best people I follow I learned about from friends. When you start seeing your friends retweeting articles from the same journalists and thought leaders, it’s probably a good idea to start following those people. If you consistently offer followers unique and interesting content, your follower count is sure to increase.

3. If the firehose of information is too big and you’re following too many people, UNFOLLOW everyone! Charlie Warzel at Buzzfeed did this last year (“I Nuked My Twitter Feed and You Should Too”) and I found it to be a fascinating experiment. I am guilty of this, as I currently follow almost 4,500 people. I am considering doing this same thing to start from scratch.

4. Hootsuite, Schmootsuite! Don’t feel like you need to use third-party apps to get the most out of Twitter. Although I use Hootsuite and TweetDeck for work and to live-tweet conferences and events, I find them too messy and busy for personal use. I don’t like the layout of either of them and, ironically, I find that it’s easier to miss something when information is flying through at breakneck speed. There’s nothing wrong with using good ole Twitter-dot-com.

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Social Media Tips from @TheDrewStarr

Social Media Tips from Drew Starr (@TheDrewStarr)Drew Starr is a guy who likes food and things — NOT to be confused with a foodie (don’t call him that, per his request). While his main focus is on food, he tweets a lot about Boston as a whole. Look forward to his snarky, yet informative tweets on food, Boston, and more. Find more Food & Drink Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston!

 

 

 

1. Psst, restaurants: try not to retweet every damn compliment. Did a celebrity say they loved your burger, or did someone take a better picture than you could of your special? Go ahead and hit RT. Someone with 16 followers took a bad picture of your menu? Not so much. Reply and thank them for the compliment, but don’t fill our feeds with it.

2. As for diners, there is little more off-putting than seeing people tweeting petty complaints about fixable things while in the damn restaurant. These aren’t airlines. The people most empowered to help make your life better are unlikely to be manning the restaurant’s Twitter account. Talk to your server, or ask to talk to a manager. If they don’t make it right, fire away, but you should probably sleep on it first anyway. If it still feels necessary in the morning, you’d have had the night to come up with some really good lines, anyhow.

3. Food bloggers / writers / people-about-town / anyone else who manages to get themselves invited to PR events. go and have fun, I certainly go to my share – it’s often the only chance I have to get a feel for a place that I’d be unlikely to get to on my own. But when you’re tweeting about them, make it clear to your followers that it is a PR event. Not disclosing it strikes me as unethical: but worse, it doesn’t clue your followers into the fact that your experience was tightly curated (and free!) and they should not necessarily expect the same.

4. If your tweet starts with an “@,” the only people who will see it are those following you and the account you’re mentioning. So a tweet that says “@NewRestaurant is now on Twitter, go follow them!” is absolutely useless, since it will only be seen by those who are already following @NewRestaurant. Ever wonder why you’ll often see tweets start with a period, or a meaningless “Hey, @soandso …. ?” Those people know this rule. Worth noting: Starting a tweet with an @ when your desired goal is only to reach that person and common followers is a-okay.

5. Twitter works best if you engage with people. That doesn’t mean beg them to promote you. That means respond to the things they’re saying — not only if it’s about you. If you check your Twitter analytics (you DO do that, right? They’re now available for free to all users, even if you don’t advertise), you’ll see most tweets reach a very small percentage of your audience. Most Twitter users are only checking their feeds a few times a day, and rarely scroll back more than an hour or so. The more you engage with individuals, the more likely they’re going to mention you to their audience at different hours.

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Social Media Tips From @MidEastClub + @ZuZuBar

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Clay Fernald (@claynferno) is the brains behind the Midde East and Zuzu’s social media. From running the actual venue to running the venue’s social media (which includes keeping guests, artists, and followers constantly informed), we bet Clay had a lot of advice for businesses looking to get their big toe wet in the somewhat murky waters of social media. And we were right.

 

1. Music Monday! #mm
Even if you aren’t in the music business, put your favorite artist in the spotlight on Monday! Have you Heard Aretha Franklin sing Adele? Wooooo! Hashtag #mm means “Music Monday.” Everyone likes music!

2. Follow Back! #ff

In 2012, we got the blue checkmark next to our @MidEastClub Twitter handle? What does that mean, we’re clear for smallpox? No! We’re a recognized professional entity by the almighty Twitter herself! Thanks, birdie!

Anyhoot, we got there by slowly building a great ratio of followers to people we followed. And also we made sure not to follow jerks. Us the #FF hashtag on Friday to engage with your peers, your friends, your competitors and see how fast your list can grow. If you get a #FF notification, follow them back (after checking out their profile, of course!)

3. Report Spammers!
Are you followed on Twitter by a lot of egg icons, or is someone spamming one-of-a-kind Marty McFly sneaker sales on your Facebook Page? Unless it’s Doc Brown himself, use the appropriate buttons to report to Twitter and Facebook that these are spam accounts! Keep the B.S. to a minimum and those news feeds clean for all. It feels like a citizens arrest!

4. Meme it up!
Bored on a Thursday? Send your intern to MemeGenerator to make a clever joke about what you and your team are working on.

See, look what my intern did! She’s a card.

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5. Speak in your own voice!
There are lots of conflicting words of advice about this, but as a brand, you are still a person, or hopefully, a team! Sign your tweets if you need to express who you are.

For example. nerd musicians @PaulandStorm share a Twitter account and they simply sign tweets this way: [P] = Paul, [S] = Storm.

In the MidEastClub Twitter bio, we are a collective team, but we post as “The Box Office, Jill&Steph&Jamie&Clay.” This puts at least a name to the company (four names, in fact!) that people can relate to!

6. Acknowledge your mistakes.
If we make a mistake or update set times, we say “oops” or “updated set times.”

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Social Media Tips From @Lyft

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Catching a Lyft may be as easy as opening an app on your phone, but Zach Cole, Lyft’s social media manager, doesn’t have an easy job. From mastering Lyft’s “cool dude next door” voice on Twitter to handling Lyft’s responses to the numerous red-tape it faces in many states across the country – Cole has a lot to handle, but he makes it look effortless! We asked him for some advice for businesses looking to emulate that kind of organic presence.

 

 

1. Find out what your audience likes.
Brands that don’t constantly talk about themselves often find great success. Knowing what your audience is truly interested in can help inform your content strategy, so that you’re able to share more content that isn’t centered around your brand, but still communicates your brand values.

2. Create a content calendar.
Brands with strong content calendars do two things really well: they have a regular posting frequency per social channel, which helps brands understand when they can best reach their audience, and they post a variety of content. Content calendars are great tools for bucketing content into categories so that brands can share a balanced variety of content.

3. Set goals.
Talk with your marketing and brand teams to determine your brand’s goals for social media. This way, you can have an idea of what matters most when working to improve your social strategy. Goals vary from one brand to the next — some brands (media and e-commerce) will often measure website traffic from social, while others may want to focus on reaching a target demographic with a specific message.

4. Experiment.
Try new things! The world of social media is still relatively new, so there’s always room to experiment. Try sharing new types of content, playing with copy, working with influencers, etc. You sometimes never know just where you’re going to find the most success until you give it a go — and generally social media lets brands do this at minimal cost.

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Social Media Tips from @SoundofBoston

Sound of BostonConcert reviews, local artists, record stores, music tech startups – all the things music lovers like to know about. If we were to recommend one Twitter account to stay in the loop with such things, locally, it would be @SoundofBoston.

They’re on our list of Twitter accounts to follow because they not only provide a TON of info, but are also great at interacting with and sharing content from other relevant accounts. All that together makes for one useful source! (SO helpful for anyone new to the city, too!)

After noting a few thoughts from Knar Bedian, also known as @live_hye and the person behind the @SoundofBoston account, we’re inspired.

Find more A&E Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston.

1. Choose no more than three topics to tweet about. People should be able to quickly understand what sorts of information/value your account will offer.

2. As Gary Vaynerchuk says in his book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, it’s not all about promoting your own site/posts. More often than not, your account should provide entertainment or useful information that fills in the space between your “right hooks,” or the tweets in which you ask your followers to check out your content or respond to your calls to action.

3. When you want your followers to take an action, make sure there’s a call to action! For example, “Sign up here,” or “Retweet,” or “Respond with a story.”

4. Engage with others and understand your audience. Twitter should not be your soapbox. Knowing the prime time to tweet is important.

5. Starting a tweet with a Twitter handle means the tweet will be directed to that person, and it WON’T show up on your followers’ feeds. If you don’t mean to have a conversation with someone, use a space or period before Twitter handles when starting tweets with a name to make sure it shows up on your followers’ feeds.

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Social Media Tips from @boloco

Social Media Tips from @bolocoOne of Boloco‘s most recent retweets asks, “If you don’t eat Boloco numerous times a week do you really live in Boston?” The burrito company, whose name is short for “Boston Local Company,” earned its fame quickly for its top-notch burritos, but is also superb at social media. With their blend of Boston-based burrito humor, informative posts, and customer service, they know what they’re doing and they do it right. Find more Food & Drink Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston!

1. Stay human. At the end of the day, social media is just a conversation and we just sell burritos. There’s no reason why it can’t be fun.

2. Be honest. If you messed up, you messed up. Own it, apologize, and try your best to make it right. We do our best to remain 100% honest.

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Social Media Tips from @TheBostonCal

Social Media Tips from Sean O’Connor of @TheBostonCalSean O’Connor is one of the many great souls behind @TheBostonCal. The Twitter account, Facebook page, and website are all dedicated to finding the best events in Boston and broadcasting them to people who like to have fun. With events ranging from food and drink, to film and art gallery openings, to random street occurrences, The Boston Calendar has a little bit for everyone in Boston to enjoy. Find more Event Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston!

 

1. Trying to raise awareness for Boston events on Twitter is a little difficult. It’s very noisy on there and sometime we post about an awesome free event and it’s just crickets. Our Facebook page has proven about 10 times more effective. As it turns out there’s not many Facebook pages in the city dedicated towards events. (Ed. Not every platform will be perfect for you. Find which one performs best, and find where your content is most needed, and spend more time there.)

2. Despite being a Twitter handle for “events that don’t suck,” it helps to post about general cool things happening around the city, like a sunset or Johnny Depp filming a movie.

3. For events, it helps to be the first or one of the first to announce an awesome upcoming event. Sometimes we get word before most, but a lot of the time Boston magazine beats us to the punch. Getting on the press release lists of events organizers has been a pursuit of ours, but it’s not that easy.

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Social Media Tips from @mysecretboston

Social Media Tips from Jeff Wallace (@mysecretboston)Ever have a friend or family come up and ask you to show them around Boston? You took them to Faneuil Hall, didn’t you? You were disappointed, weren’t you? Come on.

There’s so much more to Boston than the typical tourist traps and MySecretBoston is there to show you all of them. The account, run by Jeff Wallace, is dedicated to “Uncovering the best of Boston food, music, and entertainment” and does just that, announcing last-minute free concerts, cool bar specials, and random things you never knew Boston had to offer — including the top places to hang out in Allston.

Find more Event Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston!

1. Offer up enough goods to catch someone’s eye, but not too much to spoil the secret. Make them want to (and have to) click on that link.

2.When trying to to post the same link in multiple posts (i.e. to promote an event or a big article), be sure to vary the hook on each post. Don’t just cut and paste. Get creative.

3. Sometimes it pays to take a break from self-promotion and to share someone else’s content. Just make sure it’s consistent with your voice and brand.

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Social Media Tips from @kendall_square

logoLive, Work. Shop, Play, Eat – that’s the motto they live by over at @kendall_square. The Cambridge neighborhood is quickly transforming into more than just a haven for MIT students and tech geeks – shops, bars, and restaurants are popping up all over the place, and we look to this account to keep us informed about all the latest happenings and events going on in the area. How do they do it? They also have a few more adages to live by:

1. Show some love. Is someone tweeting about the great time they’re having/had at your event? If so, retweet it and/or favorite…ASAP. There’s nothing like some positive social media reinforcement to keep a loyal Twitter follower. You could even go a step further and set up a search for people who may be talking about your brand, event or company – but not tagging you. Show them some love as well and we’re sure you’ll gain a few new followers and some future mentions.

2. Live-tweeting is an art. If you’re live-tweeting an event, live chat, appearance, whatever it may be, pick your hashtag and #sticktoit! Keep the posts coming – but be sure to keep them different and interesting. And don’t forget, a picture speaks a thousand words, or in Twitter’s case, 140 characters.

3. Keep your friends close, and your friend’s followers closer. Your followers are smart, cool, in-the-know folks, and chances are, so are their followers! Following the accounts your followers follow will most likely grow your social network and lead to some positive future interactions and interesting introductions.

4. Know your audience. Here in Kendall Square, we live by our motto: Live, Work, Shop, Play, Eat. Whether it’s sharing a new coffee flavor @VoltageCoffee or talking about this season’s smoothie @Mother_Juice, we view our tweets as a conversation with our friends!

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Social Media Tips from @somervillecity

SomervilleCity logoEvery community manager has a few important commandments she lives by, and the best ones apply to more than just brands – they can even help an entire city succeed. Social media and community engagement specialist Meghann Ackerman is the woman behind @somervillecity, one of our favorite neighborhood accounts and the official feed of the City of Somerville providing news, events, city alerts, and a direct connection to Mayor Curtatone and his staff. How does she do it – and how can you do it, too?

 

 

1. Keep the “social” in social media. It sounds cheesy when you say it, but making sure your social media presence is indeed social is important. People use social networks to connect, share, and ask questions. Engage with your audience and be there when they have questions, comments, and suggestions.

2. Experiment. Try different types of posts and watch your analytics to see what resonates with your audience. Use what you learn to craft posts that are engaging and that energize your audience. Being a city, we’re not interested in reaching more people for potential sales, but we are interested in making sure information gets to as many people as possible.

3. Make different content for different platforms. First, pick the right platform(s) for what you’re trying to accomplish. Once you do, know that many people use multiple social networks. This is great because it gives you more chances to drive your message home, but people will tune out if you just post the same thing in several places. Get to know the culture and advantages of each platform you use and tweak your content to fit.

4. Have fun. Automated social media feeds get very low engagement. Why? Because people like talking to real people. Don’t be so formal that you sound like a robot. Develop a personable tone, throw in a little humor, and really enjoy interacting with your audience.

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