Five Twitter Tips Part 5

It’s been too long since I’ve posted some Twitter tips, but I’m trying to get back into a weekly, or bi-weekly, post. Hope some of these are useful for you.

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1. Link up your Instagram and Twitter
I don’t think you should feed your Instagram updates to Twitter every single time. 1-2 out of every 5 Instagram photos can go to your Twitter, if the text is short enough (max. 120 characters) and the tagged accounts have the same username on both platforms.
Even if you don’t feed Instagram to Twitter, which would the best option, other might do so. And if they do you want to make sure that if they tag you on Instagram, that the tag translates to Twitter. So if their friends so the tweet they can click on your username and look you up, and possibly follow you.
To link your Instagram account to Twitter open the Instagram app on your phone, click on the “wheel” in the upper right corner, and then click “Share Settings”. If you already are logged into the Twitter app on your phone, you can select the Twitter account. Otherwise you’d have to log in to Twitter and approve the setup.

(*If you have more then 9 Twitter accounts on your phone it only shows the last 9 accounts you have added to your phone. If the account you want to link is above the first 9 delete that account of the Twitter app and add it again.)

Ps. Even if you don’t have the same username on Twitter and Instagram you can link the accounts. If people then tag you on Instagram, it will automatically translate into the Twitter username once it gets posted on Twitter. I’m all about having the same username on ALL platforms, especially on Twitter and Instagram. It looks way better, it’s easier for people to find you (and know it’s you), and in the end it’s a huge part of your branding in 2013!

2. Don’t end a tweet with a URL if you also include an image.
When you add an image to a tweet (including an Instagram post), Twitter turns it into a URL at the end of the tweet. If you want to also include a(nother) URL in your tweet, it’s best to not end the tweet with that URL, as it would display 2 URLs in a row. Looks confusing for people, and they might only click on one of the URLs. If you really want/need to include a URL in the tweet, it’s best to put the URL earlier in the tweet. If needed you can always put 1 or more hashtags after the URL. That way both URLs aren’t right next to each other.

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Or, especially if you’re trying to promote an event/product with a flyer, or post a YouTube/Vimeo video, focus on that and aim to have people interact and share that, rather then trying to have them do multiple things. You only have a few seconds of someone’s attention most of the time, so make the most of it. Realize what the goal of the tweet is….

3. Fill in your profile
A lot of times when I look up a person or brand on Twitter, they don’t really display any info. I understand in some cases you want to stay low-key, but then you might be in the wrong place anyway….
You have 160 characters for your bio, and make sure you put in a website URL where people can found out more information. If people take the time to look you up, make it worth their time. If your profile has no info, what does that say about you?

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4. Upload a header
As most people look at Twitter from a mobile device (60%), I’m not to worried about the background image. It’s also hard to size it correctly since everyone has a different size screen.
The Twitter header, which was introduced in the fall of 2012, can be seen on both mobile and desktop, and you should upload one.
To upload a header just log in to your Twitter account on a computer. Once you are logged in hoover your mouse over your profile picture (you have that right?) and then click “EDIT”. The original image size for the Twitter header cannot exceed 1252×626 pixels (with a max file size of 5MB). Twitter does not specify a minimum size, but anything smaller than 640 pixels-wide will appear poor quality.

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On mobile the header is shown separate. Swipe the profile picture to the left and you can see the header with the profile information.(On a desktop it’s all displayed at once)

5. Don’t link Twitter to Facebook
Different platforms, different languages. Twitter has a max of 140 characters (or 120 + an image), hashtags don’t work on Facebook (yet), and each platform has a different audience. And if you tag someone on Twitter, that tag won’t translate to Facebook. And tagging others is the best way to get seen by more people.
Go to facebook.com/Twitter to unlink your Twitter to Facebook feed. Spent 1 extra minute to update Twitter and Facebook (and Instagram) separate and increase the reach of each post. Unless you don’t want as many people as possible to see, and share, your updates….
I see a lot of brands post on Instagram and then feed that to their Twitter and Facebook page. Not only do all 3 platforms display the same content (boring), but most of the time they also display a broken message. And don’t tell me you don’t have 1-2 extra minutes to tell the world about your amazing content….

Hope these tips are useful. Let me know if you have any questions. Email me at [email protected] or hit me up on Twitter or Instagram @fredvanschie.
Hope to be back next week!

How to link Instagram to a Facebook Page

The question I get asked the most is how to make sure your (brand’s) Instagram account can feed into your (brand’s) Facebook Page. While it’s pretty simply to have an Instagram account feed into a personal Facebook profile, it’s a little more complicated to have Instagram go to a Facebook Page. Just a little bit though….

A while back I made a tutorial email that I’ve been sending out a bunch, so I figured I put it up on here so everyone can see it. And save myself a couple emails, ha!

One more thing before I show the step-by-step tutorial, I do NOT recommend feeding your Instagram photos to a Facebook page. The main reason is that the Facebook edgerank (=algorithm) sees any link from outside of Facebook as a way to get people away from Facebook, and therefore it gets ranked lower. The result is that way less people will see an Instagram photo on a Facebook Page (in compare to a photo directly uploaded to a Facebook Page). And less views on a post means the Talking About This** number is going down, which will result in a lower post reach in the (near) future.
Another reason to not feed Instagram to a Facebook Page (or profile) is that the tagged accounts won’t translate into Facebook. And tagging others (on any social media platform) is the best way to grow your fan base and increase the reach of a post.

(**Talking About This number should be 10-15% of your total Facebook fans/likes)

Please make sure you are logged in to the Facebook and Facebook Pages (orange flag) apps before you start!

Step 1: Log in in to the Instagram app on your phone with the account you want to share on the Facebook Page. Then log into your personal Facebook profile on your smart phone. (And make sure you are an admin of the Facebook Page)

Step 2: Open the Instagram Instagram and click on the lower right tab (on the bottom). From there click on the wheel in the upper right corner.
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Step 3:
Click on the “Share Settings” button.
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Step 4a: Click on the “Facebook” button. It will now ask you to sign in to your personal Facebook profile. Follow the steps. It might open up Facebook for a second and come back to Instagram. It might even do this twice. Don’t touch anything, just let it pull it up and wait for it to be completely done.
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Step 4b: Click “No” so you’re not sharing your Instagram likes to your personal Facebook profile. Unless you want to display the sketchy stuff you like on Instagram to your Facebook friends. (You’re Instagram followers already can see that, so you’re already getting it out there, don’t worry)
FB-to-Insta-6 Step 4c: You don’t really have to do anything, just making sure the “Facebook” button is now displaying the name of your personal Facebook profile.FB-to-Insta-4

Step 5: Click on the “Facebook” button and it should now show “Wall (Default)”
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Step 6: Click on “Wall (Default)” and now you see a list of all the Facebook pages you are an admin off. Select the one you want and you’ll see the check mark behind the Facebook Page you’ve selected.
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Step 7: Now go to the upper left corner and click on “Facebook”, “Sharing”, “Options”, and “Profile” and you’re back to your Instagram profile tab/page. Now it’s time to test it out!
If this doesn’t work sign out of the Instagram and Facebook app on your phone, uninstall both app and then re-install both apps. After you’ve re-installed both apps turn off your phone and turn it back on. Then log in to Instagram and Facebook again and repeat the steps.

Step 8: Please don’t be lazy and feed every single Instagram photo to you Facebook page. It’s boring when both platforms (and Twitter) show exactly the same content! Besides the fact that it decreases your Facebook Page (and Post) reach, as well as making your Facebook posts look like a mess with a bunch of “@” and “#” signs…. You’re better then that!
I’d suggest to feed 1-2 out of 10 Instagram photos to your Facebook Page.

Hope this helps. Feel free to leave a comment below or email me at [email protected] if you still have issues or questions. Or let me know on Instagram or Twitter if this worked (or not) for you. I’m @fredvanschie.