Before you become a "believer," there are a few things you should know about me. Yes, I really am a 73-year-old grandmother. Up until four years ago, I didn’t own an iPhone (or a Blackberry) and I have no idea what HootSuite does. My travel website, journeywoman.com, was posted 17 years ago and the template has never been changed. In fact, it’s so old that I’m now getting awards for retro design. Knowing all this, do you still trust me and want to read further?
Okay, here are my credentials. I may be digitally deficient, but in a few short years I’ve managed to amass almost 32,000 Twitter followers. "How can that be?" you ask. My answer is simple—by thinking outside the box, by being yourself, and by posting good content.
Grandma Twitter Rule #1: Be authentic. Forget the experts who tell you that whatever you put up on that Twitter feed will haunt you for the rest of your life. If you are a reasonably sane person, you will not embarrass yourself, but your true personality will come through. Dare to be funny. Dare to challenge Tweets without being hurtful. Dare to fly your freak flag without going overboard. Peeps will begin to follow, because they want to get to know YOU—the interesting person, not some persona that your IT Consultant has dreamed up.
Grandma Twitter Rule #2: The know-it-alls may tell you to schedule your tweets so you can get the word out without actually monitoring your Twitter posts. Really? To me that’s like getting a robocall out of the blue. I hear the message, but there’s nobody on the other end to answer when I tweet back to ask a question, make a remark, or simply RT (re-tweet). Forget about acknowledging me three hours later, the momentum is long gone.
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Grandma Twitter Rule #3: Think about this. Your audience is ever changing. There are a gazillion people on Twitter and together they are posting every second of the day and night. That means that depending on whom you want to reach, you should tweet accordingly. I direct early morning tweets to moms enjoying their first cup of coffee while the rest of the family is still sleeping. Those tweets might include a terrific recipe for dinner that night or a thoughtful piece on childcare. Around four in the afternoon as everybody is winding done, it’s time for fun, entertaining tweets. And, late at night, I target those other night owls with interesting travel ideas that they can go to bed dreaming about.
Grandma Twitter Rule #4: (Disclaimer: Please don’t set your alarm to get up in the middle of the night to do this. That would be crazy!) This next rule is about expanding your reader base. Yes, you have lots of followers in your own country, but what about that other Twitterverse around the world? When I have a sleepless night, I get out of bed for a half hour, log onto Twitter, and have great conversations in England and Australia. I introduce my latest blog post or YMC recipe, and before you know it, new friends (and their friends) are made and, as if by magic, my follower base becomes even more international.
Grandma Rule #5: Be a real friend! Take note of what is going on in people's lives—whether they live up the street or around the world. Follow up on their personal projects and travel. Send birthday wishes and tweets of congratulations. Take time to address their concerns if you have answers that may help, and don’t forget to include some XOXO whenever it is needed. That true Twitter Love will come back to you ten-fold.
P.S. Now take that money that you were going to pay a Twitter expert for their staid advice and go out and buy yourself something that you’ve had your eye on for a while. And. Enjoy.
P.P.S. I invite you to follow my crazy Twitter feed—@journeywoman
XOXOXO
From Grandma who loves you and is Aging Disgracefully.
For more of the Aging Disgracefully blog, check out: "Older Grandmother Seeks Younger Granddad For Cavorting" and "Help! I'm Captive In A Movie Theatre."
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