Did you know that there are 100 million active daily Twitter users? Twitter is a hotbed of activity for social media consumers, which makes it an ideal place to promote blog posts. To drive traffic to your blog there is a bit of strategy beyond a slap-dash tweet involved.

This week on Maine on the Blogs we are looking at ten common mistakes that bloggers make when trying to promote their blog posts on Twitter. With a few small tweaks to your strategy, you can easily increase your blog traffic.

Your tweets fall flat

Think about tweets like a hook line; if there is no spark or mystery that compels a Twitter user to click on your tweet then it means your tweet is flat. Pump up your creativity by using a colorful line from your blog post, a catchy title, an interesting question or a provocation statement.

You don’t include your blog link

How in the world will your Twitter followers find your blog if you fail to include a link to the post your are promoting? One trick to keep up your sleeve is to use the click to tweet widget, which embeds tweets in your post. Readers can click it and tweet out your work, which handily includes a link back to the post.

[Tweet “10 Twitter mistakes you need to fix right now”]

Your images stink

Tweeting an image should follow the same rules as posting images on a blog. The image must be legal to use, interesting to look at, appropriately sized, and ideally includes a link back to the post you are trying to promote.

You spam other Twitter users

A popular way to get reach on a tweet is use the @mentions method in which you tag another user by including their handle in your tweet. Be careful about this because it comes across as spammy, particularly if you don’t know the person you are @mentioning. Another spam move is to ask for retweets or RT’s, this is not a wise practice as it looks like begging.

You tweet at the wrong time

If you spend a few minutes looking at your Twitter analytics you can spot the times of day when your tweets are viewed the most. Save your best tweets for those high traffic times.

[Tweet “Are you using Twitter to it’s fullest potential?”]

Your Twitter bio lacks critical information

A Twitter bio is like a tiny version of your blog’s About Page. Make sure you include information such as a link to your blog or any other social media account that you use on a regular basis.

You don’t promote other bloggers

Network, network, network! By retweeting posts from bloggers you follow or have share arrangements with you can increase their social reach, diversify your Twitter feed, and encourage your blogging colleagues to share your tweets.

Your blog doesn’t include your Twitter handle

In your About Page section on your blog there should be a list of social media handles that your readers can click to follow you more. In addition to your About Page, you can also utilize the sidebar widgets and click to tweet widget, which sends reads directly to your Twitter feed.

[Tweet “Maine on the Blogs will school you on Twitter”]

You only ever tweet your blog posts

Make sure you shake up your Twitter feed by engaging with your followers. You can do this in a few ways; asking interesting questions, sharing interesting content from around the web, and posting images.

You’re not a consistent tweeter

If you post 100 tweets in one week and then nothing the next week then you won’t have great luck finding and engaging with your audience. Twitter has a great feature that allows you to schedule out your tweets in advance, which allows you to be consistent.

Twitter is an easy to use social media platform that has the potential to boost your blog post visibility. By following fixing some of these ten common mistakes you can begin to utilize Twitter in a powerful and efficient way.

If you have a blog idea then please don’t be shy! We want to hear about it. You can contact us on our pitch page here. If you don’t know how to pitch then don’t worry, we have you covered with this blog post that gives you some great tips. And if you have any questions feel free to swing by our Facebook page, Twitter page, or leave us a question or comment below.