Caisteal Dhuni · @Reader_DG
9th Jan 2014 from TwitLonger
Please read the following advice before joining us for the #OutlanderInvadesLA Twitter Party.
The purpose of this Twitter Party is to get #OutlanderInvadesLA to trend in the US and as many other countries as possible but, more than that, to inspire people to seek out more information by giving them meaningful glimpses into all things Outlander by tweeting cast photos, the Starz promotional videos released to date, links to interviews with Diana and the cast members, memes with great quotes and quotes from the books.
We have succeeded in getting Outlander related hash-tags to trend three times now, with the greatest success associated with #UKTVNeedsOutlander. This is what we have learned from these efforts.
If we set a time to tweet together, our individual tweets are more effective. My 150 tweets for #UKTVNeedsOutlander were part of a very successful trend, whereas my 400-plus #Outlander tweets over the weekend of the NYC event were not. Of course, we’ll be tweeting #OutlanderInvadesLA all weekend long, but a major push on Saturday, January 11 between 8-10 am PST (9-11 am MST, 10-12 am CST and 11 am - 1 pm EST) should be able to spark a trend to start the weekend off with a bang.
Trending depends more on the number of people tweeting a given hash-tag than on the total number of tweets. 100 tweets from one account is less effective than 1 tweet each from 100 different accounts. That being said, volume does help when a lot of accounts are tweeting the same hash-tag - and if your followers join in when they see your efforts, so much the better.
Don’t retweet. Retweets do not count when it comes to trending. Copy and paste tweets you like, alter them slightly (another space, slightly different wording, etc) and tweet them as your own.
Do NOT include the word “trend” in your tweets. Rumor has it that there is an algorithm in the Twitter program which nullifies any overt trending efforts.
Watch the left-hand side of your screen during the event. That’s where the trend data is. Be ready to capture a screenshot if you see a trend. (It’s not vitally important, but they are very nice to have.)
About 10 minutes before the event starts, use the grey “Search” window on Twitter to search #OutlanderInvadesLA. Hit “enter” and it will take you to “Results for #OutlanderInvadesLA.” Right under that heading, you’ll see Top/All/People you follow. Click “All.” That will give you the real-time feed of everyone tweeting the hash-tag. This is the fun part - we get to spend two hours with Outlander fans from all over sharing our love of all things Outlander.
The other reason to watch the feed is to “mine” it for tweets. If you’re not particularly creative, you can copy and paste other people’s tweets. Find a tweet you like and copy it (right-click and “copy” in Windows, Command and the letter “C” in iOS), then click on the blue “box with a quill in it” icon. That will open a “Compose New Tweet” window. Paste the copied tweet there (right-click and “paste” in Windows, Command and the letter “V” in iOS), check to make sure the tweet is right (no extra stuff), change a character or two and then click “Tweet.” Repeat.
Twitter Jail If you exceed 100 tweets in an hour or 200 tweets in 3-4 hours, you will get a black rectangle at the top of your feed with the message “You have exceeded your daily limit of tweets. Try again in a few hours.” During this time, you can watch the feed and send/receive Direct Messages, but you can’t tweet. If you go to jail early in the effort, you’re done. It’s not a permanent black mark on your account and you will not be branded a “spammer,” but it’s pretty frustrating when you are tweeting for a purpose.
It’s well worth reading The Twitter Rules before the event. They can be found here: https://support.twitter.com/articles/18311#
Please join us as #OutlanderInvadesLA!