Anita Ojeda 
In this Granny Geek’s Guide, you’ll learn how to install one of those nice tweet buttons that send a snippet from your blog to Twitter. If you set it up correctly, you’ll find opportunities for authentic engagement on Twitter.
Twitter is all about making connections. I’ve actually made friends with people on Twitter through Twitter parties (do a hashtag search for #fmfparty on any given Thursday night around 6 Pacific Time and you’ll see a lively community doing its thing on Twitter).
BUT, if you don’t set your blog up correctly, you’ll never know that people want to connect with you. This post will walk you through how to set up your Twitter account (assuming that you have one–if you don’t, GO SIGN UP!) for tweeting straight from your blog posts. Visitors can easily click your tweet button and share your tweetable. When you set it up correctly, you’ll also have opportunities for authentic engagement on your Twitter account.
One of the best tweeting plugins that I’ve found is called “Better Click to Tweet.” I’ll walk you through how to install it, set it up, and start using it. You’ll need to log in to your self-hosted WordPress site as an administrator, and have the dashboard open.
How to Install Better Click to Tweet
1. Scroll down to “Plugins” on your website’s dashboard.
| 2. Click on “Add New” in the drop down menu. 3. When the add new screen pops up, type in: Better Click to Tweet |
| 4. Now click on “Installed Plugins” and you’ll see a list of all the plugins you have installed. Click on the “Settings” button under Better Click to Tweet. |
| 5. This is the important stuff for making social media social. MAKE SURE you enter your twitter handle (minus the @) in the little box provided. And MAKE SURE you click the “Use Short URL” box (this will save you characters). Save your changes. 6. Go to a blog post and in the visual editor, you’ll see a cute little blue birdie at the top of the page. Place your cursor where you’d like your tweet to show up, and then click the blue birdie. If you’re using Gutenberg, click on the plus sign to add a block, and then choose “Better Click to Tweet.” |
Depending on whether you’re using Gutenberg or pre-Gutenberg, you’ll see either a pop-out box like this, or…
…just a regular Gutenberg box with the ‘Click to Tweet’ next to a little blue bird. Either way, compose your tweet and add some relevant hashtags (1-3).
7. Click on “Save Draft” and then on “View Post” to check out your beautiful tweet-in-a-box. When you (or a visitor) clicks on the tweet, all of the important information such as the post URL and your twitter handle will be included.
I Have a Tweet Button: Now What?
In order to actually build platform using Twitter, you’ll need to take a few more steps. First of all you’ll need to start clicking other people’s tweetables. Each time to visit someone’s blog post, do a good deed and tweet about it. Next, you’ll need to follow people. Follow your favorite bloggers or authors. You can even do a hashtag search and follow people who tweet about similar things. Make it a habit to follow back (unless the person who followed you is a creepy man who calls you beautiful).
You can use a site like who.unfollowed.me to track your followers and unfollowers. Some people in Twitterland like to follow and then when people follow back, they go in and unfollow those people. That’s not polite. I can find and unfollow those people using the aforementioned site.
Most importantly, check your notifications occasionally so that you can thank people who retweet your content from your blog. I’ve made friends this way. It doesn’t take long, and it helps build authentic engagement. Sometimes I just ‘like’ their tweet, other times I tweet back thanking them or asking a question.
Remember to tweet other people’s content more often than you tweet your own. When someone looks at your Twitter feed, it shouldn’t look like it’s all about you.
