The Power of Twitter

I have used social media, including Instagram and Twitter, for many years. Thus, I thought I was pretty well-informed on how to actually use these platforms.

This semester, however, has really shown me the true power of social media and how "social" it actually is. I have started using hashtags and "@" signs to reach out to specific people and communities, and I have gotten responses from people I never would have thought of.

Twitter has been my favorite platform because of how easy it is to tweet and reach specific audiences or communities. This blog post will be all about my experiences on Twitter and how much I have come to enjoy it.

Responses from Companies and Developers

Some of my most exciting moments using social media have happened on Twitter, including written responses and "likes."

Video games have always been one of my biggest passions. Thus, a majority of my tweets are about video games I enjoy and other news in the video games world.

Recently, I tweeted about a sale GameStop was having before Black Friday. I used hashtags and mentioned GameStop in the tweet, and I actually got a response from them.

GameStop's official Twitter page responded to my tweet on Nov. 14, 2021. I was super excited about this.

I never would have imagined that GameStop would tell me Santa has me on his nice list, but Twitter made that possible.

Additionally, I recently tweeted about a virtual reality game called "Pistol Whip," and both the game's official account and the studio behind it liked my tweet.

"Pistol Whip's" official page and the studio behind the game liked my tweet on Nov. 17, 2021.

I always get super excited to see companies and developers I really enjoy interacting with my tweets. It is really incredible to me that my tweets are seen by them, and this really shows me how "social" social media really is.

Social Media as a Professional Tool

I have recently started writing for a video games news site called "App Trigger." Thus, I am always looking to get more views and to spread my work.

One thing that has been very beneficial is using the analytics within Twitter. I always tweet about my most recent article, and I will check every couple hours to see how many people are interacting with my tweet.

For example, I recently wrote an article about Black Friday deals for the Oculus Quest 2. I tweeted about it on Nov. 16, and as of Nov. 28, approximately 430 people have seen that tweet and 41 people have engaged with it.

This is what I see when I click on "View Tweet activity."

I can also see what types of articles are not very popular based on their Twitter analytics. Another article I recently wrote was a preview of a small, independent game called "Solar Ash." I tweeted about it on Nov. 19, and as of Nov. 28, people have seen it only 179 times.

Even though it is a little disappointing that my "Solar Ash" tweet was not as popular as my Quest 2 one, being able to view the analytics helps me gauge what readers are interested in. Thus, I can form ideas about what types of content people want to see.

Final Thoughts

I never would have imagined I would be getting responses from big corporations and developers. Ever since I started using Twitter as a platform to publicize my work and share my passions, however, I have realized how powerful it really is.

Twitter has been a great blessing to my professional work and overall interests, and I am excited to see who I can reach next.