Category: Social Media

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Yes, I am Still on Twitter

And I plan to remain tweeting as long as it is beneficial to my business.

There has been a lot of misinformation spreading around social media about the “demise” of Twitter after its acquisition by Elon Musk. I’m not seeing that demise at all. In fact, I am seeing increased engagement, fewer scam posts, fewer (obvious) bot posts and fewer misleading advertisements.

twitter screenshot for article
Twitter profile header as might be seen by a “follower” of my twitter feed.

However, many people are being led astray by the naysayers and meme posts on Facebook and other social media sources. Many of the people sharing, adding negative comments and bashing twitter have little or no first-hand knowledge themselves.

Here is a recent interchange I experienced on Facebook that illustrates the twitter-bashing that has become prevalent. I created a Facebook post asking people to head on over to my Twitter Photography Page and give me a follow (thanking them in advance).

  1. Please hop on over and “follow” my (more general) Twitter Photography Page at https://twitter.com/Beachy (TIA).
    • 5 comments
    • 1) Commenter: you’re on Twitter? geez.
    • 2) Reply: (to Commenter) – been there (started for business) back in 2007. Why “geez”?
    • 3) Commenter: because Musk is a lunatic.
    • 4) Reply: (to Commenter) – Evidently you are not a Twitter user – who can actually see improvements in the platform over the last several weeks. Sadly, you must be a believer of Facebook memes (which are mostly created by foreign bots).
    • 5) Commenter: Oh please…resorting to personal insults? get over yourself.

I must apologize if that someone took offense, thinking I intended a personal insult. I actually believed the commenter was not speaking from personal experience. (And, somehow, I do not believe that person has any real Twitter experience. )

Well, anyway, I’ll stick with the platform and am even happy to subscribe (pay a few bucks a month) to be a “Verified” Twitter user (with the small blue checkmark). That small fee may help support the platform but, more importantly, it will also discourage the nefarious plague of demons (spambots and scammers) emanating from the depths of Hades. (Maybe Facebook should take note.)

Finally…

Twitter has been, and will remain, one of the marketing tools I use for sharing (and selling) my landscape/seascape photography. Why? Simply because it works.

If you are a twitter user would care to give me a follow on Twitter, click here: https://twitter.com/Beachy. Thank you.

office studio at the indian river inlet bridge
My office/studio at the Indian River Inlet Bridge near Bethany Beach, Delaware.
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Bill Swartwout Photography Has a Verified Twitter Account

The “Blue Check” indicates that I am now a paid subscriber to Twitter.

Why not? I’ve been a Twitter member since the first year of this popular social media platform. I joined in June of 2007, only a few months after the Blue Bird spread its wings and took to the air (Internet).

Twitter header with 'Verified" Blue check.
Twitter with ‘Verified” Blue check for Bill Swartwout Photography.

Twitter is still a viable form of social media for marketing my photography. Being a “Verified” tweeter gives my account a bit of extra credibility. Perception and a positive image is beneficial to any sales endeavor. If you also use Twitter please go ahead and click on over there to give my Twitter account a follow.

Sure, there have been a raft of social media memes about how badly the new ownership is doing but I do not believe it is going to fly away any time soon. Twitter had a lot of “problems” that have been ignored for a long time – mainly fake accounts, run by bots, that spread like wildfire. I do believe that problem is being addressed because I am seeing fewer “bogus” advertisements every day.

Do YOU have a twitter account?

If so, leave a link in the comments section (below) and I’ll give you a follow.

I also have twitter accounts for two of my commercial websites. They are not, however, “verified” accounts. Yet.

Link to: Ocean City, MD – (Active since May, 2008)
Link to: South Baltimore Peninsula, MD – (Active since March, 2009)

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Initial Results from my Personal Daily Blogging Challenge

I am seeing growth in traffic and page views beyond my expectations.

Let’s begin with a caveat: One must keep in mind that I am comparing January numbers, one of the slowest sales months, to December and the holiday shopping season. Therefore, I believe any growth AT ALL is a significant increase.

Graph of User Growth USPictures January 2022
Graph of User Growth USPictures.com mid-December, 2021 though the end of January, 2022.

One is tempted, possibly because of innate vanity to describe success based on feelings or “what I think” is happening. That is all a feel good, pat yourself on the back, reaction and may be OK in general conversation. However, what follows is my sharing of actual data, the metrics of which are derived from the Analytics service from Google and from AWStats, an internal statistics package on my leased server space.

Remember the rationale for this is a rebranding of my USPictures domain and to create more SEO “juice” (search engine results) for my own sites – rather than for the stockholders of FB, Twitter or any POD with a forum.

While I have several blog/websites related to (supporting) several of my art photography collections, I have chosen to focus the first part of the year on my personal blog at BillSwartwout.com and my “rebranded” site targeting United States landscape/seascape images at USPictures.com.

USPictures.com was “moved” from being pointed to my premium site at Fine Art America to its own server space in mid-December so I could offer more choices for my customers, including the Free Shipping at Pictorem, another quality POD (Print on Demand) company. See “Rebranding and an Art Challenge.”

Therefore the numbers for USPictures.com and BillSwartwout are based on a comparison of daily averages, not one month vs another month. This is to keep things on an even keel, so to speak.

The Results Are In:

I am not sharing actual numbers, just percentages. The following percentages increases are for BillSwartwout.com & USPictures.com, respectively

Number of Visits: 124% and 189%

Page Views per Visit: 187% and 174%

SEO/Organic Search Results: 175% and 325%

Averaging all of those results yield an average growth in one month of “Daily Posting” of nearly 200% (195.6% to be exact).

But Wow, those Organic Search Results, a 250% increase, are far better that what I was hoping to see at the one-month mark. That means the longer I can keep growing the sites’ SEO the less dependent I am on Social Media.

Hey, these increases are after only one month of Daily Article Posting, or Blogging, if you like. Imagine what may/will happen after another couple of months. Or the whole year. Not too crabby, eh? – Er, I mean, not too shabby.

Yum - a Big Crab Claw Image Matted and Framed

Right?

Geno Prussakov, a long-time affiliate marketing colleague, about a dozen years ago, decided to try posting one new article every day for a solid year in order to help his business grow. He did and it did. AM Navigator at https://www.amnavigator.com is one of the best Outsourced Program Management Agencies in the world today. I am proud to call Geno a friend.

I would certainly appreciate any observations or comments you care to make (below). Your critique or insights may help me improve my outlook and or marketing strategy.