Facebook and Twitter

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

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Facebook and Twitter

— by Angie

on January 12, 2010

A few months ago we announced the Facebook fan page for YLF. At the time less than 50 people were fans, but just today that number reached 500! It is fun to see a few discussions happening on the fan page too.

Greg also set up a YLF Twitter account some time ago and it has 234 followers. For a while we had it automatically tweet when I posted a new blog entry, but it has been neglected since April last year. To be honest I don’t really get the whole Twitter thing, but hopefully it becomes clear after I start doing regular tweets. Recently the American Dialect Society made “tweet” word of the year for 2009, so I had better get it together.

Are you an active Twitter user, and if so, what do you like about it? And what kind of things do you think I should tweet for YLF?

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22 comments · Add a comment

Jen

Active Member

Generally a business will use Twitter to reach its current customers and also to get more customers – by finding people who are talking about fashion, in your case – and then driving them to your blog.

I think if you wanted to put in the time it could be really successful for you – you would have to plan what you wanted to talk about so that you stayed on topic – some fashion people talk about style, some do deals, some just talk about whatever fashion thing is going on. There’s one who is always tweeting new deals she finds.

If I were you I would set up a test account under a fake name and just try it out for awhile – follow all of the fashion people and see what they talk about. In my experience a fake account is a good idea, because you will tweet things you regret because they are off topic or sound silly, and then you’ve messed up your brand. I just deleted my first account and started all over

There is software that tracks everything that is said about a specific keyword – the idea is to monitor your brand and then to also talk to the people who are talking about you.

January 12, 2010 at 5:29 pm

rae

I don’t get twitter, either. Frankly, I think it’s stupid… people throw out these short snippets about what they just bought/ate/stepped in or how sleepy they are, and it makes me quite irritated — if what you have to say isn’t worthy of a few follow-up sentences, then it probably isn’t worth saying, right? Maybe it is different from a business perspective, though; I really can’t say. Personally, I will be sticking to your articles and forum.

January 12, 2010 at 6:15 pm

DWJ

(website)

Twitter is great for connecting with other bloggers, readers and even brands and companies. In order to “get it” you have to jump into the conversations. Once you get started you’ll be hooked! I’m 8,000+ tweets strong! @theaofa

January 12, 2010 at 6:24 pm

Laura65

Stacey London tweets about stores she’s just visited and specific clothing items she finds (usually reasonably priced from H&M, etc.), and new designers and little boutiques. Usually it’s pretty NYC-centric. I’m not saying this is what Angie should do! Just for reference.

January 12, 2010 at 6:32 pm

Joy

Veteran

I’m with rae in that I’m not into (or interested in getting into) tweeting or facebook. This site is addictive enough I’ll be following your blogs and the forum.

January 12, 2010 at 6:51 pm

stringy

I love Twitter, and it works best when you use it to connect with people instead of just as a one-way promotional tool. Skip the updates about new blog posts and what you had to eat. The best Twitterers are opinionated *and* make useful comments. I’d guess that sharing the joy of finding new shops, or scoring a bargain, or sharing style tips will get you lots of followers. Maybe you could do quick “What I wore” pics or be like a mini-Sartorialist It’s also good for sharing links to websites you like.

I also like that it’s asymmetrical – following someone on Twitter doesn’t imply that you’re friends, it’s an indication that you think this person has something to say that’s worth hearing about. So don’t feel obliged to follow everyone who follows you, just the people you think are interesting.

January 12, 2010 at 7:04 pm

Mellllls

Veteran

I am an avid facebook user but don’t use twitter at all. from a ylf perspective, i think it will be a good marketing tool for you…you will probably get more readers by having an avid facebook fan page and by tweeting. but i don’t think it will enhance ylf much for current ylf readers. just my two cents.

January 12, 2010 at 7:10 pm

marianna

Veteran

I am a Twitter user. From a media standpoint, it is a remarkable source to instantly spit out information in a concise fashion. For example, if you add something to the YLF store, you can tweet about that. Or if you see something super amazing at Nordies while you’re out with clients, you can tweet about it from your smart phone. You can also snap a picture while you’re out shopping and Tweet the picture. The possibilities are endless. Some people (like me) tweet about random stuff that comes to mind. Stacey London is on Twitter (I follow her on Twitter) and she answers fashion questions there. She also updates her fans on good style finds and her whereabouts (for example, if she’s on vacation in an exotic location). I remember once Stacey took a picture of a random girl on the streets of NYC wearing a fab Forever 21 dress and Tweeted that. I also follow Clinton Kelley but he doesn’t Tweet as often. He has funny Tweets about random fashion faux pas he sees on the streets of NYC. He also shares when he seems someone dressed especially well. Twitter is great for sharing instantaneous impressions like that.

It is also a great tool to sharpen your writing skills and become less wordy. You are only given 140 characters and sometimes it’s a challenge to write something that short! It’s fun to figure out ways to cut back on the words yet still say the same thing.

January 12, 2010 at 8:37 pm

Fathenry

I don’t understand Twitter at all!

January 12, 2010 at 10:06 pm

Mamapicklejuice

Veteran

Ugh – Twitter. Just say no!

(There was that the required character limit for a tweet?)

Seriously – I “get” Twitter – I just think it’s silly. I’m sticking to the YLF blog and forums.

January 13, 2010 at 6:09 am

Christie

Not a fan. I started to follow people, but all the damn tweets were distracting when I was trying to get work done.

January 13, 2010 at 6:14 am

jessica

Active Member

I know just enough about Twitter to know that I really don’t know anything! There seem to be all sorts of lingo and purposes to Twitter that are unique to Twitter….You might look into the myriad of Twitter Marketing books that are being put out? My employer has done quite a few….They are aimed at beginners and I think that’s where I would turn if I needed to use it for business reasons.

Also, I don’t know how it works with Facebook Fan Pages but you can link personal Facebook accounts to your twitter acct. so when you tweet something it would also put that tweet as your Facebook status, which might be helpful?

Personally, I use Facebook, but not Twitter.

January 13, 2010 at 6:27 am

Eternal*Voyageur @ Venusian*Glow

(website)

I don’t like Twitter either, though I do have a Twitterfeed for my blog. maybe a few people are worth following on there, like Marianna noticed… but the most of it is trash. Honestly, finding worthwhile and interesting stuff on Twitter is like looking for pearls in a pile of sh*t.

I’d really prefer YLF forums and of course the blog, I think Twitter is a huge waste of energy: both the reader’s as well as the author’s.

January 13, 2010 at 6:34 am

Francesca

I vote no to twitter & facebook… just because one can communicate more often doesn’t mean one should. It’s just more access but not necessarily better content. As others have said, you have to slog through a pile of junk tweets before you get to the pearls, and who wants to waste their real life time sorting thru cyber junk?

Angie I like your blog because it’s useful and timely. I wouldn’t follow with facebook or twitter though; too much else going on in real life to interrupt it with tweets.

January 13, 2010 at 6:47 am

Sally McGraw

(website)

Active Member

I do enjoy Twitter! It’s such a friendly little space, and I learn tons about shopping opportunities, interesting reads, and fascinating new people. I feel like Twitter is a place where I can be more personal and less professional – so I say silly, random things. Post links to funny articles and videos. It’s a very laid-back experience for me. And I’d love to hear a little more about your daily doings via Twitter, Angie!

January 13, 2010 at 6:49 am

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I don’t twitter, facebook or my space- and I don’t want to. My only suggestions is not to forget that there are folks out here who don’t use those applications. I see a lot of businesses offering special coupons, information, etc. on those websites, and it leaves out their loyal customers who choose not to use those sites.

January 13, 2010 at 7:27 am

Sarah

(website)

Veteran

I am on Facebook and that’s it. I love staying connected with people from my past and present. It’s enough for me just to keep up with that, so I haven’t done anything else including Twitter. It just doesn’t appeal to ME but it doesn’t mean it isn’t a valid method of marketing.
That was not helpful at all, was it.

January 13, 2010 at 7:39 am

Tanya

Veteran

I am on the same page as Sarah. I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends, but have no interest in Twitter whatsoever.

January 13, 2010 at 8:02 am

Margaret

Tweet about your daily randomness as related to your blog. See a funny mannequin display? Snap a picture from your phone and comment about it in your twitter feed. Overhear something hilarious or inappropriate in the dressing room? Quote it in your twitter feed. It is a way for followers to get a more intimate/personal snapshot of your daily life. Can be really fun. Just see where your imagination takes you!

January 13, 2010 at 10:34 am

san

For about a half a day I thought I’d give Twitter a try. I thought of all people to follow on Twitter it would be John Mayer, right? I didn’t find John Mayer’s tweets interesting so I gave up on Twitter.
However, I would follow your tweets Angie and Greg, unless it got jammed up with useless tweets.

January 13, 2010 at 11:51 am

The Budget Babe

(website)

Member

Twitter is essential although it took me a while to get used to it, and I am still exploring it’s many uses. I learn a lot about the people I follow, and it’s a way for me to connect with my readers–which I LOVE!

January 13, 2010 at 2:21 pm

stringy

Veteran

If you do decide to go ahead with it, you might like http://www.twitip.com – it’s got lots of tips for finding interesting people to follow (famous does not necessarily equal interesting), how to promote your work without being spammy, how to get involved with the fun memes and games and stuff that do the rounds.

I use mine to: follow leaders in my industry who give good work tips; follow people in the art & music scene in my city, to find out what gigs are on; follow friends for idle chatter and jokes; follow comedians for the jokes; share pics of art-shows/exhibitions I attend; give short thumbs-up/down reviews of restaurants in my city; ask questions that aren’t easily Google-able; and share links to stuff I think might be useful to my followers.

January 16, 2010 at 12:04 am

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