Case Study: My First Retweet.

Two days ago, I experienced my first retweet thanks to @Problogger. This mini study details the results.

How it happened:

I sent on a link to Darren, from Problogger, because I thought it could be of use. This was Harts 2008 income analysis.

I did this because he has a much larger reach than myself. It is also more targeted to his audience. I found the report really interesting and thought that it was very related to a lot of the articles Darren had been posting recently.

A few hours later, I saw it being tweeted.

How it benefited me:

It didn' do much except for tiny increase in twitter followers.  I primarily sent on the link because it could benefit the community. Afterwards, I realized the branding potential.

Being featured in a retweet is similar to a guest post that goes viral. Other users are sending on the content but it is your name that is being continually featured. It wasn't a formal RT, so some people just dropped my name at the end. That was fine - I was more fascinated by watching the process.

I found about 5 retweets. I also found some related discussion on twitter about his earnings.

How it benefited Hart:

I spoke to Hart the next day and he said he'd had 400 extra visitors to his blog. I noticed that in the comment section, many mentioned that they had come via Probloggers tweet. This resulted in a significant increase in comments. Many offered advice.

Conclusion:

In retrospect, it was a win win for all parties.

• Darren reinforced his brand
• I got a small bit of exposure
• Hart got some attention to his post.

This is an experiment I am keen to repeat. I am starting to see the raw power of twitter.