Nowadays you can hear the phrase “follow me” or “follow us” everywhere from on TV to the radio and even walking down the street. And how about hashtags (#) which can be found on TV shows such as “The Voice” that allow viewers to easily interact and be apart of the conversation. Individuals are not the only ones using Twitter anymore, businesses have also started leveraging this prime social networking site to help promote their brand and to be a part of the conversation.
With 140 million active users it’s no surprise Twitter has become a key player in the social space. So what do you all need to know to successfully build your followers, reputation and customer engagement on Twitter? Here are 8 best practices you should follow, taken from Buddy Media’s research report Strategies for Effective Tweeting: a Statistical Review.
1. Create Tweets that Resonate
While it’s okay to promote a link to a product you’re selling or to your business blog, you need to mix the promotional tweets with engaging content tailored to your target audience. You may want to share interesting stories, famous quotes, helpful tips, the list goes on and on. Whatever you end up sharing, make sure it resonates with your audience and encourages them to interact with you.
2. Keep Tweets Short and Sweet
You’re already limited to 140 characters – and the fewer characters you use, the better. In fact, according to the report, “Tweets that contain less than 100 characters receive 17% higher engagement than longer Tweets.” So take the time to edit your tweets and ensure your messages are clear and concise.
3. Use One or Two Hashtags
It’s important to use hashtags in your tweets as it helps to increase engagement. That being said you don’t want to overuse hashtags either. So what’s the optimal number to use in a tweet? Research from the report states, “Tweets with one or two hashtags have 21% higher engagement than those with three or more hashtags.” Once you start using three or more, interest levels actually drop. So when creating tweets just remember, less is more.
4. Use Images in Your Tweets
The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is true, especially on Twitter. Tweets that contain images receive twice the engagement than those without. So be sure to include various images when you tweet and make sure that each image is relevant and of good quality.
5. Add a Call-To-Action
Tell your followers what you want them to do and they will listen. Tweets that ask followers to “Retweet” or “RT” receive 12 times higher shares than those that do not use this call to action. It’s really that simple and is an effective way to amplify your tweets and get ahead of your competition.
6. Tweet Often
You want to tweet enough to keep your target audience engaged but you don’t want to tweet too much that interest levels actually go down. According to the report the optimal amount of tweets, or the “Tweet Spot”, is 4 times per day. Any more than this and the impact your tweets have on your audience actually starts to decrease.
7. Respond in Real Time
As Twitter is a real time tool it’s important you are constantly monitoring your account and responding to followers. They expect a quick response back and replying in a timely manner let’s them know you’re there and that you appreciate their interaction.
8. Track and Measure
Once you’ve implemented your Twitter strategy it’s important to measure what is (and what is not) working. This allows you to fine tune your strategy to ensure you reach your goals you set out at the beginning.
Whether you’re just getting started or looking to grow your audience Twitter can seem a little overwhelming at times. It’s best to take it one step at a time and follow these best practices to help ensure you come out on top.
Now, if you’d like more information I encourage to go check out the full report and have a good read over it. And lastly, I couldn’t end without saying, go follow us on Twitter or tweet us at @2WebDesign. We’d love to hear from you!
