Twitter is the ultimate in online conversation. It’s business to consumer, consumer to consumer, and business to business relations all rolled into one. Engagement on Twitter fosters relationships and allows your company to engage with other industry members as well as with current and potential customers.
The most influential engagement on Twitter comes in the form of comments, follows, retweets, likes, and tweets at you (meaning you’re tagged into them). So, how do you enhance your Twitter game to improve engagement? Here are the ultimate tips…
1. Reciprocity
This is the key unspoken rule of Twitter which will instantly boost your engagement. Twitter works on reciprocity. If someone engages with your content, you are obliged to engage with theirs. So, generate engagement by engaging with other people’s content. On Twitter, you often have to give before you’ll get, so spend some time following, liking and re-tweeting.
On the flip side, if you’re not reciprocating you may find yourself being unfollowed. If someone has engaged with you, engage back. It’s etiquette!
2. Engage with others
Aside from the golden rule of reciprocity, engaging with other users generates social proof, and builds a community and a relationship between you and other Twitter users.
3. Re-tweet
Re-tweeting is stronger than simply liking a tweet. If there’s a tweet that is relevant to your business which your followers would find interesting or amusing, re-tweet it.
4. Hashtags! Use them!
Hashtags are the easiest way to find new audiences who are interested in what you’re about.
5. But, limit yourself to one or two
Engagement rates drop for tweets with more than two hashtags.
6. Use images
Not only are images more eye-catching, they’re also more likely to be retweeted.
7. Check your metrics for peak times to post
Post at times when your metrics indicate that your followers are more likely to engage. Broadly on Twitter it tends to be weekdays in the afternoon, but don’t just assume this statistic applies to you – check your metrics.
8. Use a scheduling app for smoother scheduling of tweets
If you only have half an hour every now and then to spend on Twitter, it’s better to spend that time scheduling future tweets to be posted more consistently over the week, rather than slam followers’ newsfeeds with a tonne of tweets from you.
9. Run a competition based on re-tweets
It’s the most basic and foolproof method of incentivising retweeting.
10. The briefer the better
Keep tweets between 80 to 110 characters. Not only is it more succinct, but it leaves space for followers to add extra information themselves when they re-tweet.
11. Share interesting, relevant links
Doing so positions you as a useful resource and thought leader.
12. Tag in the people you mention and share links of
They’ll appreciate it and show you some reciprocity, it encourages interaction, and it reaches new audiences.
13. Respond when someone tweets you
Nowadays, a lot of people use Twitter for customer service. You can’t ignore any tweet that demands customer service attention.
14. Don’t talk about your personal life
Keep it business and brand focussed. Twitter isn’t the social media platform for behind-the-scenes content.
15. Post between one and four tweets per day
Any less and you seem out of the loop, any more and you’re an annoying presence on a feed and are walking a dangerous path to being unfollowed.
16. Answer calls for help even if they’re not tweeted at you
Keep an eye on industry-relevant hashtags and conversations. When users ask for advice, information, or help, which you can provide an expert opinion on, jump in. It’s great for positioning yourself and your company as experts and industry leaders.
17. Ask questions
Phrase your tweets as a question that invites people to comment on and engage in conversation.
18. Shorten URLs to save space
Tweets are restricted in character length so to save space you can shorten links, leaving you with more room to articulate what you want to say about the link.
19. Use power words without being needy
There’s ways of asking people to engage without sounding desperate. Try “learn more”, “shop and save”, “follow us”, “visit our site” which are calls to action which are still powerful without seeming pleading.
20. Tag in big brands
Where relevant, tag in and tweet at big industry brands for more exposure.
