Twitter is all about doing a lot with a little. Even with its recently doubled character count, brevity is the name of the game. The most successful Twitter brands are the ones that deliver their message in a way that’s sharp, focused and valuable.
And the stakes are high. A poor tweet game means your feed will sink into oblivion – or worse, become a meme for all the wrong reasons. Getting it right builds reach, trust and brand equity.
But don’t worry. Your followers want you to succeed. 93% of users who follow your business on Twitter plan to buy from you – and many already have. 
They’re also open to spreading the word about your business: about a third of users have retweeted a business tweet in the past.
Here’s how to tweet your way to virality.
Every Tweet is a Mini PR & Media Release
74% of Twitter users use the network to get their news. And some 2 billion search queries are served through the site daily. That means that you have two audiences: the “feed” audience, and the “search” audience.
Here’s how to deliver value to both.
Think of every tweet as a mini media release. You need to serve up key information at a glance in a way that’s compelling, informative and actionable. Before putting thumb to touchpad, know what you want to say and what you want to achieve.
The perfect tweet is:
- Front loaded. Put the most important words at the start of the tweet to catch a follower’s eye.
- Scannable. Write simply and concisely. You want followers to “get” it first go.
- Specific. Make your content valuable and useful. Make it matter to your followers.
- Active. Use strong verbs and skip the adjectives and adverbs.
- Focused. Limit yourself to one idea per tweet. The rest can go in a blog post.
- Compelling. Give followers a reason to click through. Clickbait headlines work for a reason!
- Short. You may have 280 characters now, but you don’t have to use them all!
- On brand. Your tweets should sound like you. Re-read to check you’re on brand.
Crafting Irresistible Tweet Content
So now you know what your tweet should look like – and do. But what types of content get the best reactions from your followers? Here are a few tweet types that beg to be retweeted.
- Media tweets. Images, videos, and gifs stand out on a timeline. Use them!
- Stats and figures. Tips, statistics, and facts engage while delivering value.
- Questions! Asking a question positions your followers as experts and gets them to chime in.
- Quotes. Everyone loves to hear from a thought leader. Use quotes to drum up interest.
- Jokes. If your brand allows for it, jokes get good traction. Just exercise good judgment.
- Like if “no”, retweet if “yes”. Twitter lets you do polls, but this format encourages sharing.
- Hashtags. Capture the search audience or create your own branded “chatroom” with a hashtag.
- Try a thread. Have more to say on a topic? Do it piecemeal with a Twitter thread.
- Leave them wanting more. “Find out”, “See why” and “Here’s how” are great ways to encourage click-throughs. Give it a try!
- Timing matters. You might have written the perfect tweet, but if it goes out at the wrong time it’ll get lost in the noise.
Inspired to write a tweet for the ages? Go forth and make it happen!
Need some help building your social media presence and strategy? Drop us a line!
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