With 284 million monthly users sending 500 million tweets per day, Twitter has quickly become one of the largest social media sites in the world.
Founded in 2009, Twitter is as an online networking service that enables users to send and receive 140-character messages—usually consisting of instantaneous information and ideas.
While many people have been actively tweeting for years, some are just now realizing the power Twitter can have, the entertainment it can provide and the resource it can be. If you’ve found yourself in that position, we welcome you to the wonderful world of Twitter with these 10 tips and tricks.
1. Be easy to find.
When Twitter users search for someone, they tend to search their first and last name. Making sure your Twitter name and your Twitter handle incorporate both will make it easy for users to find your page and interact with your content. (Example: My name is Kaitlynn Knopp, so my Twitter handle is @KaitlynnKnopp.)
Another way to enhance your searchability lies in your Twitter biography. While there is, of course, a character count—keeping things short, simple and sweet—a biography that clearly explains who you are and what you do will continue to lead the right people to you.
2. Don’t follow blindly.
If you plan to tweet about marketing, advertising and social media, follow people who tweet about marketing, advertising and social media. Not only will that make your Twitter stream more relevant to you, but it will make your following list more relevant to your followers.
Once a user finds your page and notices you’re tweeting content they want more of, they’ll take a look at the users you’re following to learn whose content you wanted more of. Expecting to see users like Adweek and Adobe, they’d sure be surprised if they saw Alanis Morissette.
3. Keep it short.
While Twitter already limits your tweets to 140-characters, social media scientist Dan Zarrella has found that tweets between 100 and 115 characters are more likely to be retweeted. Why, you ask? They’re easier to read, and they leave room for users to add their own comments when they retweet them.
4. Tweet often.
With 500 million tweets appearing on Twitter every single day, we recommend that all beginners tweet at least once per day, but there’s certainly room for more. If you’re tweeting tidbits of information (facts, blogs, links, quotes, ideas), feel free to tweet up to 10 times per day. If you’re live tweeting an event or participating in a Twitter chat, feel free to send as many as 50 tweets per day.
5. Tweet various content.
Twitter, as you may have guessed, can be a fairly informal space. Users love images, GIFs, videos and text-based tweets alike, but what they don’t like are tweets that are often repeated or overly promotional. So, if there’s a blog post you’ve written that you’d like to share multiple times, pair it with a new tweet—don’t just continuously copy and paste. And if you’re using Twitter to market yourself (as we all are, in some way or another), acknowledge that users want content diversity. While they want to read about your product, service or success, they want to read about more than just those things, too.
6. Tweet timely content.
Twitter is instantaneous. Tweets are messages sent in real-time. The best way to break through is to tweet timely information. Be the first to share a story. Weigh in on breaking news. Tell us your thoughts on the latest viral video. Live tweet an event. Keep up with a conversation.
7. Don’t shout.
Unless it’s urgent, don’t use all uppercase letters.
8. Do hashtag (#DoItAllTheTime).
On social media sites, a hashtag assigns a topic to a tweet. It organizes conversations. It’s a searchable phrase. Whether you’re tweeting about #advertising, #music, the #beach or #BurgerKing, be sure to use hashtags. This will help users—users who may not be following you—find your content and interact with it.
9. Interact and engage.
Twitter is a two-way street. While you can certainly create your own content, you also want to be sure you’re interacting with content that others have created. To do so, Twitter offers three functions.
A retweet is something you share with your followers, and you can even add your own thoughts before you share it. It will then be pushed out to all of your followers—giving them even more relevant content. (And they’ll be grateful you did!)
A like lets the author know you like their Tweet, and will then be stored in a bank with all of your other likes, letting users see what you find fascinating.
And finally, a reply allows you to comment on a tweet or join a conversation.
10. Interact and engage with more than just your followers.
Broaden your horizons. Step away from the mainstream. Search topics and hashtags that interest you and see who’s tweeting about them. In doing so, you’ll find new people to follow and new content to interact with.
Did we miss any tips and tricks that you use on Twitter? Be sure to tell us in the comments below.
