Twitter has been my blogs content distribution powerhouse since the day I hit the “publish” button on my first blog post.
It allows me to tweet information to the world in real time with simplicity and no fuss.
All you need is good headline, a shortened link and some hashtags (if you don’t know what a hashtag is I will fill you in soon)
When I started on Twitter I was like a mad monk, tweeting here and chirping there. Chasing followers who didn’t care about social media just becasue they had a lot of follwers. Finally, I learned how to build an online tribe.
Connect to Global Tribes
One of social media’s real strengths is to connect global tribes who are passionate about their interests. It could be photography, gaming or gummy bears.
In the past “Tribes” met in town halls and coffee shops. Now we create virtual communities online that can use social media platforms and technology to hangout (hence the term applied by Google+ to its groups feature “Hangouts”) and talk about their “stuff” in words that are often incomprehensible to an outsider.
The opportunities are now about abundance rather than scarcity.
The Tyranny of Distance
Years ago tribes were localized. Finding people with similar interests was restricted by time and place.
200 years ago it took a donkey to get you to the next village for a meetup. Today we are leaping on planes to catch up with our global colleagues who share our passion at a conference or expo. The internet and social networks allow us to connect to our tribes with video, sound and images with the high speed web links whenever the whim arises.
5 Twitter Tips for Efficient Tweeting
We all want to be more efficient and find the best tools and tactics to obtain maximum results. Buddy Media have just released some research findings that reveal what works well well on Twitter.
Tip #1. Tweet When People are Busy
People at work, with or without their bosses permission often have their Twitter account open. People use Twitter for finding out about real time news about brands and events. The study showed that Tweets during the hours of 8am to 7pm received 30% higher engagement.
Tip #2. Keep Your Tweets Short and Snappy
On Twitter you have 140 characters. Some people try and fill it up (as humans we tend to do that a bit). If you keep it short then you give people room to add their comments and own hashtags and their friends Twitter handles.
The Buddy Media research revealed that “Tweets that contain less than 100 characters receive 17% higher engagement than longer tweets.
Tip #3. Tweet Content
Don’t waste a Tweet (still have conversations of course) by not including a link. Tweets with links are retweeted 86% more than ones without. Want to amplify your brand message and make your content spread. Include links for the best results!
Tip #4. Hashtag to Win
Hash Tags are the use of this sign, #, that puts your tweets into the communities that you want to reach, For example, using the “hashtag” for reaching social media focused groups, looks like this, #social media.
The study revealed that Tweets with hashtags receive 200% more engagement than those without hashtags.
Tip #5. Ask Followers to Retweet
Sometimes it just helps to ask. Tweets that specifically ask followers to “Retweet” receive 1200% more retweet rates than if you don’t ask. So start becoming assertive.
What About You?
Twitter has its own rituals, so learning to fit into the tribe can be worth it. Taking a bit of time to apply these findings and tips will help your blog find more traffic and get you some more attention.
How are your tweeting habits. Could you “tweet” better?
Have you been using hash tags? Do you tweet with links. Look forward to hearing your stories.
Image by rgddesigns
LOVE. IT.
Excellent tips! I am just discovering the full potential that Twitter has for businesses and this article has come really useful
Great tips, so simple. I use Twitter on a regular basis, but have always thought asking people to retweet seemed a little cheeky – you’ve changed my mind, however.
Superb Tips…
Thanks a lot
Thanks for the tips – although the general rules seem to only hit the surface in this one. I used SocialBro and a few other twitter tools and found that my best times to tweet are definitely during off hours (4-8pm) and on Weekends with Sunday being the best day to tweet. I also haven’t found that asking to retweet increases the rate of RTs – the content link or subject seems to be what makes that happen. Perhaps it’s a matter of the target audience? IDK. I think these are great “general” rules but peeps should probably run a social analyzer to find the best times and tweets that will work for their audience.
Can’t shake off the feeling that we’d have been much better off just tending our donkeys instead of leaping on planes. What would you take, a bustling, jostling, chaotic world full of polluting seductions or the whole world as a sleepy old village where everyone cares for the other and does his/her bit for the entire community?
I’d also like you to use the link to visit my little blog: nikhilswrite.blogspot.com
Please do visit :)
Make sure media is included in your “hashtag” example. You wrote “#social media” and it should read “#socialmedia” in order to use the full “hashtag.” Otherwise you will be connecting simply to “#social”
Great post with useful, actionable info and a helpful framework at the start. But for newbies, I need to help you clarify #4 hashtags. #Hashtags are a # sign attached to a word or PHRASE, so to clarify your example is would be #socialmedia – #social media (with a space between the two words – would only bring up tweets using the word social – not the combined phrase “social media.” I hope that helps.
I almost always add value to anything I retweet but pulling out a pithy quote or otherwise spotlighting the most important part of what I retweet.
Jeff,
You’re right about the magic of hashtags.
I also find that mentioning a person by his/her by twitter handle can spur dialog (as long as it’s not gratuitous and relates to the tweet).
I’m not sure about that last one asking followers to retweet. Do you do this? Seems like it might come across as trying to hard.