Getting the Most From Your 140 Characters

Twitter has become one of the best ways for companies to engage with consumers, but the 140-character limit can make it tough to send an informative message while maintaining the brand’s tone of voice. 2013 has seen some excellent examples of how best to use Twitter, with Oreo’s witty response to the Super Bowl blackout – ‘you can still dunk in the dark’ – quickly going viral.

In July 2013 another major sporting event led to a Twitter marketing surge, as Andy Murray became the first British man to triumph at Wimbledon for 77 years. Murray’s sponsors, like RBS and Head Tennis, quickly tweeted their support, but it was Adidas who served the ace with the following message earning more than 3,000 retweets and 996 favourites:

‘After the hurt, pain and tears. He came back. Stronger. Faster. Better. #allinformurray the 2013 Wimbledon Champion.’

The tweet was accompanied by a photograph of Murray, arms raised in triumph, and the caption: ‘Wimbledone’.

What we can learn from the tweet

Adidas’ tweet does plenty right, and we’ve picked out three key points, which you can use to give your own tweets a boost:

• Think carefully about your use of hashtags. Adidas’ #allinformurray is punchy, relevant and plays on the widespread national support for a long-awaited champion. It is also integrated within the body of the text, making it seem more natural than a hashtag dropped onto the end. Another related hashtag from the brand – #hitthewinner – invited browsers to play a game, adding an interactive element. It was mentioned some 8,500 times.
• Use links. By linking to your website, or a related article, you invite browsers to engage with your tweet. This can spark a conversation, leading to more mentions, favourites and retweets, and it will also increase the number of hits that your website (or article) receives. The 140 characters of the tweet should be compelling enough to act as a hook, persuading browsers to follow the link.
• Don’t forget tone. When you’re dealing with such a small message, it’s easy to focus heavily on information and forget to regulate the tone of your tweet. But ensuring that every tweet speaks with the voice of your brand makes them more distinctive and noticeable to browsers and followers. Adidas’ tweet has typically punchy, short sentences, and includes conventionally powerful words – like ‘Stronger’ and ‘Faster’ – which characterise all its adverts. It’s also emotional rather than corporate, reflecting Adidas’ position as a sports sponsor as well as retailer.

At Stratton Craig we’re always keen to hear about great (or not so great) social media marketing. If you’ve got an example to share, please tweet us @strattoncraig.