Whether you’re a new social media manager or an experienced one, you may want to study your Twitter best practices. Here are some tips to help you get more out of the popular social media platform.
With more than 145 million daily active users, Twitter is an increasingly important social network for your company or customers.
But just because Twitter is a popular social channel doesn’t mean it’s easy for social media managers to master.
Curious about how your brand or agency can get the most out of this social media platform? Shape your strategy with these Twitter best practices for beginners and experienced social media managers.
Table of Contents
- Content creation
- Content curation
- Conciseness
- CTA
- Hashtags
- Emoji
- The images
- GIF/video
- Relationships
- The best times
- For advanced social media managers
How to Tweet: Twitter Best Practices for Beginners
Just getting started with Twitter or needing to go back to the beginning?
These starter tips will help you build a strategy from the ground up.
1. Create original content
Take time to gather ideas. Your brand can only share so much original content on Twitter.
Ideas include content for:
- Product launches
- Company updates
- Blog post links
- Think pieces
- News from the industry
- Seasonal events
No matter what you have to say, keep the interactions conversational. Try an informal version of your brand voice and ask your followers questions to start discussions and keep them going.
If you’re stuck on what to write about, check out the following presentation on what to write when you think there’s nothing to say… It’s related to blog content, but works well for any social media channel.
2. Curate relevant content
Not every tweet you post has to be completely original. In fact, some of the most successful brands on Twitter regularly share great content from other sites.
To curate content, browse the profiles of your partners, influencers in your industry, or other figures who resonate with your target audience.
Instead of just retweeting relevant content, add your own spin. If you quote the tweet instead of retweeting it, you can get your point across and invite your audience to engage at the same time.
3. Keep your message concise
On Twitter, it’s essential to use each character wisely. In 2017, Twitter expanded its 140-character limit to 280 characters — but that doesn’t mean you have to use every character.
Studies have shown that tweets between 71 and 100 characters perform better than longer tweets.
On average, these shorter tweets get more retweets, more impressions, and more profile links and clicks.
3. Add calls to action
No matter what type of content you share, adding calls to action (CTAs) to your tweets can help drive engagement.
You can use CTAs to invite followers to click on the links you share, retweet important messages, or respond with their thoughts.
Mix up your CTAs to keep followers interested, but don’t force them into every tweet.
As you track your Twitter metrics, you can begin to identify which tweets need a CTA and which sound more natural without.
4. Include hashtags
Twitter is the birthplace of hashtags, and those keywords still drive engagement across the platform. When writing tweets, save enough space in your 280 character limit for hashtags.
Studies show that using four hashtags is optimal for Twitter and can increase impressions and clicks.
In addition to your brand hashtags, consider adding the most popular terms for your industry or for the season.
Use a hashtag search tool to identify the right keywords and avoid devoting valuable space to poor performers.
5. Use emoji sparingly
If a picture is worth 1000 words, then every tweet gives your brand a chance to say a lot more within the 280 character limit.
Emojis can help your tweets stand out and show your brand’s creativity. However, studies on Twitter show that including emojis can actually decrease impressions and engagement.
Be selective about your emojis. You don’t need to include them in every tweet.
Instead, consider using emojis in replies or adding them to tweets only when they can add a unique spin to your message.
6. Follow the image instructions
You can post images of almost any size on Twitter. But when you post graphics and photos that meet the platform’s image guidelines, they’re more likely to look good on your followers’ timelines.
Start by checking Twitter’s image guidelines before you post.
Then check them regularly so your images don’t lose their impact due to Twitter’s automated cropping.
7. Post GIFs and videos
Adding more visual appeal to your tweets is always a smart idea.
Sharing GIFs and videos can help you gain even more traction than static images alone. In fact, video tweets generate 10x more engagement and help you grow your audience.
For best results, Twitter recommends sharing videos that are between 6 and 15 seconds.
Make your message clear from the start, even if that means adding a text overlay to part of the video.
8. Create valuable links
When you take the time to connect with other users, Twitter becomes a much more valuable asset to your social media strategy.
In addition to engaging with followers, try to create a community.
Use influencer marketing tools to find the most relevant voices in your country. Then build genuine, mutually supportive relationships that help your brand and your influencers grow.
9. Find the best times to tweet
When you want to make a bigger impact, it’s important to tweet when your customers are online.
To find the optimal time for your audience, check Twitter Analytics or a social media dashboard.
Then publish your tweets at the most popular moments.
By pre-planning your Twitter content, you can plan your workflow in advance. You can also save your team from having to do everything in real time.
Already covered the basics or want to take your approach to the next level? Get better results with these advanced Twitter tips.
1. Develop Twitter lists
When you don’t have time to follow all the tweets in your timeline, Twitter Lists can help filter through the clutter.
You can create Twitter lists of influencers you want to collaborate with, important figures in your industry, and even competitors.
You can set your Twitter lists to private or make them public to draw attention to the brands or people you’ve added. Either way, remember to check your lists regularly to stay on top of important news and conversations.
2. Monitor your brand
You probably never miss a mention. However, you can never see all the tweets that talk about your brand, products or services – without directly tagging you.
To make sure you never miss an important tweet for your brand, set up social monitoring using a third-party tool. Add alerts for your brand name, your website and your offers.
Then you can read and respond to the results more efficiently.
3. Join events on Twitter
One of the best ways to find and participate in meaningful conversations is to join trends and events.
You can take your social listening strategy further by adding trending topics, event hashtags and industry keywords to your dashboard.
Check your social inbox regularly to keep up with the conversation. Reply, quote a tweet and engage as much as possible to increase visibility and grow your followers.
4. Automate engagement
Engaging with your audience on Twitter is best done in real time.
But if your team doesn’t have the capacity to monitor social inboxes around the clock, automation can help.
With a social media dashboard, you can write saved responses that answer common questions. You can also automate certain actions in your social inbox.
For example, you can send sales questions to the right team member for more efficient responses.
5. Experiment and optimize
The more time you spend on Twitter, the more you’ll realize that what works best changes often.
The Twitter algorithm is constantly evolving, and so is your audience. This is why you should avoid sticking with the same formula forever.
Instead, review your metrics regularly and find your best performing posts. Then adapt your approach based on what works.
Experiment with new ideas from time to time to stay relevant and improve results over time.
At the end
Building a strong strategy requires a balance between following Twitter best practices and being creative. With these Twitter tips, you gain a framework to structure your strategy while showcasing your brand’s unique voice.
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