12 Powerful Twitter Marketing Tips (That Actually …
Twitter is a great place to grow your business, but things move very fast on the platform.
The average lifespan of a tweet is just 18 minutes. More than 7,000 new tweets are sent every second.
The lifespan of a tweet is four times shorter than anything you post on Facebook.
This makes it difficult for your messages to stick and have an impact. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd.
That’s why your tweets and Twitter marketing techniques need to make a big impact to get people to take action and pay attention to you.
But it can be difficult to know exactly which techniques work and which ones are a waste of time. Fortunately, you won’t have to take the time to find out.
Below are 12 powerful Twitter marketing tips (that actually work).
1. Pick the right handle, profile photo, and header image
Your Twitter username should be recognizable, easy to remember, and short enough for people to easily tag you.
When someone tries to search for your name, they will use your identifier to find your page.
Keep your names consistent across all social media profiles. If you use a different name than your brand or company, it can confuse followers or make your page difficult to find.
Take H&M, for example. There is no way to include the “&” character in an identifier, so they just shortened it to “@hm”.
The “H&M” trade name is already catchy, short and easy to remember, but handling is even simpler.
They use this identifier consistently on all of their social media accounts. No unnecessary characters are added, making your pages easy to find.
If you’re just starting out, choose a Twitter username that’s as close to your brand name as possible.
Avoid irrelevant numbers or any kind of punctuation marks.
Be short and sweet too. With a short Twitter name, you are more likely to get @mentions from other users and brands.
People are less likely to mention companies with long Twitter identifiers due to the character limit of each tweet.
Potential customers can interact more with your Twitter account than with a physical store.
For this reason, you need to make sure that your profile photo is recognizable and memorable.
It is not uncommon to go with a logo, which will promote brand awareness.
Every time someone interacts with your Twitter account, they will become even more familiar with your logo and recognize it when they see it elsewhere.
2. Optimize your bio to showcase your brand’s personality
Your Twitter bio is a 160 character location to display your business just below your profile photo. You need to create a killer one.
And it doesn’t have to be difficult.
Just explain to the world who you are in a few sweet sentences. Here’s what my Twitter bio looks like:
Explain who I am, what I do, the company I founded and with whom I founded it.
Here are some items to keep in mind when creating your bio:
- Keep it accurate. Tell people exactly who your brand is.
- Incorporate some personality or humor. Don’t be afraid to tell a few jokes or say something original.
- Show off a little. If your brand has great achievements under its belt, tell people. Do you have thousands of existing clients? Let people know.
- Keep it focused. Write a bio that attracts people who fit your target audience.
- Add relevant hashtags so people can find your account when searching for those terms.
- Be sure to tag other brands that you may be associated with in this space.
It also helps tweet during peak hours when most people are online.
3. Tweet during peak hours
There are certain days of the week or times of the day when users are most active on Twitter, which means that they are more likely to interact with your posts.
By identifying those hours and days and posting during them, you’ll get more impressions, increase engagement, and get tons of clicks.
According to Buffer, tweets posted on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays have higher CTRs than those posted on other days of the week.
Some studies have shown that posting between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. is the best time to post. Others suggest that the hours between 12 p.m. M. And 3 p.m. M. Monday through Friday work best.
Your peak publishing hours will depend on your specific audience, so test your content’s performance at different times and days to find out what works best for your brand.
Once you’ve discovered them, use scheduling tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your posts to run at peak times ahead of time.
And when you post, make sure you use the correct hashtags.
Keep hashtag usage to a minimum if you can, too. Don’t overload users with tons of hashtags for everything you post.
4. Keep hashtag use to a minimum (and use the right ones)
Tweets that contain hashtags receive twice as much participation as those that do not.
But tweets with more than two hashtags receive a 17% drop in engagement.
It is important to use the correct type of hashtags without overusing them.
Only include hashtags that add some context to your tweets.
You can also use a tool like Hashtagify to find the best hashtags for your tweets. The tool suggests hashtags related to the keywords you enter.
With Hashtagify, you can also determine the strength of your hashtags before using them, so you know which ones work best before tweeting.
RiteTag is another alternative that works similarly to Hashtagify.
5. Run some advanced searches
Wouldn’t it be nice to find people interested in your services or products right now?
Or find out exactly what people are saying about your brand?
Fortunately, it exists when you use Twitter’s advanced search.
Instead of sending promotional tweets or writing to your existing customers, search for potential customers by searching for industry-specific terms.
For example, if you have a bakery, search for terms such as “bakery,” “bakery,” or “cake” in your area.
More than likely, you will find at least one tweet from someone looking for a baker in your region or dealing with a customer service issue with another bakery.
Advanced searches put new leads in front of you. Get in touch with those people and tell them how you can fix their problem or help them.
And add images to your tweets if you want to increase retweets too. (Who does not?)
6. Add images to tweets to increase retweets
When you add images to your tweets, you will get more actions and clicks than tweets without images. In fact, tweets with images typically receive 89% more “likes” or favorites.
Make sure to only add attractive images that are relevant and of high quality.
Never use an image that doesn’t relate to your tweet just for adding an image.
If you’re tweeting about a recent blog post, add an image of the article with a link where users can find more information.
Or, if you want to tweet about a new product or service, include an image that shows it.
You may even be running a promotional deal where followers can get discounts. Use a tool like Canva to create a simple graphic like this and add it to your tweet.
However, photos are not the only thing to focus your attention on. Use videos as often as you can.
7. Utilize Twitter video for even more engagement
Images get more attention than older text, but videos outnumber images.
Twitter video allows Twitter users to record a new video from a device or upload an existing video.
Just add a branded video to your tweets to get more attention, like this one from Michael Kors.
According to AdWeek, videos are six times more likely to be retweeted than photos and three times more likely to be retweeted than GIFs.
Videos are a great way to share new information with followers, share behind-the-scenes content, elicit emotions, and give your tweets a longer life.
You can also broadcast live with the live video feature. Live videos are automatically posted as tweets, which can still be viewed after the live video ends.
8. Conduct polls to interact with followers
One of the easiest ways to create more activity on your Twitter page is to create a Twitter poll.
All you need to do is click the same button that you always click to add a new tweet, then click the poll icon at the bottom of the screen. Then add your question and options.
Polls aren’t just fun for followers. They can also be used to conduct market and consumer research, get feedback, and start engaging conversations with followers.
Anyone can create a survey, but creating unique and engaging questions takes a bit of thought.
Look for other brands that are consistently and successfully using surveys, like Airbnb, for inspiration.
And don’t forget to use creative calls-to-action (CTAs) that you can easily tweet to drive sales or boost downloads for your latest app or e-book.
9. Use creative CTAs (beyond asking users to share posts)
The whole idea behind Twitter marketing is to drive sales, generate leads, drive clicks, and increase downloads.
Creating posts to drive these actions, when used in moderation, can greatly increase your engagement. Adding a CTA to some tweets is the fastest way to do it.
You’re probably already using CTAs that ask users to share your posts, which is great. But this is not the only call to action that you should use on your Twitter profile.
Use some effective action words and phrases for users to do other activities, such as:
- Follow us
- Visit our site
- Shop our sales
- Download here
- Learn more
Passion Planner executes your CTAs well, like this tweet informing users about a sale with the CTA “Buy Now!”:
If you have an app, let people know about every update you post. Cookie Run does this often.
Also use the word “free” as often as you can. Everyone loves gifts.
Using effective action words and changing CTAs will drive engagement and increase your CTR, drive more traffic to your site, generate new leads, drive downloads, and increase sales.
10. Use Twitter to double A/B test headlines
Twitter is the best network to test headlines. Testing headlines on Twitter is a great idea because the visuals are not as prominent as on a platform like Facebook.
Buffer introduced this idea with a guide on how to write great blog and social media headlines.
After posting an article, use a tool like Tweriod to find out when your followers are online.
Then tweet three to five headlines with trackable links during those peak hours. Make sure the headlines are different.
Track the performance of each link. Then put the same headlines on an A / B testing service like Optimizely.
Now, keep track of user responses to headlines there.
You can compare those responses with the responses you got from the same headlines on Twitter. By using two sources, you will have a clearer answer on which headlines work best.
Then, reach out to influencers to put yourself in front of audiences that aren’t following you yet.
11. Reach out to influencers for more exposure
Now it’s easier than ever to present your ideas to someone with a large following. If they like what you bring to the table, they can change the world of your brand with a simple post.
The first step to influencer disclosure is to identify which influencers exist for your specific industry.
First, look at the influencers you have already been interacting with. Maybe they liked some of your tweets, or maybe you have replied to some of them.
Look at their profiles.
Do your posts align with your brand message? How many followers do they have?
If they seem like a good fit, send them a direct message asking them to promote your business in a tweet.
Another option is to use a tool like Klout to find new influencers that you don’t know yet.
The tool can give you a good idea of how influential certain people are online.
Everyone who is active on social media receives a score between 1 and 100. The more influential a user is, the higher that number will be.
Top influencers like Barack Obama or Justin Bieber have scores of 99 and 92, making them some of the most influential social media users out there.
Influencers in your specific niche probably don’t score that high, but you can use the tool to find out how some of them compare.
People with a Klout score of 63 or higher are in the top 5% of all users.
Download the Klout Chrome extension to see everyone’s Klout score next to their name on Twitter.
12. Harness the power of Twitter Ads
When you need to increase engagement as quickly as possible, Twitter Ads are the way to go. Especially if you don’t have many followers yet.
Twitter ads may be a bit more expensive than Facebook ads, but they’ll drive engagement when you need it most. Promoted Tweets are the best option for this purpose.
Conversational ads are in second place.
These ads are exclusively designed to drive engagement and increase brand influence. They are very similar to promoted tweets, but you can add CTAs that encourage users to tweet hashtags that can amplify your brand.
Once a user clicks on their choice, a tweet composer opens with a branded message that users can personalize and share. Alternatively, Once someone tweets their selection, they will automatically receive a thank you message.
Conversational ads are powerful because not only will you gain engagement with your post, your paid post will inspire tons of organic posts that are directly tied to your brand.
However, this feature is currently in beta testing, so it is not available by default. Twitter is directing users to direct message @TwitterAdsHelp to request access.
Conclusion
Twitter is one of the best places to increase brand awareness and generate new leads, but things move faster on the platform than on any other social network.
The average lifespan of a tweet is only a few minutes and thousands of new tweets are generated every second.
Your Twitter marketing efforts must be unique so that you stand out from the crowd.
Start with the basics of your Twitter profile. Make sure your brand identifier is short and easy to remember. It should be as close to your business name as possible.
Choose a profile photo that is a brand logo or a professional face photo if it is a personal brand. Your headline should also convey your brand message.
Optimize your bio to reflect exactly who you are as a business.
Only tweet during peak hours. Once you’ve identified the best days and times to post, schedule your tweets to run during those times.
Never use more than one or two hashtags per tweet. Make sure they relate to your brand and the context of the tweet.
Perform advanced searches to find new leads you can reach out to instead of waiting for them to find you.
Add images to your tweets to boost retweets. Use the Twitter video for even more engagement.
Take polls to create new conversations focused on your brand. You can also use them for market research.
Use creative CTAs that are different from the overused “share this post.” Ask people to buy now, download now, or learn more.
Use Twitter to duplicate A / B test headlines alongside a tool like Optimizely. That way, you will have more data on which headlines perform best.
Reach out to influencers in your industry and ask them to talk about your brand to get even more exposure. Your followers will trust your recommendations.
Finally, harness the power of Twitter ads if you need to increase reach and engagement in a pinch.
Conversational ads are also a powerful tool, but you must request access to Twitter before you start using them.