Admit it: Your Twitter presence could use some work.
It’s not for lack of trying. You tweet. You follow the accounts Twitter suggests you follow. You have some followers of your own.
But you’re just not receiving the engagement you know your account deserves. What gives?
Accounts live in the Twitter doldrums for all sorts of reasons. Diagnosing the problem is an important first step. What comes next is just as crucial: devising a remedy (call it a treatment plan) and keeping up with it.
These five tips for better Twitter engagement are among the most reliable things you can do during that second step. Which you pursue will depend on the source of your engagement woes and what you hope to get out of your Twitter activity.
1. Use Images and Videos Whenever Possible
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A picture holds a thousand words, as they say. And a video? It might as well be a book.
Make sure your Twitter presence reflects this. Most of your original tweets (not replies or retweets) should include some sort of graphic element, whether it’s a pic, meme, GIF, infographic, or video. You should already be investing in effective online videos elsewhere in your digital marketing portfolio; folding in Twitter should be easy enough.
You want to be a trusted resource for your audience. What better way to do this than to share news and views that your audience wants to see?
TheTwitter handle for Asiaciti Trust, a fiduciary services provider serving the Asia-Pacific region, shows what this looks like in practice. Most of this handle’s tweets are links to articles or videos about events and trends in the financial industry, which it knows well. The company’s audience benefits by association.
3. Utilize Twitter Polls
There are many ways to use Twitter polls. All have something in common: They engage and excite their users’ followers.
Twitter polls also provide real, actionable information for the people and brands running them. While not scientific, they’re real-time snapshots of your audience. You can use their results to iteratively improve your products and marketing.
4. Launch a Twitter Newsletter
The days of massive tweet threads are gone. In their place has arisen a kinder, gentler form of high-dose Twitter content: the Twitter newsletter.
A Twitter newsletter is a great way to give your committed followers more of what they crave — your insights — or help build a committed following if you’re a bit behind the eight-ball. Once it gets rolling, you can even monetize your Twitter newsletter, creating yet more value.
5. Respond to Mentions and Retweets
If and when you attract hoped-for engagement on Twitter, repay it in kind. Reply to (polite) mentions as soon as they cross your feed; ditto for retweets. Incorporate this strategy into a broader adherence to the 4-1-1 rule for Twitter, which states that less than 20% of your Twitter content should be self-serving.
Tweet Like Your Brand Depends on It
Your account most likely is not destined for stratospheric Twitter stardom — although, never say never.
Your account can attract more and higher-quality engagement than it has been, though. And you don’t have to pay a high-priced social media consultant or resort to questionable tactics (fake accounts, anyone?) to make it happen.
You just have to follow the best practices that have benefited so many before you. They’ll take you farther than you had any reason to hope.