Beyond 140 Characters – Boosting Twitter Engagement

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]witter is a great way to connect with your customers, provide value, and get extra visibility for your brand. But with millions of Twitter accounts out there all vying for attention, you need to up your game if you want to make the most of the platform.

Brand Your Twitter Account

This first recommendation is just simple housekeeping. If you want people to take you seriously, your Twitter account should look like you mean business. So, take some time to create a stunning Twitter header image that makes your profile stand out.

Post Images

When you scroll through your own Twitter feed, what catches your attention the most – images or text? If you said images, you’re not alone. Images are more eye-catching than standard text tweets, and according to Buffer, sharing images can result in a 150% increase in retweets.

Schedule Your Tweets

Make sure you send tweets when your audience is most active. HubSpot research shows Twitter users are most active on commutes and during breaks. You’ll need to experiment with your particular audience, but to begin with, they say the best times to tweet are 12 – 3 p.m. and 5 – 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Use GIFS to Grab Attention

It’s impossible to ignore GIFs, and people love to share them, which means more retweets for you! Twitter makes it easy to add these insanely shareable images to your feed. Simply select a GIF from the drop down menu or use the search box to find images for your audience.
Create Twitter Polls

Ask your followers questions. While people tend to read most tweets and move on without engaging, followers that have a quick way to tell you what they think, will often give you valuable feedback. Keep your poll questions short and simple, and don’t give too many answer options.

Respond Quickly

When someone tweets you or mentions you, it’s important to respond quickly if you want to boost engagement. People don’t want their tweets to go ignored, but usually that’s exactly what happens. So, if you reply quickly (especially if it’s a customer complaint), you’ve got a great opportunity to stand out from the crowd and build some loyalty.

Make Use of Twitter Cards

It’s tough to convince someone to visit your website when you’ve only got 140 characters to play with, but if you use Twitter cards, you can say a lot more and give your click through rate a boost.

To learn about the different types of cards – text, images, and video – and how to set them up, check out this guide on Social Media Examiner.

Always Use Hashtags

Hashtags make it easy for people to find relevant information when they search on Twitter. If you include one or two hashtags with your tweet, you massively increase the chances non-followers will see your content.

Once your Twitter engagement picks up, don’t become overwhelmed and drop the ball. Use tools like Buffer to schedule tweets in advance, automate content promotion with IFTTT, and quickly respond to followers with Mention. If you still can’t keep up, consider hiring a Virtual Assistant to handle social media for you.