So you've started to build your brand's online presence by creating a professional Twitter account. Creating and sharing content can be exciting, but it can also be frustrating if your aren't getting any retweets. One of the most effective ways to build your follower base is retweets, which is why it is so important to employ strategies that encourage them. Here are some tips on what will make people want to retweet your content.
1. Use Hashtags
Hashtags make it easy for people to find your content. Including two to three relevant hashtags per post ensures that your target market can find you. Just make sure your tweets are still readable.
2. Tweet Often
Posting frequently and at different times of the day makes it more likely that your audience will find and retweet your content. Twitter software such as Hootsuite can help you schedule your tweets so you can post more frequently. Just don't overdo it. Posting too often might encourage people to unfollow you rather than retweet you.
3. Share Valuable Content
Knowing your audience is key when deciding what to tweet. Tweet about topics that your target market is interested in. Including links can make your tweets more share-worthy, and asking questions encourages discussion.
4. Ask for a Retweet
This may seem counter intuitive, but research has shown that asking for a retweet works. Ask people to “Please RT” only on content that you feel is especially relevant and interesting.
5. Include Social Sharing Buttons
Make it easy for people to retweet your original content. Include a button on each piece of content that lets people share it on Twitter.
6. Customize Your Twitter Profile
Customizing your Twitter background, Twitter profile picture, and Twitter bio to reflect your branding and messaging assures followers that you are a legitimate source for information and insight, and therefore worthy of retweeting.
7. Keep it Short
Just because Twitter lets you use 140 characters doesn't mean you should. Keeping your tweets around 120 characters makes it easier for people to comment on your tweet when they retweet. The easier you make it, the more likely people will retweet.
8. Read and Comment
Never tweet about something you haven't read. It could be boring or irrelevant, and even worse it might be offensive or in conflict with your brand's messaging. Reading everything you post also allows you to comment, which makes your tweet more engaging.
9. Interact
Thanking people for retweets, retweeting others and commenting on other people's tweets will create a stronger presence for your brand on Twitter and encourage people to support your brand by retweeting. Respond to complaints and bad reviews to help resolve customer service issues and discourage them from escalating, which distracts from your content.
10. Don't Only Promote Yourself
Besides being a bad social strategy, being overly promotional does not encourage retweets. People want to retweet content that their followers will find interesting, which is unlikely to be a tweet that shamelessly plugs your brand.
