I’ve been using Twitter since 2007. In the last 6.5 years, I have managed several accounts with thousands of followers and which receive dozens of mentions and retweets every day.
I’ve learned a few key practices that help the most in improving engagement on Twitter.
1. Use hashtags
One of the great things about hashtags is that they create a section on Twitter where interested people can read messages about a specific topic. In Lethbridge, for example, #yql is used for general interest tweets and #lethcc is used for tweets regarding political happenings at city hall.
Use hashtags that are already in use and are related to your tweet’s topic, and use only one or two hashtags per tweet.
2. Join the conversation
Check what others are tweeting on the hashtags you use and see if you can add something of value. Perhaps someone asked a question and you know the answer.
You must be part of the conversation taking place. If all you do is tweet about your business, others will easily ignore you.
Take a look at this example from @HudsonsPub, who was keeping an eye out for tweets from people who had been working hard.
https://twitter.com/HudsonsPub/status/403922454940114944
Not only were they engaging in the conversation, but it resulted in extra exposure for them when we tweeted about our experience a week later.
3. Reciprocate
If someone retweets your tweets, it’s probably because they agreed with what you said or they find enough value in it to want to share it with others. Make sure you visit the profiles of those who retweet you and look for tweets of theirs that you can retweet. It’s a way to say thank you.
Follow these three steps every day, and watch your Twitter engagement increase.
Don’t have time to tweet? Let us do it for you. Hot Pepper Communications offers social media management services. Contact us for details.