Building your following on Twitter is a key activity that drives awareness and engagement success on the social network. There are a variety of techniques marketers can use to build their following—let’s explore four key ways:
1. Create Engaging Tweets: Because Twitter is so fast-paced, it’s important that you post regularly. Without regular posts, your tweets will get pushed down your followers’ streams by more recent tweets. As you craft your tweets, think about creating a mix of content that ranges from entertaining and educational, to promotional. A good rule of thumb to use when creating your content mix is the 4-1-1 Rule. Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms Twitter List: Top 20 Women The 4-1-1 Rule Originally introduced by Joe Pulizzi of Content Marketing Institute, the 4-1-1 rule states that for every four early stage, light, and informative content you share, you can have one soft-sell offer and one hard- sell offer, like a demo. The 4-1-1 rule can guide your sharing strategy for many social platforms, not just Twitter. We’ll cover this in more detail later in the guide. Twitter
2. Twitter Lists: Twitter lists are a simple way to accomplish two important things on Twitter: strategically listen and curate content for your users. Curated content often comes in the form of a retweet and is a good way to ensure that your content mix is not purely self-promotional.
To make curating content easier for yourself, develop a Twitter list. Lists are a way to segment a group of accounts that regularly feature interesting content. Segmenting these accounts into a list makes finding content to retweet quicker and easier.
Lists can be public or private, and can serve very different purposes. For example, if you want to incorporate an employee’s voice or perspective into your content mix, you could create a private list of all of your employees’ Twitter handles and use it to quickly find their tweets and retweet them. On the other hand, if you are promoting an event or content asset that features thought leaders, you could create a public list, made up of all the thought leaders’ handles, so that any Twitter user could follow that list—making it a benefit you offer your audience. Keep in mind that when you add a user to a public list, they are notified and the list is open and searchable to all users. A private list, which may be used for competitors, is only visible to you.
3. Crafting Your Tweets: There are a few important tips to make your tweets more searchable, shareable, and readable on Twitter.
Keep Your Tweets Concise: Hitting your maximum character count happens, but leave some space for your followers to add their thoughts when they retweet you to drive more interaction. Try to keep your tweet to around 100 characters. You can use a URL shortener like Bit.ly and built-in tools on social media management platforms.
Use #Hashtags: These symbols have become synonymous with Twitter and are used to tag tweets by topic, making it easier for users to find your tweet. Marketers can develop hashtags and use them to help promote and track social campaigns, events, and connect with prospects and customers.
Use @Mentions: Mentions are a way for you to engage other Twitter users in your tweet. If you’re posting a tweet that you think is relevant to a specific follower or thought leader, tag them at the end of your tweet with an @mention. This will call their attention to your tweet. Avoid using this in excess because it can feel spammy.
4. Twitter Chats: A Twitter chat is a public conversation on Twitter based around a unique hashtag. The hashtag allows you to follow the discussion and easily participate in it. Most Twitter chats are usually recurring and on specific topics, but some are based around special events. Hosting a Twitter chat is an amazing way to engage with your audience and followers. It’s also a great way to understand your community and promote your brand or business.
