With 326 million monthly active users, Twitter is essential for any business that wants to develop its brand and attract new customers. But with more than 500 million tweets published every day, standing out from the crowd is tough. Here are a few tips on how to get the results you want from sharing content on Twitter.
You will stand a much better chance of growing and holding on to your following if you only share great content which is highly relevant to your audience. Sifting through huge volumes of content to find the gems takes time, but the pay-off will be a reputation as a reliable source of high-quality information.
Twitter favours content which is uploaded to its platform over content which is linked to from another platform. If you have an amazing photo or video, it will have the best chance of being widely viewed if you upload it straight onto your tweet. An eye-catching image or clip often has a big impact on Twitter – and videos can play automatically in users’ feeds without them even having to click on them.
You only have 280 characters per tweet, so use them wisely. Make sure your tweets are on-brand and match your target audience. And if you have a brilliant piece of content, use your tweet to sell it. Why is the article or video unmissable reading or viewing for your audience?
‘Social listening’ has loads of benefits for businesses. By searching for the name of your brand, you can get instant feedback on what people think of you, and reactions to the content you have shared. You can also get real-time intelligence on your competitors – including what kind of content they’re sharing and how successful their strategies are.
Hashtags are an effective way to avoid your tweets getting lost in users’ constantly updating Twitter feeds. How you use them will depend on the kind of content you are sharing. If you are tweeting about a news event – say, an election – identify and use the hashtag which is most popular among the media and commentators. And if it’s a niche area – dog shampoo, for example – use hashtags to make it easy for people who are interested in that subject to find your content.
A recent survey found that 82 per cent of Twitter users watch videos on the platform, and users want to see more videos from brands. If you don’t have the resources to produce your own videos, search YouTube for a clip which is entertaining and relevant to your audience, and tweet it along with a short explanation of why it’s a must-see.
Liking your followers’ tweets, following them back and responding to tweets and messages are all important for businesses on Twitter. And retweeting is an easy way to connect with other users, react quickly to breaking news and attract more followers.
Instagram is introducing a new hashtag search API, which will restrict businesses to searching for 30 hashtags per week. It will be launched on December 11 2018, at which point the platform’s old search feature will no longer be available.
With more than 500 million users, LinkedIn is the world’s biggest professional network, and has become essential for businesses that want to grow. Here are a few tips on how to get the best results from sharing content on LinkedIn.