Twitter may seem like old news at this point, but it’s still one of the most popular social media networks. As such, it’s a vital tool for online marketing. The key to success on the platform lies in improving your visibility, yet figuring out exactly how to do that can be a challenge.
Posting new content frequently is a good start, but for best results you’ll also want to encourage as many retweets as possible. When your followers share your posts with their own networks, you’ll benefit from increased reach and exposure to all kinds of new audiences.
In this post, we’re going to talk a little more about the importance of the retweet. Then we’ll share three key tips for getting more retweets of your links and other Twitter content. Let’s jump right in!
The Importance of Retweets as a Valuable Marketing Commodity
Sometimes, it might seem as though older social media platforms like Twitter have been eclipsed by newer additions such as Snapchat and Instagram. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. As of this writing, Twitter has about 326 million active users, making it a social media powerhouse.
Along with its sheer volume of users, Twitter is also popular with a wide range of audiences. Its demographics are a relatively even mix when it comes to characteristics like gender, age, and income level, and it’s popular both within the U.S. and around the world.
The result is that by marketing yourself or your business on Twitter, you gain access to a lot of potential audience members. Whatever your target market might be, chances are you can find it on the platform. Even better, setting up an account and posting regular content is fairly simple.
However, Twitter’s greatest strength is also its biggest weakness. Its popularity means you’ll likely have a hard time standing out and getting your content noticed. To maximize your chances for success, therefore, you’ll want to encourage your audience to spread your posts via retweets.
When a user retweets one of your posts, they share it with their own network. This gets your message in front of people you might otherwise have never reached. The more retweets you get, the larger your presence grows on the platform – with very little effort required on your end. This means finding a way to maximize your retweet potential is a smart move.
3 Key Tips for Getting More Retweets on Your Twitter Posts
One of the best ways to get lots of retweets is to simply post often, and create high-quality content that will interest your audience. However, it’s possible to do this and still see fairly low rates of sharing. The following three techniques are effective yet simple ways to increase the odds of your Twitter audience hitting the Retweet button.
Post New Content at the Right Times
When it comes to any social media platform, not all posts are created equal. There are actually optimal times to post new content. The reasons for this aren’t totally clear, but a likely cause is that users generally access their favorite platforms more at certain times of the day (and on particular days of the week).
What’s more, every platform has its own ‘best times to post’. Therefore, you’ll want to do your research carefully, and set up a posting schedule in line with the data. Uploading new content at Twitter’s busiest times means it’s more likely to be seen – and retweeted – as a result.
According to one comprehensive study by Sprout Social, here’s what you need to know about posting on Twitter (all times are in CST):
- The best day to post new content is Friday, with the ideal time being between 9 and 10 a.m.
- During the rest of the week, you’re best off posting between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
- Sunday is the worst overall day to post.
We’d suggest checking out the full report, as there are also handy breakdowns for the best times to post based on your specific industry. Of course, conducting your own research is also smart. It’s a good idea to try posting on Twitter at various times, and tracking the retweets you see. Then, you can focus your future efforts on the times that return the best results.
Add Relevant Hashtags to Your Tweets
While hashtags are now used across many social media platforms, they’re perhaps most strongly associated with Twitter. Still, some businesses are hesitant to use them, or doubtful of their benefits.
As it turns out, hashtags play an important role on the platform. Most importantly, they help users locate your content. Using relevant hashtags in your posts means people searching for content on the topic in question are more likely to see yours, whether or not they’re currently followers. What’s more, posts with hashtags are retweeted 33% more often than posts without them.
If you’re looking to use hashtags as a way to increase your retweets, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Use hashtags that are directly relevant to your content – people won’t be happy (and won’t want to share your tweets) if your posts turn up in searches for unrelated topics.
- Do some research into the best hashtags for encouraging retweets (with the caveat that again, you should only use them if they’re relevant).
- Don’t go overboard. Research consistently shows that one or two hashtags is enough, and more will see your engagement rates (such as retweets) drop.
Getting the hang of using hashtags effectively can take a little time. However, the results when it comes to retweets and other key metrics should be well worth the effort.
Include ‘Pretty’ Links in Your Tweets
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention links. In general, it’s a smart idea to include plenty of links in your Twitter posts. This lets you point users towards your website, product pages, and other key places you’d like them to visit. You can also include links that point towards longer content, such as blog posts and news articles, which offers a lot of value to your followers.
What’s more, including links in your posts also improves their chances of being retweeted. While the exact numbers vary, links can increase the odds of a retweet by up to 86%. This is a huge benefit, and makes a strong case for posting as many links as you can.
Of course, the problem with including links in your Twitter posts is that they take up precious character space. However, you can circumvent this issue by using shortened, ‘pretty’ links. These take up less room, and offer a wide range of benefits when it comes to promoting engagement and trust. Creating pretty links is a simple process, and you’re then free to use them on Twitter and elsewhere.
