Welcome back to the BCRS blog This week I am giving you some top tips for increasing your engagement and presence on Twitter.
First of all, you might be thinking what makes Twitter different to any other Social media platform I use for my business?
Well my fellow readers, any tweet has a lifespan of an average of 18 minutes making the ‘shelf life’ of your tweet four times shorter than any other social media platform you use. This is due to the large volume of tweets posted every second. Rumour has it that an average of 7000 new tweets are posted per second. No wonder you have to tweet more often than posting on other social networks (the recommended number of tweets a day is at least six)
In light of this information, it is essential to focus on mastering the art of engagement.
Here are my five top tips for keeping your customers engaged on Twitter:
1. Tweet at peak times
Peak times vary from industry to industry and finding the perfect match for you and your business will come in time. For now, I will point you in the right direction to get you started.
It’s a given that any customer is highly likely to look at Twitter during their lunch break. I know I do and I’m sure you do too. Use this time to your advantage and post content to your page during this time. Commuting times are also popular especially in the evening between 5-6pm.
One more tip for timing is to utilise ‘Twitter Hours’ as much as possible. The owner of each ‘hour’ often retweets your posts which gives a much larger audience likely to engage. Try starting with geographical locations such as #CannockHour and #wmidshour and then search for some unique to your business’ sector for us this might be #SMEHour or #SmallBizHour etc.
2. Utilise hashtags (but not too many)
Using hashtags in your tweets can increase engagement by 21% but using too many can be detrimental. I know what you’re thinking… how many is too many? Here’s the answer…a maximum of two hashtags per post is recommended to gain the best engagement no more and no less.
Remember to study your hashtag choices and use them wisely. Relate your hashtags to your post content, for example- ‘BCRS provide loans to SME businesses in and around the West Midlands. #loans #WestMidlands’
3. Add images and video to your content
Images catch the attention of your reader if they are relevant and eye-catching. Fun fact: tweets with images or video receive 89% more likes. Take this information and run with it. What are you waiting for? Get posting those images and videos right away!
A little secret from me… people like people. Take the robot suspicion out and use real photos of you and your team members to show the human side of your business.
4. Use a call to action (CTA)
Using CTA’s in your posts prompts your audience to keep reading about your business and create leads to your website whilst boosting your engagement. Win win!
Adding to the BCRS example tweet earlier ‘BCRS provide loans to SME businesses in and around the West Midlands. #loans #WestMidlands’ CTA= Click here to apply now.
This encourages your audience to click on the link in the post to read more, enquire or purchase a product. Using website links related to your post will encourage this behaviour further. As they say… the proof is in the pudding. How did you get to read this blog post? My guess is the CTA link on our social media post.
5. Engage with others
It’s all well and good encouraging others to engage with you but why don’t you return the favour? For example: follow for follow, like, retweet or comment on something you find interesting. It doesn’t have to be war and peace but just a couple of words to make people aware that you are interested in their content which they may return the favour on your posts.
That’s it from me for now, be sure to take these tips on board and make them work for you and your business. Hope to see you here again next week.
In the mean-time follow us on:
Published by – Lauren McGowan – Digital Marketing Assistant
More social media tips and tricks
Making Marketing Digital – Social Media
Making Marketing Digital- Social Media – What, When and How.
