9 Twitter Tips and Tricks

Twitter is one of those tricky networks. The users who have been on for the longest time will have more followers than those who are new to the Twitter game. These Twitter tricks will help you get the most out of your Twitter strategy, while increasing engagement and followers.

9 Tricks & Tips To Get "Good" At Twitter

1. Chose A Good Name

This can be your business name or your personal name (Though, of course, you can have both). The important thing to remember here is to create something that is easy to remember and not too long. Remember—on Twitter, characters count. If anyone Retweets you, your name will count toward the total amount of characters used. I'd also avoid using too many special characters, like the underscore and multiple vowels. For example, if your name is Sheri but the Twitter handle @Sheri is taken, don't go with @Sheriiiiiiii—how is anyone going to remember how many i(s) there are? Keep it simple and keep it memorable.

2. Mind The Character Limit

You only have a limited amount of characters in your hands to begin with. My advice is to use only about 120 of the 140. The reason for which is this: if someone Retweets you, you want your original tweet to stay in tact, without them having to edit or abbreviate it. If you make your Tweets too long, the Retweeter might have to shorten your tweet with things like "2" instead of the word "to," or "u" instead of "you," and "w/" instead of "with."

It just looks bad, and since the person seeing the Retweet might not have seen your original Tweet, they might take the altered, broken Tweet to mean you're illiterate. Okay, so maybe that's the worst case scenario, but just avoid too many characters to allow maximum Retweets.

3. The Hashtag Debate

Hashtags originated on Twitter and they're still going strong. They used to be a way to categorize and search content on Twitter. They still serve this purpose, but as Twitter search has advanced, you don't necessarily need to use hashtags to be found for that specific content. People use them now as a way to make a final point or build community. I'd recommend using two hashtags max, per Tweet.

4. Replying To People

So many times, on Twitter, I see people starting their Tweets off with someone's handle. For example: "@StephanieFrasco writes…"—Don't do this. If you're going to start your Tweet with a Twitter handle, make sure you put a period in front of it. This way it will show up on your followers' Timelines. If you only put the Twitter handle (without the period), Twitter sees it as a reply, and only the person you include in the @handle will see the Tweet.

5. Favorite Tweets

This is a great way to increase followers and to capture the attention of Influencers who are Tweeting content that you like. By favoring a Tweet, you get a smile from the person whose content you starred. It's likely that they'll return the favor and follow you back. At least, I do. Favoriting Tweets is also a great way to use Twitter as an RSS feed and save content to read later.

6. Headlines Count

Make your headlines short and sweet, yet to the point. Humor or newsworthiness works best here. Think like a broadcast journalist. You need to capture the attention of the reader instantly in order for them to take that next step with you. A few things people love to click on via Twitter are Top X lists, a promise of something to come, a call to action, or an engaging question.

7. Don't Be A Walking Billboard

To get the most out of Twitter, you need to mix up your content. Of course, a little self-promotion is good, but it's not good if that's all you do. You should have a mix of 40% engagement on others' content, which includes replying to others and Retweeting them, 45% keyword/industry related content to brand yourself as a thought leader. If you create your own content this should be included here. The remaining 15% could be straight out self-promotion. You want to showcase yourself but, do so in a tasteful way that showcases your brand's personality

8. Listen To Others

By being a good social listener on Twitter, you're giving yourself an advantage to infiltrate different groups and Influencers on Twitter. "Infiltrate" might not be the best word, but you can certainly gather intel and learn about your competitors and what your customers like, what they want and what they dislike. 

9. Timing Is Everything

In order to get the most bang for your Twitter buck, you should be Tweeting at the right times. According to RadiumOne, there are two peak times at which you should Tweet during the day. They are 10AM to 12PM and 8PM through 10PM. If you want to see the most shares, with the highest click-through, you should be Tweeting from 12 noon to 2PM. Of course, this content regulation changes based on where your audience is. Connect with your audience when they are online. Bottom line.

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