21 Apr Creating Tailor-Made Text For Twitter
Social media has become a prominent platform for various diverse, unique, and shared-interest communities to thrive. A platform like Twitter has become a way for many people to join in the conversation and make their voices heard. The trick with Twitter is that your posts have to follow certain rules e.g. character limits, hashtags, and handles. Sometimes, it can be a bit daunting to know what exactly you need to focus on with copywriting.
Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to master the art of twitter.
Even shorter still
The 140-character limit is already a challenge, especially if you want to commit as few grammatical sins as possible, while still speaking the language of Twitter. Unfortunately, some bad news awaits. Shorter than that is even better. According to Social Media Examiner, shorter tweets of 110 characters get 17% more engagement. This is attributed to the fact that you are leaving space for people to retweet, add their own comments, and tag someone.
Don’t go pre-teen with your text
We all love (or love to hate) abbreviations. Although they are a time-saver, don’t use abbreviations to the point where it makes you look like a pre-teen texting his/her best friend. It will make you look lazy and sloppy, and that is definitely not what you want to convey to your consumers. Be aware of the brand language that you use and make sure that it always speaks back to brand’s personality and identity. It’s better to stick to the normal grammar rules as much as possible, because you don’t want to leave the reader confused about what you are trying to say.
Go for the retweet
Retweets can be a very good way to reach new audiences and gain new customers. Research indicates that tweets that get the most retweet often contain a direct request. So, don’t be afraid to be bold and ask your followers for a retweet or ‘RT’. This tactic shouldn’t be used too often though – you can easily come across as spam. Tweets with third-person singular pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’ also receives more retweet, states some studies.
All about interaction
Don’t irritate your followers with links to your products and don’t constantly tell them how wonderful you are. You have to interact with them first (just like real life). A good recommendation is the 80/20 principle when it comes to Twitter. This means that 80% of the tweets you post should drive interaction; retweeting relevant content, replying to your followers, and answering questions. This means that although your copy for Twitter may be brilliant, it will be a lot less impactful if the social and interactive aspect of your brand is missing.
Timing does count
When Buffer analysed over 4,3 million tweets, they found that ‘early in the morning’-tweets receive the most clicks, but ‘at night’-tweets receive the most favorites and retweets. Depending on what your goals are with Twitter, this could be something to keep in when looking to optimize your impact and interactions.
Keep it upbeat
It’s better to keep tweets positive and upbeat. Positive messages are more likely to inspire your followers to click on the link you posted or reply to your message. Avoid negative stories and language.
Twitter can be a complicated world to navigate between hashtags, handles, and character limits, but it doesn’t have to be. With these guidelines and a bit of practice, you will be tweeting like a professional.
Remember: A tweet a day keeps the unfollowers away.