Twitter has been around for seven years now, and the majority of businesses – estimates range from 50 percent to 80 percent – have taken to the social media platform. But many marketers are still searching for the “perfect tweet formula.”
In order to stay relevant, businesses will have to continue developing their social media marketing strategies as the Internet evolves – making the hunt for that perfect formula an ongoing one. But don’t let that get you down or overwhelm you.
Regardless of what new features are rolled out tomorrow or what new networks emerge, there is something that social media marketing teams can do today – analyze information that we have and add new best practices to our arsenals.
One study that helps us get closer to the perfect formula comes from Buddy Media. Nine months ago the company published an analysis that examined what was driving user engagement on more than 300 of the top brands on Twitter.
The study included some takeaways that are worth trying in order to achieve higher engagement:
- Keep your tweets under 100 characters.
- Followers are more likely to share your company’s tweet if you simply ask them. Spelling out “retweet” increases the likelihood of a retweet more than using the shorthand “RT.”
- Experiment with tweets on different days at different times. Don’t be surprised to find high engagement on the weekend.
- People are visual and love images. Use them when appropriate.
- Limit yourself to two hashtags in each tweet. If you use any more, you risk overwhelming your audience.
Just remember that there are no hard and fast rules in social media. What works for one company in one industry may not work for another. The key to increasing engagement on all social media platforms is to experiment, analyze the results, and react accordingly.
Below is an infographic that LinchpinSEO created to illustrate the results from Buddy Media’s study.
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