As global internet usage continues to accelerate in growth, social media remains deeply embedded into the lives of the majority of online users. Approximately 4.4 billion users are now online, and social media consistently dominates the rankings of the world’s most visited websites.
Twitter, in particular, continues to have a strong showing on ranking lists, despite oft-reported declines in the active users. It’s doing well in terms of advertising, too—with total ad engagements up 20% year-over-year. Marketing-related statistics aren’t the only measure of impact Twitter has. It remains a strong force in shaping conversations all across the internet, where news from different communities and virality go hand-in-hand.
That’s why being on Twitter is beneficial for any brand or individual looking to increase awareness of their products, services, or expertise.
To start, here are the four Twitter growth hacks you need to have in your strategy to maintain success on the platform.
- Post frequently, then post again.
Twitter is a fast-moving platform. Over 500 million tweets are sent through each day—and with how easy it is to post and scroll through the feed, you’ll risk tweets getting lost in the shuffle if you aren’t careful. If you’re promoting a piece of content, tweeting just once a day isn’t enough.
Good practice dictates tweeting at least five times a day. You can spread this out by splitting the promotions for each half-day as well: two or three in the morning and two or more in the afternoon. This covers your bases and improves the chances your content will be seen by those who haven’t checked their feeds in a while.
Salesforce, for example, writes different tweets with the same call-to-action link when tweeting about events. This means more people see their tweets at different times, they’re directed to click on the same CTA, and there’s less risk of the same person seeing the exact same content multiple times, which could seem like spam.
Because of how fast it moves, it’s essential to post to Twitter every day. While other social media platforms may let you get away with posting three times a week, on Twitter it’s essential to stay active daily. To do this, prepare tweets by scheduling them in advance at optimal times. According to HubSpot:
- Tweet between 8 to 10 am and 9 to 6 pm.
- B2C brand engagement is higher on weekends, while B2B is higher on weekdays.
- 5:00-6:00 pm may garner more retweets and click-throughs.
- Add in-line images to tweets.
One of the most effective Twitter growth hacks isn’t much of a hack at all— it’s a simple change that makes a world of difference. Adding in-line images to Tweets instead of just a link preview or bit of text can increase retweets by 150% and favourites by 89%.
Considering how often you need to tweet, that seems like a lot of content to produce. Not so! When doing cross-platform marketing promotions and sharing the same piece of content to multiple social media websites, prepare in advance by optimizing images for each network. Twitter’s minimum size for in-stream photos is 440×220 pixels, with a maximum at 1024×512. Create variations for all images with these proportions.
However, Twitter does automatically collapse photos that don’t fit these dimensions, allowing them to expand upon clicking. If you plan to go this route, keep photos at least 506×253 pixels to maintain quality.
- Be part of the conversation.
All social media thrives on conversation, but Twitter more than most. Being responsive on Twitter goes a long way in terms of customer service—60% of users expect a response to their tweets within an hour, and their opinion of you and your brand will soar if their concerns get resolved. Being open to feedback is essential, so approach all inquiries with a friendly and helpful tone.
In addition to customer service, joining discussions around significant events highlight your brand’s awareness of the world around it. Advertising chances get kicked up a notch during these events as well: Twitter Ads during live events are 11% more effective at stimulating engagement.
However, don’t just jump in on an official or trending hashtag by thinking of it as a chance to sell. Engaging with events as part of your Twitter growth hacks only works if you consciously avoid the sales pitches. Instead, talk about the event and engage others with it.
- Expand your network.
Perhaps the simplest of the Twitter growth hacks for expanding followers is to expand your own Twitter network—by researching who to follow. Some of the world’s top influencers in all kinds of industries make their home on Twitter, so engaging with their tweets—and the tweets of their followers—can give you a leg up in terms of impressions and reach.
Netflix, for example, regularly retweets posts by users who mention any of the shows they’re currently promoting. They can range from tweets from famous celebrities or ordinary users whose posts earn a substantial amount of likes and retweets on their own.
Despite the rise of visual-focused networks like Instagram and the continuing domination of Facebook, Twitter stays popular due to its carving out a niche for relevant information and interesting discussion, delivered immediately.
Just like any other social media network, though, you’ll need to spruce up your presentation to stay attractive. Combining quality visuals with discussions and conversations at the right time can make your Twitter profile interesting, timely, and visible—easy to follow and easier to engage with.
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