Twitter is an excellent promotional platform for branded content. When leveraged smartly, it can drive a ton of traffic to your blog or website. Here are five tips savvy marketers use to grab eyeballs and social shares.
#1 : Keep it short and compelling
Short tweets (less than 100 characters) have been found to enjoy a higher interaction rate. Focus on promoting your blog or video with crisp, short and punchy tweets that pique interest. While this is easier said than done, you can get inspiration from those who do it best, such as Copyblogger’s Brian Clark.
Your tweet doesn’t always have to be the title of your blog, unless you deem it compelling enough, such as “SEO is Dead: Long Live OC/DC”, a Copyblogger tweet used to promote a blog by the same name. Or you can try what Hubspot does so well to generate interest in its blog posts, an example being “Do you have a good cold calling story?” to promote its post “Tired Of Cold Callers? Add Your Phone Number To The ‘Do Not Call’ List”.
#2: Use hashtags
Do #Oscars, #Superbowl, #RoyalBaby and #BostonMarathon sound familiar? They were the most popular hashtags of 2013. A study indicates that hashtag can double engagement by allowing you to connect with not just your followers but other Twitter users as well.
Hashtags operate like a keyword within your tweet. A hashtag is clickable, meaning that clicking on one will bring up a full search of people who are using it to tweet. You can add double or triple hashtags, such as #wimbledon#winners.
#3: Use @mentions
Twitter mentions enable you to tag other Twitter users in your tweets. You can use mentions to get your tweets retweeted. For instance, if your blog post talks about a company or a prominent personality, you can mention them in a tweet linking back to your post. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that your tweet will be retweeted to their followers.
#4: Include statistics and quotes where possible
Numbers and characters sometimes have more impact than words. Mia Farrow’s “Over 500 human rights defenders are imprisoned in #Iran” is one among many examples. A tweet with a quote can get you 54 percent more retweets. Quotes from famous people seem to be irresistible for some reason, a behavior you can exploit to increase retweets and promote your content. A good example of a tweet with a quote is Godot Media’s “Time wasted enjoying is not wasted – John Lennon”.
#5: Take part in Twitter chats
A Twitter chat allows you to share your insights, tips and suggestions, gain new followers, get tips for future content and understand the type of information your new followers seek. It is a reputation and credibility building exercise that can generate more interest and trust in your blogs and other branded content.
