Crafting the perfect tweet can seem overwhelming. Is it the right length? Do I have the best visual? What’s my call to action? Did I mention the right partners?

Stop. Breathe. It’s just one tweet.

Post it. Monitor it. Adjust it. Repeat.

Twitter, and all social media, depends on your specific audience. You must listen to and analyze their feedback. And if you don’t start posting, you won’t have any feedback to analyze.

That’s not to say you should throw all caution to the wind and post whatever comes to mind. There are some basic social media tips you should follow, especially for businesses.

And here are eight Twitter-specific tips to increase engagement.

  • Say more. Users engage (retweet and like) with longer tweets, more than 140 characters, almost twice as much as shorter tweets. (Social Flow, 2017)
  • Get visual. Tweets with visuals get 89 percent more likes and 150 percent more retweets than tweets without images (Buffer, 2018). Adding video increases engagement by 28 percent, but you have to hook your viewer in the first 10 seconds (CoSchedule, 2018). And standalone graphics with stats, quotes, or other information get 19 percent more retweets. (Twitter, 2014)
  • Include Links. Tweets with a link get 86 percent more retweets (QuickSprout, 2019). And placement of your link can matter. You are 26 percent more likely to get retweeted if your link is in the middle of your tweet (Social Report, 2017). If the link is at the end, put a period or colon before the link for more retweets and clicks.
  • Use hashtags. Tweets with hashtags are 33 percent more likely to be retweeted than Tweets without one (Social Report, 2017). Use 1-2 hashtags per tweet. More than that and engagement will fall.
  • Give credit. Thank the media outlet for a good news article. Mention the photographer. Call out the hosting organization or location for an event. It’s important to acknowledge those who may have contributed to your social content.
  • Retweet others. A retweet from a trusted source can validate your message and be more effective in telling your story than you telling it yourself. Also, the more you retweet and mention others, the more they will be inclined to retweet you.
  • Follow back. Show your followers that you care about what they have to say. You don’t have to follow everyone, but have a healthy, positive follower to following ratio.
  • Ask for Retweets. Add “Please Retweet” at the beginning of your tweet to increase the chances of a retweet by more than 150%. (Daily Egg, 2017)

Do not be afraid to use your content more than once. Remember — Post it. Monitor it. Adjust it. Repeat. Try scheduling the same content on different days and at different times. Edit the language slightly — make it a fact, and then make it a question to see what works best for your audience.

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