New and innovative visual-focused digital marketing platforms are popping up all the time – and skyrocketing in popularity. From the rise and eventual fall of multimedia messaging app Snapchat to the incredible 1.5 billion+ downloads of short-form video sharing service, TikTok, there is no doubt that a new promotion alternative will arrive on the scene soon enough. But there are reasons why the old tried-and-true social media platforms stand the test of time – and here comes Twitter.
Twitter remains a successful platform for business owners and entrepreneurs alike to plan, create, publish and distribute content to their target audience. According to Hootsuite, it still retains approximately 187 million monetizable daily active users today. In this blog, we’ll dive into how brands can capitalize on generating a memorable Twitter presence to create engaging, viral content that also contributes to good ROI.
Start with a solid profile
A complete, detailed profile is the first impression that your followers will get when accessing your account, From the moment users click on your handle, they should be able to get a detailed understanding of who you are and what you have to offer. This should be even before your first engagement with them. Some of the most important information we would recommend focusing on includes:
Handle
Use a consistent handle across social media platforms to make it easier for potential and current customers to find and follow you. Your handle should be something intuitive, without underscores or periods. Sometimes, however, your handle might already be secured considering that there are over 3.5 billion social media users worldwide. Tools like NameChek and CheckUsernames make it easier to see if your handle is still available on the intended platform. Shorter handles are known to get tagged more often and are generally more memorable.
Profile
This might be your logo, company’s initials or a picture of your CEO. Ensure that the image fits under the recommended 400×400 pixels.
Bio
A brief synopsis of your ‘About Us’ section, the perfect bio should contain plenty of personality that speaks to your target market. Here is your chance to shine while showing what makes you unique
Link
Update the link contained in your Twitter bio frequently. This link traditionally led to a brand’s homepage or landing page of a project, offering or course it is currently promoting. With the establishment of Linktree in 2016, audiences can now be connected to various content pieces using just one link. This brings followers to a landing page that is simple and intuitive to navigate and can drive them to unlimited additional pages that will help you reach those digital marketing goals.
Follow relevant accounts
While we want to attract an abundance of followers, it is equally important that we pay it forward. According to Keyhole, brands should have a specific follower-to-following ratio. Whether it’s actually an accurate indicator of a company’s success or not, some customers will look at this ratio and form unfavourable opinions about brands that follow more accounts than those that follow them. The link above includes a follower-to-following ratio calculation hack to understand whether you fall in the ideal parameters recommended by some social media experts.
These ideas should help increase your followers:
Engage regularly
This doesn’t only mean responding to comments on your profile, although we would recommend that those should be ideally answered within an hour. The faster that you respond to a comment or question, the better your customer service will be received. People are always on the lookout for outstanding customer service, a facet that makes a brand memorable.
If you want people to interact with your content, a surefire way is to interact with them first. A well-intended and meaningful comment that extends beyond ‘cool post’ will encourage them to return the favor on your account. Demonstrate that you are actually interested in what they have to say with a thoughtful comment that reflects on their post. Like, respond to and retweet content of followers from your target audience for at least half hour to one hour per day.
Don’t forget to tag
If you are still having trouble catching the eye of a Twitter user that you know could eventually become a brand advocate, try tagging. Tagging is how you respond or start a conversation with another Twitter user. This is just another tactic to increase brand visibility for users that do not follow you yet.
Optimize content creation and scheduling
Even if you are generating the most innovative, appealing content of anyone in your industry, it’s irrelevant if it is not reaching your target market. Don’t forget to optimize content scheduling by:
Measuring when audience is online
Social media has sophisticated built-in analytics that can advise us of which tactics are working and which we can leave behind. Twitter’s analytics dashboard measures tweet activity, followers and Twitter cards. Over time, you will likely recognize trends in when your audience is the most active.
To understand when followers are most active, a manual (and free) tactic is to scroll through the most recent tweets and take note of where there was the most engagement. However, this can be extremely time-consuming with a higher margin for error in calculation in comparison to some tools available.
Sprout Social can be used to analyze Twitter and other platforms your company is using, too. Its ViralPost feature can easily source the best time to Tweet based on high follower engagement rates and when others in your industry are not posting often. Circleboom also has a sophisticated algorithm that details the best times to Tweet!
Creating appealing branded content
Ideally, all social media content should be planned in advance. Many experts recommend developing and scheduling content at least a month in advance. This ensures that content remains consistent, known to increase reach and engagement right off the bat. When starting the content creation grind, create Twitter posts that include creative copy, a static image or video and a relevant call-to-action. While Twitter has increased its character count, the most popular tweets still remain 140 characters or less.
Creating a consistent branding identity that is memorable contributes to brand recognition and increased trust and loyalty. We are a fan of PosterMyWall’s intuitive branding features that allow both individuals and businesses to create and edit a variety of similar, yet different posts. Even those that are new to the world of online marketing can create dynamic and eye-catching content without the technical requirements of more advanced options like Photoshop.
According to Buffer, tweets with photos earned 150 percent more retweets and 18 percent more clicks than those without. Some of the most popular images on Twitter include quote posts, collages and animated GIFs. And don’t forget to optimize your Twitter header. This is another place where you can bring awareness to the latest brand updates. Consider promoting a sale, hyping up a new launch or showcasing a recent charity project here. PosterMyWall has hundreds of free, easy-to-use Twitter headers to make the process that much easier.
Advertising, advertising, advertising
From promoted tweets to Twitter ads, allocating a budget to posts will increase their visibility, in turn increasing influence and following. The cost required for Twitter ads is reasonable even for smaller, start-up companies with minimal marketing budget. With your Tweets reaching a more targeted audience than they would organically, you’ll likely get a better ROI using this tactic, too.
Scheduling content in advance
Using this newfound critical information, content scheduling can be automated. PosterMyWall not only allows its users to create beautiful designs but schedule and publish them, too. All without leaving the platform! Planning out content in advance will ensure that you are organized and consistent with posting – and we all know that consistency is key to attracting the attention of your audience.
The future is social
Twitter is one of the loudest social media platforms available – and if you can get the attention and become part of the noise, it’s where you can generate a lot of brand awareness from your target audience. Start with building out a solid and strategic profile that is 100% complete before moving on to content creation. Then, consider devising a content strategy that considers regular posting, scheduling content in advance and engaging on a daily basis. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the ever changing world of analytics that will ensure you are posting at optimal times to gain your audience’s attention. Keeping these tactics in mind, you will be well on your way to creating an attention-worthy Twitter account!
Senior editor at PosterMyWall.
