Twitter Marketing: 10 Tips for Getting Retweeted.

Twitter is a highly effective marketing tool, with the potential to generate sales, build your brand and increase your customer base.

With Twitter, you can send tweets (short messages of 140 characters or less) to your followers. This allows you to deliver your marketing message to everyone in your follower list at the click of a button.

However, in order to maximize the marketing potential of Twitter, you need your followers to forward, or retweet, your messages to their followers. Here are 10 tips for getting retweeted.

1. Make it clear

Make your message clear and easy to read. Use language that your followers will understand, and include keywords or key phrases they may be interested in. Rather than using general terms like “promotion” or “special offer”, try to be more specific in your message, perhaps using a few words to explain the nature of your offers.

2. Provide an incentive

Twitter users are bombarded with tweets from a variety of sources. Each user will choose to retweet only a small percentage of these tweets. If you want to increase your chances of being retweeted, you need to provide an incentive for doing so. This could be as simple as providing useful information or a special offer, which your followers then want to share with their friends.

3. Get the timing right

According to research, tweets sent at the weekend, on Friday, in the evening or late afternoon are more likely to be retweeted. However, this is just a general guideline and may not necessarily apply to your tweets. Monitor your Twitter activity to find the most productive times for your tweets. You can then use a Twitter client, such as TweetDeck, or social media service to schedule the time and date of your tweets.

4. Shorten your links

Links can take up a large amount of space in your tweet and leave little room for any other text. Long links can also be unsightly and detract attention from your message. Use a free link shortener, sometimes known as an URL shortener, to keep your links neat and tidy. Goo.gl, Bitly.com and TinyURL.com all allow you to reduce the amount of characters in your links.

5. Describe your links

Twitter users are unlikely to click on a link if they don’t know where that link will take them. When you include links in your tweets, give a brief description of the intended destination. Never misdirect users or guide them to an unexpected location. Be honest and clear about the destination of your links.

6. Use hashtags

Hashtags enable Twitter users to follow conversations, group tweets together and communicate with people outside of their usual circle of friends. Using hashtags will get your tweets noticed by people you may not normally come into contact with. If these people share your tweets with their followers, you could reach a whole new audience.

7. Change your perspective

Seeing your tweets from a different perspective can give you an insight into how they will be received by other people. Try looking at your tweets from the point of view of your followers. What will grab their attention? What will make them want to share your tweets with their friends?

8. Leave some space

Each tweet has a maximum of 140 characters, including any links. However, if you want your message to be retweeted by other Twitter users, try to leave some space for your followers to add their own comments. Ideally, 30-40 characters should be left for retweeters to add their own notes and hashtags.

9. Reciprocate

One of the unwritten rules of Twitter marketing is the rule of reciprocation. If somebody takes the time to forward a few of your messages to their followers, consider retweeting some of their content in return. Have a look through their recent tweets to see if they have a message that might be useful to your followers. If not, a simple thank you, mentioning their username, shows that you appreciate their help.

10. Less is more

Avoid bombarding your followers with marketing messages, as they will eventually stop reading. Tweeting valuable content on a regular basis is far more productive than posting dozens of mediocre messages every day.

Author: Omar Kattan

Courtesy of www.omarkattan.com