5 proven tactics for getting your content retweeted

2
Sep 18, 2015 / by
5 proven tactics for getting your content retweeted

Most people have a pretty reasonable grasp of how to use Twitter…


Post regularly, interact with other users, ensure the branding of your account matches your website, avoid grammar and spelling mistakes and try not to behave like a spambot. However, if you want your content to be consistently retweeted, it’s important to implement some specific strategies which go beyond this. Here are some of the things you can do today to improve the chances of your content being retweeted by other users.

1 – Upload an image

Research shows that tweets with images receive 150% more retweets. When posting, upload a compelling image to accompany the tweet – this will show up in other users’ timelines and catch their attention, encouraging them to click through to your site. If you are tweeting with a link to an infographic on your site, it’s a good idea to take upload a thumbnail image of the infographic to accompany the tweet. Typically the thumbnail should be the header of the infographic or perhaps one of the most visually stimulating sections of the piece.

2 – Harness the power of hashtags

This is particularly powerful for users who haven’t built up a large following yet. Even if someone isn’t following you but is following a particular hashtag, tweeting with a popular hashtag will bring your brand to their attention and they may begin to follow you as a consequence. By tweeting with a popular hashtag and inserting your own message into the trending story, you can generate huge amounts of engagement. For a more comprehensive guide on how to use hashtags effectively, please check out our previous article on the subject.

3 – Mention influencers

If your content contains quotes from an industry expert or cites their work, you may wish to contact them via Twitter to let them know. This is not only an excellent way to build relationships within your niche, but you may find that they are more than willing to retweet your content to their own networks, dramatically expanding your outreach as a consequence. This is a winning strategy because ultimately, who doesn’t like to receive some praise for their work from time to time?

4 – Timing is crucial

There have been multiple studies conducted into determining when is the optimal time to send out a tweet. The general consensus is that tweeting during the morning is ineffective, whereas tweeting during non-peak hours such as the late evening generates the highest amount of clicks. Kevan Lee, writing for Buffer, suggests that you may wish to try tweeting as late as 3 a.m. (local time) in order to receive the maximum amount of clicks.

However, Kevan goes on to state that the most amounts of retweets occurs slightly earlier in the day, peaking between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. in the US. The key takeaway is that if you aren’t generating retweets with your current tweeting schedule, you might want to try changing the times of your tweets. Buffer’s analytics will show you when the best times are to post according to past engagement.

5 – Ask for help

Research indicates that including the words “Please Retweet” in your tweets actually results in as much as 400% more retweets. Additionally, you may wish to privately ask your associates to retweet the tweet as soon as it goes out. If a tweet immediately starts to generate engagement, people will be more inclined to retweet it due to social proof. People want to retweet things that other people have already cosigned, and this is one of the best ways to kickstart this process.

Summary

While these tactics will help you to acquire more retweets on Twitter, the adage that “content is king” (originally attributed to Bill Gates) still rings true. Therefore, before you try to get as many retweets as possible, why not craft excellent content which justifies a high amount of shares? Once you have incredible content to offer the work, then you can market it with complete integrity, knowing that anyone who retweets it will be doing both you and everyone else a favor.

Tags: / / / /