Michael Sherman - December 29, 2009
Retweeting (RT) is the most effective way of sharing information you like within Twitter. But to getting someone to retweet your message (or tweet) requires you to use some tools.
- Include Links. Tweets have a much higher percentage of being retweeted when a link is used.
- Use a URL shortner such as bit.ly and ow.ly when adding a link to your Tweet. This will drastically reduce long URLs and allow for more copy within the 140 character allotted space.
- Speaking of allotted space, don’t use all of it when you are tweeting. This will make it easier for someone to retweet as they are already losing between 5 and 8 characters plus the length of the username when they are retweeting your message.
- As much as possible, use keywords and phrases within your Tweets. Research has shown the most retweetable tweets include words and phrases such as “social media”, “check out”, “blog post”, “top”, “please”, “help” and “free”.
- Avoid tweeting about “boring” items. Yes, Twitter asks you to type in “What’s Happening” but stay away from using words like “haha”, “sleep”, “watching”, “home” and “bored” if you want to get your Tweets to be spread via the RT.
- Use longer words. Avoid abbreviations and use better language with more syllables. This will make your Tweet more intellectual and give it a higher chance of being retweeted.
- Timing. Many social media experts have said that the highest probability of getting your Tweets retweeted are between the hours of 4 and 5pm. Friday is the highest day of the week for retweets.
To use Twitter as an effective marketing tool, your greatest potential of reaching an audience beyond your followers is by having your tweets retweeted. These are just a few general recommendations to make your
