By Bradley Exum at Klout Blog:
Twitter is one of the best platforms for marketing personal and professional brands. But have you ever wondered what makes the difference between an account with thousands of engaged followers, and an account with mostly disengaged followers? The “best” people on Twitter may all seem very different, ranging from comedians, political officials, celebrities, and crazy 20-somethings who just like to have fun; but they all have a lot in common with regard to how they use Twitter.
These seven habits of highly effective Twitter users can help even the most novice tweeter greatly improve their tweeting to engage and grow their followers.
1. They interact with their followers
With Twitter’s new conversation view, it’s becoming more and more important to be actively engaged in conversations. If you take the “social” out of social media, then you’ve lost the point! Show potential followers that you’re not on a pedestal, that you’re ready and willing to converse with your audience. The most successful Twitter users engage with their followers by consistently responding to tweets, asking questions, and starting great conversations.
2. They stay consistent with their content
When someone follows you on Twitter, it’s usually because your tweets convey that you have specific shared interests with that person. Tweeting using a consistent voice about consistent topics makes your interests more clear to potential followers on first-look, making it easier for them to hit the ‘follow’ button. The best Twitter users stick to a few topics for the bulk of their tweets, while still occasionally mixing it up.
3. They promote others
Retweet! Social media is about sharing, and there’s no better way to share on Twitter than retweeting content that interests you into the timelines of your followers. Some of the best Twitter users out there retweet to promote others much more than they promote their own content. This encourages the formation of an engaged audience, and when the time is right, a community that’s ready to really listen.
4. They aren’t afraid to ask for interaction
This may come as a surprise, but asking for a retweet is one of the best ways to get more RTs, and get your tweets into more timelines of potential followers! A recent study found that tweets have a 12x higher chance of being retweeted if you ask for it. Even more surprising, the study found that your tweet has a 23x higher chance of getting an RT if the word “retweet” is actually spelled out. All you have to do is ask!
5. They monitor their performance
Since most Twitter users don’t read back to tweets that aren’t less than a couple of hours old, it only makes sense to test out different times that work best for engagement. Timing your tweets can be invaluable to your success on Twitter. Some of our favorite tools include Buffer and Hootsuite. These can greatly improve how and when you engage with your followers, as well as give you analytics on when the best times to tweet can be.
6. They limit self-promotion
This one should go without saying: Don’t spam your followers! If you fill your timeline with tweets asking your followers to fund your latest Kickstarter/artistic venture/Sunday brunch, then you’re doing it all wrong. You should always be adding more value to Twitter than you hope to gain from it. Use a method that some call the 80-20 rule: If 80% of your tweets are full of interesting and interactive content that is beneficial to your audience, you’ll keep your network engaged enough to have them interacting with the self-promotion that you allocate for the other 20% of your tweets.
7. Highly effective Twitter users are positive!
It’s been shown that when you’re happy and humorous on Twitter, you gain more followers than those who tweet in a more regularly negative tone. This makes sense: people don’t sign up for Twitter to engage with negativity! In fact, it’s been shown that Twitter users whose tweets are mostly of a negative sentiment start to lose more followers faster. Happiness is the key to success, especially on Twitter!
Adopt these seven simple habits that the best Twitter users have, you should be on your way to engaging your followers more effectively, and gaining new followers faster! How do you plan to change the way you tweet? Have you noticed any other habits of highly effective Twitter users? Let us know in the comments below!
Via Klout Blog.
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