You're posting content to Twitter. Tweeting it up a storm.
But still......
Nothing you share gets the attention it deserves.
You've wondered what should I post on Twitter to increase engagement.
It's even become an annoying obsession. You've turned to search, asking questions like "What things should I tweet about?" Unfortunately, the results are less than relevant to your business:
- What should I tweet about my crush?
- What should I tweet a celebrity? or (and this is my fave...)
- What should I tweet to One Direction?
Sure, that might be fun to do on a Friday night after happy hour.
But today: You know, increased Twitter engagement leads to contacts, traffic, and sales.
That means it's time to get serious.
So, where do you begin, and how do you find the right content to share with your audience?
These 47 tips can help. Each one will boost your brain on those less-than-creative days.
But more than that, they'll build up audience's appetite, keeping them hungry and coming back for more.
Before we dive into the 47 tweet tips, let's define what you're trying to achieve. In a nutshell? Engagement.
Because engagement on social media translates into awareness and increased reach.
But more than that......
It ignites a flurry of conversation around your brand.
And the conversation is what attracts customers, encourages comments, and builds rapport.
To get you started, here are two ways to find a never-ending supply of things to tweet when you're completely out of ideas.
Once you've read through those, read through each of the suggested 47 topics.
Use them to generate 5, 10, and 15 new ways to share content across social media. You'll never feel creatively challenged again.
How to find a never-ending supply of things to tweet
Go to BuzzSumo's "Trending Now" section to find hot topics. You can search based on time or topic or even create your own feed.
Here's how to use this idea:
- Pay attention to engagement. BuzzSumo gives you an easy way to identify what's going on or has gone viral through their "Trending Score." The higher the score, the faster the topic has spread.
- Share this content with your own context around it. Pull a stat, quote, or interesting conversation starter.
- Your Twitter followers will want to offer their opinion. Once you've shared content, make sure to come back and engage.
- If the topic is especially interesting to your audience, follow up with additional information. Don't leave them hanging!
Now take these 47 tweet ideas and make them your own
1. Find or snap a picture. Then use a trending hashtag to get out in front of a whole new audience. If you're a brand or agency, use tailored trends to find a cause or topic important to your company. Add context to your pic to further share your thoughts, increasing credibility within your field.
If you're a local business, take a pic of you around town or a hot spot that's easily recognizable. Make sure you're looking at trending hashtags based on location.
2. Use the most persuasive words in the English language to persuade your audience to take action. According to Gregory Ciotti, the 5 most persuasive words are:
- You
- Free
- Because
- Instantly
- New
3. Give your followers a psychological nudge. Add a specific call to action phrase to your tweet (download now, click here, reserve your spot, shop now, contact us, sign up, etc).
Don’t be afraid to tell people exactly what you want them to do. Try different calls to action -- but make sure they correlate with the goal you set for your audience.
4. Use attractive and attention-grabbing visuals and graphics to get people’s attention and stand out in the Twitter feed.
"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it." — Tamara McCleary (@TamaraMcCleary)
5. Ask your followers for feedback or advice on a certain situation or problem you’re dealing with. People love to help others, and they’ll gladly engage.
6. Ask your audience to vote on something within your business. Making a big decision? Ask a this or that type of question.
Need a final vote? Let your followers break that tie.
7. Announce a theme of the day and ask your followers to chime in and share around a hashtag.
8. Crowdsource for answers, tips, and suggestions from your audience. This will get them active and help other followers.
What was the best vacation you ever went on? — Julie Maloney (@LifeCoachJulieM)
9. Show your followers that you care about their opinion by asking them for feedback about your company or business. Sure it can be scary, but think of the insights it will offer!
10. Post Infographics and data. People appreciate clear, concise, and visually represented info. That’s why Infographics are some of the most liked and shared content.
A 'potentially significant market shift is happening in housing. — Robert Caruso (@fondalo)
11. Once in a while, tell your followers you appreciate them. Everyone wants to know they matter.
12. Tweet your previous content. Are you a one-and-done tweeter? Don't consistently recycle your great content?
Go through your Twitter Analytics and choose tweets that were successful the first time around. Get that content in front of a whole new audience.
13. Post-user-generated content and feature other people's tweets. This works in multiple ways:
- Builds community rapport.
- Brings awareness to you and your tweets.
- Shows how much you care. That you're an active supporter of your community. A giver, not just a taker.
14. Engage with your followers on a personal level. Share a personal passion of yours and ask them to share one of theirs. What do you love to do outside of the 9 to 5? Those are what I call coffee table conversations. They're small insights into who you are that allow others to relate.
Now that's my kind of hot air balloon!! — Diana Adams (@adamsconsulting)
15. Listen to what your followers are saying about your brand. There are many tools that make this easy to do.
16. Post quick 1-2 sentence tips, information, and how-to's that solve common everyday problems.
17. Use polls to get people to participate and voice their opinions.
If you could bring one person back to life and have a conversation with them, who would you pick? ??
18. Track and measure your engagement through Twitter Analytics to see what tweets perform better than others. Now run an A/B test on one of your most popular posts.
19. Include a stat, data, or quote in your tweet that attracts your audience’s attention to a specific point you made on your blog.
48% of B2B decision makers won't respond to sales professionals who don't personalize their messages. — Mike Allton (@mike_allton)
20. Share a wide variety of content to keep your readers engaged and entertained. Find your perfect mix of entertaining, educational, inspirational, and funny.
"10 Simple Steps to Creating a Day Worth Living" — Wright Thurston (@10MillionMiler)
21. Interview influencers within your industry. Share their valuable insight with your audience.
The lifeblood of your business is the daily actions you take. Just ask Marie Forleo!
22. Pay attention to your tone. Make sure it’s a good representation of you and your business.
23. Create timeless “evergreen” content that can be posted at any time and will never become irrelevant. — Rebekah Radice (@RebekahRadice)
24. Be human -- share your brand’s mission statement and what you’re all about, but also inject personality.
25. Share content that extends your brand. Create a streamlined look and feel across all of your social networks. — Peg Fitzpatrick ✨ (@PegFitzpatrick)
26. Add emoticons to your updates to show off your personality and help your fans relate to you. According to Hubspot, these posts get a lot more engagement.
27. Follow and engage with influencers in your niche. Then tweet them. Interact and respond with the content they're sharing. Show genuine interest.
28. Share timely content about a news event or trending topic that your audience is interested in. Add your thoughts, feedback, and context to personalize the tweet.
29. Use the data from Twitter Analytics to see which posts are the most successful, and adjust your posting strategy to publish more of them.
30. Respond to other people’s tweets. Like, comment, retweet!31. Always post with a purpose and goal in mind. Align your content with an end result in mind. Ask yourself:
- What are you trying to achieve with that piece of content?
- What does success look like with that particular post?
32. Ask your readers questions. Things like, "What is the best compliment you've ever received?" or "What movie could you watch repeatedly?" Then add your answer to get the conversation started.
33. Experiment with images and see what types get the most engagement. A/B test to find your champion. Then rinse and repeat that formula.
34. Use the perfect Twitter length. Track Social found that the perfect Tweet length was right around 100 characters. Their analysis saw a spike in retweets among those in the 71-100 character range—so-called “medium” length tweets. (source: Buffer)
35. Give an inside look at your company. Post photos of the work process, your team members, and customers. — Sprout Social (@SproutSocial)
36. Share quotes as simple text posts or drop them in a graphic.
37. Use hashtags that are synonymous with your business. Start conversations and help people find you. — ★TheInstagramExpert★ (@SueBZimmerman)
38. Celebrate holidays and events. Create a campaign around that time of the year. Tap into the emotion of the season.
39. Participate in hashtag events, such as #ThrowbackThursday.
40. Post funny pictures, memes, and jokes. Sometimes humor gets the most attention.
41. Share your company's core values. Include a pic that supports those values.
42. If you travel, whether it's for personal or business reasons, take your followers along with you. Everyone loves to live vicariously through those around them!
Travel offers all the ingredients to make the recipe for life exactly as you want it.— Ann Tran (@AnnTran_)
43. Repurpose answers you shared to FAQ via email, on Medium, through your blog, a newsletter, or on Quora. Take those answers and turn them into tweetable tips.
44. Ask your followers questions about their interests. You'll get them engaged and find out potentially useful information.
45. Tell your story. Share your background, what decisions have helped you along the way, and what you've learned.
46. Throw a Twitter party! Be ready to engage with everyone who participates. Give discounts and coupons.
47. Get into video! Why? Because Twitter users LOVE video. Research Now conducted surveys across 14 countries about video usage on Twitter and what they found is important to your business.
Native video on Twitter drives more overall engagement than third-party videos shared on Twitter: 2.5X replies, 2.8X Retweets and 1.9X Favorites. So, where do you get started?
- Create video tips from top trafficked blog posts
- Answer your follower's most pressing questions
- Capture a moment at a live event
Whatever you do, start using video as often frequently and as soon as possible.
Final thoughts
Social media moves fast. But Twitter......
It's moving at the speed of light.
If you want to keep up, you need to plan ahead.
Use these tweet ideas to remain consistent in everything you post.
That allows you to respond to comments in-depth and keep the conversation going.
So get out there. Have some fun with it.
But most of all, be genuine and true in all that you do.
Listen to the needs of your followers. Then give them the exact content they're looking for each and every day.
About Rebekah Radice
Rebekah Radice, co-founder of BRIL.LA, has traded narcissism for purpose. When not driving growth, you'll find her tricking family into thinking she's Emeril Lagasse - likely covered in marinara. The spotlight was fun, but impact is better. These days she's using 20+ years of brand brilliance for good.