(Update 11/13/2017: Since the date of publication for this article, Twitter has since expanded their 140-character limit to allow for posts with up to 280 characters.)
In the wide world of Twitter, it can be difficult to reach your target audience and convert potential followers into members of your database. Here are a few easy ways to optimize your Twitter presence to attract your desired audience and drive traffic back to your site or sponsored content.
Optimize Your ‘About’ Section
Double your traffic-driving potential by including a link to your home site directly within your bio, and then use the website field to share a link to your rewards page, a contest landing page, or even a sponsor’s page–or vice versa. Since this section can be updated as often as you like, it’s a great place to share links for big sponsored contests!
The Twitter Bio section has a 160-character limit, so make the most of this space by using a URL shortener such as Bitly or Google URL Shortener for any link that you include. Both of these services allow you to track metrics including how many times the link has been clicked, the geographic location of the visitors, and more!
Provide Engaging Content
What good is an optimized Twitter profile without engaging tweets? Attract your target audience with tweets promoting the sponsored contests, trivia, or other content featured on your site. With a 140-character limit, you can drive traffic to your site with a quick blurb of text combined with a link to your content or sponsor site.
Twitter promotes genuine interactions and a sense of community among its users, so be sure to retweet or reply to other users as much as possible.
Use Eye-Catching Graphics
A great way to ensure your content isn’t lost in the shuffle of the ever-changing Twitter newsfeed is to include appropriately sized attractive graphics whenever possible. The current standard dimensions for an in-stream Twitter image are 440×220. It’s important to use the correct image size in order to maximize the impact of your post.
If you share graphic that is 100×100, for example, the smaller image decreases the potential impact of your post as it leaves lots of blank space. Attaching an image to a tweet uses 24 of the 140 allowed characters, so make sure to take this into account when crafting your message.
Choose the Right Hashtags
Don’t forget to include hashtags to increase the visibility of your tweets! Determine how wide you’d like to cast your virtual net when attracting your Twitter audience. Are you a small brand looking to engage a local crowd? Use more geo-specific hashtags, like the name of your city (i.e. #Atlanta) to attract people from your community. If you’re interested in gaining broader traffic, include generic tags that are more widely searched around the country or globe, such as #contests or #win.
Not sure what hashtags to include? RiteTag is an excellent source for researching real-time performance metrics of hundreds of thousands of keywords. For example, choosing whether to use “#contests” or “#sweepstakes” when tweeting about a sponsored campaign can make the difference between reaching a few thousand or a few hundred thousand potential audience members!
All of these are quick and easy steps you can take to optimize your Twitter presence and start attracting new members to your database. Start using them today and in no time you’ll be engaging new followers like a seasoned Twitter expert!
| Have questions about another social media platform? Looking for easy promotion ideas for an upcoming event or holiday? Contact Syndicated Content Team and tell us what you’d like to read about in future engagement blog posts! |
