With 500 million tweets posted every day how do you stand out from the crowd? With that many tweets, is such a thing even possible? Whilst you may have to accept that not all of your followers are going to be seeing all of your tweets, there are a few ways in which you can maximise the potential amount of people reading your latest 140 character update.

We explain how…

Use #hashtags

Tweets with one or two hashtags receive 21% more engagement than those without. You might only have 140 characters, but make sure you’re including a hashtag or two to maximise your exposure.

Important: Don’t go hashtag crazy! Use a maximum of three hashtags in your tweet to avoid losing engagement!

Include images

As the saying goes ‘a picture paints a thousand words’! You don’t have 1,000 words to use (…yet) so that picture is going to be vital, particularly when we tell you that by including an image you can boost the number of retweets you gain by 22.8%.

An image will immediately capture the attention of your followers and a recent study showed posts with images had an 18% higher click-through rate than those without, and 89% more favourites.

If you use images keep messages shorter to 20 to 40 characters; they get around 58% more engagement than longer messages.

Use 70-100 characters

If you’re tweeting without an image, create longer messages, but avoid using all of the characters.

Figures show tweets between 70 and 100 characters receive the most shares and even have a higher reply rate.

Keeping it short and sweet means someone retweeting you can also add their own comments!

Don’t save a minute and lose your reach

It can be tempting to try to save time by using a syndication tool that allows you to post onto Facebook and Twitter simultaneously, but we think that whilst it saves you time, it costs you reach and impact.

Many posts made on Facebook will exceed the 140 Twitter character limit; this leaves you with part of your message lost in the wilderness – cut with a … wherever the limit falls.

Tweet to your followers; Post to your Facebook likers.

The right message to the right people will gain you far more than the time you’re saving by syndicating.

Throw in some links

A big goal for many businesses on Twitter will be to entice followers back to their website.

Stands to reason; it’s where you can engage more with people and increase the chances of a product purchase or service enquiry.

You’ll only get them to your site if there’s a link for more information in your tweets so include these where you can and when they’re relevant.

For every question there is an answer.

Try asking a question before your link. It will create a call to action and increase the likelihood of someone clicking your link.

For more information on how we can help you with your Twitter activity or social media presence please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk