Social media is continuing to reign supreme in more ways than one. Not only are we using the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to entertain us in our free time, but businesses are continuing to find ways to push their business agenda in front of their demographic. Digital marketing has become a roaring success, with Twitter being a key component to many marketers’ campaigns.
While Facebook and Instagram as just as fruitful, if not more so for certain areas of business, Twitter is continuing to prove useful – and so businesses should still look for new and improved ways to optimize their Twitter accounts.
How to understand – and beat – Twitter’s algorithm
Like all social media channels, there is an algorithm to go head-to-head with. Many brands struggle to come out on top, but there are ways to side-step this problem. However, before you can beat it, you need to understand why the algorithm is in place.
Twitter is a quick moving network. People live Tweet their reactions alongside TV shows and films; they also use it as a means to express their thoughts as fluidly and quickly as they wish. Therefore, a person’s Twitter feed can become cluttered quite easily. Twitter’s algorithm attempts bring order to the chaos, so that users can see the Tweets from those they care about most.
How does Twitter determine what you see then?
There are three main characteristics of Twitter’s algorithm:
- The Tweet: How much engagement does your Tweet get? Based through Retweets, likes, and
- The Tweet’s author: Do you interact with the writer of the Tweet frequently? If so, then you’re more likely to see their Tweets over someone you hardly react to.
- You, and your reactions: The type of Tweets you find engaging, plus how often you use Twitter.
Singular Tweets and the amount of engagement you garner from them no longer amounts to anything; instead, it is about your account as a whole.
Optimizing your Twitter account
- Timing is crucial
Twitter primarily views itself as a news site, where information has to be current and up-to-date. Your business’s goal is to make the top of the newsfeed, and to do that, you need to be relevant to the here and now. If your Tweet fails to receive attention in the first couple of hours, then you won’t be shown in the newsfeed, and so it’s time to return to the drawing board.
The best time to post is Friday, between 9 and 10 am, while Sunday mornings shows the least amount of engagement. Posting every day is vital to remaining relevant, and so you should aim to post between 10 am and 12 pm. However, while there is no hard and set rule on how often to post on social media, there are rough guidelines that will help.
- Interact – share content, answer questions and have a voice
Content is still considered one of the best ways to improve your business’s online visibility in the SERPs, and so you need to ensure you have content that is fully optimized with proper SEO techniques. When writing your content, be sure to get the advice from a professional New Jersey SEO company, and when your content is ready to be published, share it via your Twitter account.
If any customers have a question directed towards you, be sure to answer it as quickly as possible. What’s more, you can also offer guidance to people who are asking questions relevant to your business. Do not come across as ‘salesy,’ though.
- Ignore the increased character limit
Having more words to express yourself seems like a blessing, right? This is, in fact, further than the truth. You should avoid the 280-character expansion, as it is suggested that shorter Tweets (around 110 words) got 17% higher engagement rates than their longer counterparts. Keep your Tweets punchy, so you can keep your audience entertained.
When it comes to crafting the perfect Tweet, it’s best to keep the tone conversational and actionable. Ask for your audiences’ opinions and views. You want to talk with them, not at them. You should also keep to your brand’s tone – are you tongue-in-cheek or serious?
