Twitter Best-Practices For The Second Half Of 2021
When Twitter originally started in 2006 there were only 140 users. Within 15 years, there are now 322.4 million active users on Twitter worldwide with an average of 500 million tweets sent per day. Since the pandemic, Twitter has become more important for how we share information. You can now check local and worldwide news, political updates, find out the latest celebrity gossip, shop e-commerce websites, and more all within one app.
Additionally, there are many niche communities that have taken hold on Twitter. Writing communities, book publishers, and agents are known to call Twitter their home base. So while it’s easy to drown in the sea of tweets, you want to ensure you have Twitter best-practices in mind.
Here are 11 Twitter best-practices to make the most of the second half of 2021:
- What you say is important, how you say it is even more important.
When it comes to Twitter best-practices this falls at the top of the list because it requires the most thought. Before writing a tweet decide on the type of voice you want to use. Do you want to sound friendly and relatable or serious and professional? Twitter differs from YouTube in that your audience can’t hear your voice or the tone being used. There are no social cues. So before pressing send, consider the words you are using and their connotations. Ask yourself, “Is this what I really mean to say? Will my audience understand what I am saying?”
- Visuals can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
Use visuals thoughtfully. The visual should offer a further explanation or additional information. When they are done well, images inspire your reader to share or comment on the ideas/opinions being shared. When they are done poorly the resulting silence tells you all you need to know: no one either got or related to your point. If that happens too often, it’s bad news for your Twitter engagement.
When it comes to visuals two forms stand out for readers in 2021: infographics and memes. Infographics are great visuals to use when explaining complex topics that can be hard for the average person to understand. Infographics also allow you to display large amounts of data, information, and or knowledge using visuals that allow readers to easily and quickly digest the information.
Gifs and memes are another easy way to represent your thoughts in a quick and easily shareable form. Just remember that all Twitter images need to be of the “right” size so they are easily shared across social media. You can find 2021 best practices for Twitter sizes here.
- Develop your audience around your niche.
Your audience wants what YOU have to offer. You don’t need to buy followers, it’s a misnomer that the number of followers determines your success. Instead of worrying about the number of followers you have, focus on meeting the needs of the select audience that you really have solutions for. Once you know that niche/avatar, grow your audience organically for the best results.
This means, the people who really like and resonate with your brand message will participate in your Twitter feed, not just “anyone”. In doing so, you will find overtime that your marketing message lands more easily with your readers. Instead of trying to meet the needs of many people, you can successfully meet the needs of the “right” people who really want the solutions you’re offering. This formula ALWAYS works best for building your brand.
- You have to be responsive.
Twitter users enjoy knowing that they are talking to real people. Imagine going to a friend’s house to visit them and every time you said something, no one responded. It is the same with your followers on Twitter. One of the easiest ways to lose followers is by not replying to mentions or messages. It truly is a Twitter best-practice to respond to your followers quickly to show off your brand’s personality and commitment to their needs.
- But remember, your retweet reflects your brand’s beliefs and values.
Your tweets and retweets share with the world the flavors of your brand. Be mindful of not only the content you tweet but also the content you retweet so you don’t accidentally support a person or cause that has skeletons in the closet that you want no part of.
- Tweet discernably. You don’t have to comment on every trending topic.
Don’t jump on the bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it. Instead of commenting on trending topics just to be a part of the conversation, consider what topics your audience cares about and offer relevant information and insight on that topic. Choose trending topics that directly or indirectly relate to your brand and avoid the ones that don’t.
- Contrary to what some believe, there is no “golden hour” for posting tweets.
There are over a million tweets sent throughout the day. There is no such thing as “business hours” on Twitter. Users are checking their feed throughout the day. In order to figure out when your followers are most active, it requires trial and error so you can determine your followers favorite time to connect. Test your audience by posting tweets throughout the day so you can determine what times of day (and days of the week) there is greater or less engagement. To make this simple on you, we recommend using a third-party scheduler to collect all of your weekly or daily tweets at once so they post to your page throughout the day. It also guarantees that you always have content to post.
Here are a few scheduling tools that clients use that work very well.
- Keep your Twitter handle unique but simple.
It should not be hard for your audience to find you on Twitter. If your handle is too complicated, your audience will have a hard time finding your page and vice versa if your handle is too generic. This is one of the Twitter best-practices that has the greatest bang for your buck. And don’t worry, your Twitter handle can always be changed. Simply, follow these easy steps…
- Click settings
- Account
- Change username
- Save changes
- Become familiar with Twitter Spaces.
Twitter is evolving and one new tool you may not be aware of is Twitter Spaces. As of May 2021, Twitter Spaces is available to users with 600 or more followers to create a live chat room and have conversations in real-time. This “Clubhouse” meets “Facebook groups” space allows you to have a group chat with people and is wonderful for helping build a personal relationship with your audience. All talks are public and can bring in new readership and further humanize your brand. This is a great new 2021 tool you definitely want to try.
- Always watch for Internet trolls and people looking to incite conversations or cause chaos.
Twitter is well known for housing internet trolls. Do not allow them to get you out of character. Internet trolls love to stir up conflict and create disorder. The best way to deal with internet trolls is to ignore them.
- Finally, remember the 80/20 rule
Your audience does not want to only see advertising when scrolling through their newsfeed. It’s like watching tv and every 5 mins there’s a commercial playing. 80% of your posts should offer your audience useful content that will be beneficial to them in their daily lives. While 20% of your posts should be promotional content for your brand. Stick to this give to ask ratio and your followers will spend more time growing in their trust and familiarity with your brand so that when they’re ready, they can connect with you to do more.
Post-pandemic the biggest takeaway for marketers is that your audience wants more than ever a human connection. They want you to show, not just tell them, what sets your brand apart from the rest. Remember that Twitter is less professional and more personal. By being real, human, and showing off your personality, you allow your audience to connect more fully to the person behind the brand. Which is one of the golden tickets for selling any product online.
And don’t forget this Twitter best-practice: hashtags! Here’s our comprehensive guide to mental health hashtags.
Have questions about Twitter and your brand? Connect with our team of professionals today to explore how we can help you grow.
