It may not seem like much, but a Twitter retweet can send a powerful message - especially if you're using Twitter to network, increase brand awareness and be a part of an ongoing conversation within your niche. The retweets that succeed the best are written with great care. Here are tips for retweeting like a pro.
- Retweet quality content. To retweet a tweet means the content is remarkable enough to be repeated. Read before your retweet. If the original tweet links back to an article about how GPS devices can track trucks and fleets, read the entire article to ensure the content is unique, useful and well written. After all, the content you read and find valuable reflects on you, your image and your brand.
- Know your audience. Retweet content that you know your audience will find interesting and significant.
- Remember oldies (but goodies!). Sometimes, the best timing for a retweet is when it's either really fresh or really old. It's always good to share the latest news, but timeless content that remains valuable even after the hype has died down is often just as retweetable.
- Edit carefully. If space allows, let your audience know what you think of the original tweet by offering a comment followed by the RT. This adds to a deeper conversation, and gives your followers more reason to respond, retweet or follow a link. Make more character space by removing hashtags, shortening links and removing filler. But don't edit too much - you still want to keep the bulk of the original tweet intact.
Original tweet:
- Greg Hanscom (@ghanscom) April 3, 2012
It's come to this: Williams-Sonoma wants to sell you a chicken coop bit.ly/H6KQ17Edited tweet:
This is the moment when #urbanfarming Jumped the Shark RT @ghanscom Williams-Sonoma wants to sell you a chicken coop bit.ly/H6KQ17
- Jason Mark (@writerfarmer) April 3, 2012 - Beware the over-retweet. Assume that if it's been retweeted multiple times by people who your followers likely follow, that most of your audience has already seen the content. Too many RTs in a tweet can look clunky, and if it's already been retweeted, you're no longer contributing much to the conversation.
- Know when to retweet. Do you get more responses in the morning, or is your audience more of an afternoon crowd? Write and schedule retweets for peak times, when you know your followers are on Twitter the most.
- Check your sources. Retweeting from authoritative sources helps to back up the credibility of your tweet.
- Be polite. If someone retweets your tweet about the benefits of your brand, remember your Twitter etiquette and say thank you!
Well-crafted tweets, including retweets, are crucial to a social media strategy that drives quality content. Do you have any retweeting tips?