A Guide to Creating the Perfect Twitter Post For Beginners
Twitter, a social media platform established in 2006, is easily one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. While it can seem intimidating to send out a tweet when Twitter has 145 million daily active users, it’s crucial that your business has a presence in this digital space. Twitter notoriously prohibits users from editing their Tweets once they’ve been posted so we’ve provided the following information to help you create the best possible Tweet.
The Basics:
Let’s start with the nuts and bolts. Before you craft your perfect tweet you’ll need to be familiar with the framework in which you can construct your post. Keeping these guidelines in mind while creating content will save you time from having to edit or correct your posts in the future.
Character limit: The maximum Tweet length is 280 characters.
Video time limit: The maximum video time is 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Image dimensions: The minimum photo size is 600 x 335 pixels, although larger images such as the max of 1200 x 675 (and an aspect ratio of 16:9) are better optimized when the image is expanded.
Image Quantity: The maximum amount of images per Tweet is 4 and Twitter will automatically assemble them into a “quad” or grid for you. If you’re only posting two photos it will display them side by side with an aspect ratio of 7:8. If you’re posting 3 photos, one will appear larger with an aspect ratio of 7:8 and the other two will be 4:7.
Best Practice:
Now that you know what abilities and limitations are available to create your Tweet, it’s time to implement a few best practices to gain the best organic reach possible.
Less is more. While 280 characters are technically allowed in a Tweet, the recommended amount is less than 100. It may seem difficult to get your thoughts out in such few words but being concise and to the point increases the likelihood people will take the time to read your tweet. In fact a study conducted by Buddy Media found Tweets less than 100 words received a 17% higher engagement rate.
Hashtags should be well thought out and relevant to your post. Make sure to research any hashtags that are trending or if there are any that people are already using in regards to your brand. If you provide people with an incentive to use your hashtags (such as for retweeting purposes) you’re more likely to have them include it in their Tweets. Twitter recommends 1-2 hashtags per Tweet to avoid your post looking “cluttered,” help with limited character count and receive the highest engagement.
It’s important to make sure you properly “tag” any other person, company or brand mentioned in your post by using their Twitter name, or handle. This way, their fans will be more likely to see your content and pay it forward in the future.
If you’re going to provide a link in your status update, make sure to “Bit.ly” it. Bit.ly is a URL “shortening service” that allows you to condense long URLs. It also allows you to track the activity of your link so you know how well it’s performing.
Marketing Strategy:
It’s important to be aware of current Twitter statistics in order to create an effective marketing campaign. Understanding Twitter user’s behavior from demographics to posting frequency, will help you know your audience better. The following are a few general Twitter statistics to keep in mind while generating content courtesy of Hootsuite. Don’t forget to also check your Twitter account’s “insights” to gather data regarding your followers specifically.
20% of Twitter users are American
80% of U.S. tweets come from 10% of Twitter users
44% of U.S. 18-24 year olds use Twitter
More Twitter users identify as Democrats than Republicans
12% of Americans get their news on Twitter
47% of Twitter users prefer culturally relevant brands
Tweets with hashtags get 100% more engagement
32% of people go to Twitter to watch videos
After you’ve created the perfect Tweet that follows proper framework, best practices and highlights a clear marketing strategy, you are ready to start Tweeting! However, don’t just hit “Tweet” and then move on. Make sure to continue interacting with your followers after they’ve replied or retweeted your Tweet! Engaging with other users on Twitter will help build your follower base. Continue following these guidelines and you’re guaranteed to set yourself up for success!