engaging audiences on twitter: from · “getting” twitter is all about interacting and getting...

Extending and Sustaining Engagement | Engaging audiences on Twitter: from consuming to participatingPage No. 1 / 27

Engaging audiences on Twitter: from consuming to participating

Page No. 2 / 27 Extending and Sustaining Engagement | Engaging audiences on Twitter: from consuming to participating

What is Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called “tweets”.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter


Less is more:

Who says you cant do anything with 140 characters?


Lost in 140 characters?

“Getting” Twitter is all about interacting and getting value from communication with other tweeps (Twitter users), either by expressing yourself, helping others, or sharing interesting content.

The more you get to know those you are interacting with the more you get to know Twitter.

www.andfaraway.net/blog/2010/06/21/the-four-stages-of-getting-twitter/

http://www.andfaraway.net/blog/2010/06/21/the-four-stages-of-getting-twitter/


Content is king

• On Twitter, content is the key to communicating with your audience.

• Content is the first step to engage with them so they actively contribute to the cause or topic you are showcasing.

• But content alone is not enough…


Retweets and types of content

• Tweets with photos are the most successful.

• A photo can communicate better than a big paragraph.

• Facts and numbers give credibility and motivate users to retweet your tweet.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140630234804/https://media.twitter.com/best-practice/

news-the-impact-of-tweeting-with-photos-videos-hashtags-and-links

https://web.archive.org/web/20140630234804/https://media.twitter.com/best-practice/news-the-impact-of-tweeting-with-photos-videos-hashtags-and-links

https://web.archive.org/web/20140630234804/https://media.twitter.com/best-practice/news-the-impact-of-tweeting-with-photos-videos-hashtags-and-links


Beyond the 140 characters

Adding a link to your tweet will generate a preview of the target page, an image, and a lead paragraph from the source page. This tactic adds more value and leads to more engagement.

https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/817084759893491712

Photo

Description

Link

https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/817084759893491712


Activity peaks

Like any human activity, interaction on Twitter has its own peaks. The numbers in the infographic may vary between countries and cultures. For example, the weekend in most Arab countries starts on Friday, so Thursday night is an active period. This example proves that knowing your audience is important for engagement.

(CTR: clickthrough rate)

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/scientific-guide-posting-tweets-

facebook-posts-emails-blog-posts-best-time/82749/

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/scientific-guide-posting-tweets-facebook-posts-emails-blog-posts

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/scientific-guide-posting-tweets-facebook-posts-emails-blog-posts


Best practices for more engagement

Analysis shows that tweets between 120 and 130 characters get the highest engagement rate.

The time spent to read a 120-130 character tweet is between 5 and 8 seconds.

Imagine the person you’re trying to reach is using their smartphone and scrolling through their newsfeed. They may be inclined to keep scrolling to check other stories. This is why you need to grab their attention and engage them immediately!

https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-new-twitter-stats-twitter-statistics-to-help-you-

reach-your-followers

https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-new-twitter-stats-twitter-statistics-to-help-you-reach-your-followers



Adverbs and verbs are drivers of engagement. Here are 2 ways you can communicate the same message:

Example 1: 1000 displaced in New Orleans due to hurricane. More info in our newsletter.

Example 2:Hurricane is getting worse. Subscribe to our newsletter to help the 1000 displaced in New Orleans.

Check the following link for words and phrasing techniques that increase audience interaction:

189 Powerful Words That Convert blog.bufferapp.com/words-and-phrases-that-convert-ultimate-list

https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-new-twitter-stats-twitter-statistics-to-help-you-

reach-your-followers

Best practices for more engagement

http://blog.bufferapp.com/words-and-phrases-that-convert-ultimate-list

http://blog.bufferapp.com/words-and-phrases-that-convert-ultimate-list




Brevity is the soul of the wit

“We don’t always need to try so hard to write an unforgettable tweet, or one that tempts the reader too much. Clarity and straightforwardness around interesting subject matter are ultimately rewarded by substantial reader interest.”


“A small amount of editorial effort was the difference between one of the best tweets of the year and a headline from print that was less effective in the context of social media.”

A small change can make a big difference


Frequency and Repetition

Recycling your tweets and the message you want to deliver is a good idea, but do not overdo it:

1- Repeating the same tweet leads to less engagement.

http://blog.bufferapp.com/10-new-twitter-stats-twitter-statistics-to-help-you-reach-your-followers



2- More tweets with links per hour leads to less engagement.

http://blog.bufferapp.com/10-new-twitter-stats-twitter-

statistics-to-help-you-reach-your-followers

Frequency and Repetition




What are hashtags?

A hashtag is a tag or keyword preceded by a hash symbol (#).

Imagine the hashtag as a temporary meeting place for people with similar interests. If you are interested in helping Nepal earthquake victims, you would join the conversation on #HelpNepal. You are likely to get more engagement when including this hashtag in your tweet.

You will find in the resource list a link to a tool that helps you find the best hashtags related to specific topics.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Global_Summit_to_End_Sexual_

Violence_in_Conflict_(14203190979).jpg

http://hashtagify.me

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Global_Summit_to_End_Sexual_Violence_in_Conflict_(14203190979).jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Global_Summit_to_End_Sexual_Violence_in_Conflict_(14203190979).jpg



1, 2, or 3 hashtags?

Hashtags help you reach more people and lead to more engagement.

Hashtags help making your tweets visible to everyone else following the same topic. So if you dont have many followers, and want to widen your reach, identify relevant hashtags to what youre trying to say, and include them in your tweets.

Limit yourself to a maximum of two hashtags!


Using our engagement skills does not mean that we have the right to abuse them.

And after a short period, the audience will become immune to your sensational clickbaits and will stop clicking or interacting with you. They may unfollow you, report you, or even spur bad publicity against your campaign, cause, or brand.

But how far can you go with emotions? CLICK

ME!!


Emotions vs. Sensationalism

We refer to sensationalism when talking about media coverage that’s controversial, shocking, attention-grabbing, graphic, appealing to the lowest instincts or focused on superficial details.



How is this different from the legitimate editorial practices that use emotional words, opinionated statements or subjective point of views?

Sensationalism is the “use of sensational language to arouse an intense emotional response”.

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sensationalism)

Sensationalism is not interested in the well-being of the individuals or communities involved in the story. It has no ethical boundaries.

So ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Will someone get hurt?



So what should we ask ourselves before we share a media story on Twitter, or elsewhere online?

• Was the coverage of the story responsible, balanced, and fair?

• Did the media respect the rights and interests of the people who are victims of crimes, as well as their families and friends, or was the coverage too intrusive?

• Why did the media devote so much space to the story and why did it choose this angle over others?



What are other concerns when tweeting? • Is there new knowledge or expertise in what I am sharing, or just emotions?

• Are you tweeting something verified, accurate, and balanced?

• Do I have the right to use personal stories and photos of individuals? Would this pose a threat?

• Have I avoided sensationalism?

• Do I or my organization have a clear moral or ethical code? What is the code? How do I apply it when creating social media posts?


Twitter users are less responsive to curiosity-driven titles than Facebook users

Quotes, clear statements, and calls to action will perform better on a Twitter feed.

That doesn’t mean you should avoid emotions on Twitter.

Ask yourself: how can I deliver informative, useful content to my Twitter audience, while also grabbing their attention with well crafted words, verbs, and calls to action?


Next, we’ll introduce TweetDeck, a powerful tool that will help you manage your Twitter use.


TweetDeck: stay focused to engage the right audience

TweetDeck is a tool that allows you to:

• Create columns filtering specific people, lists, keywords, hashtags.

• Filter results by content (image, video, etc.), period (day, hour), number of retweets.

• Get alerts when a certain column is updated.

• Schedule tweets so they get published at a specific time.

Try it on:tweetdeck.twitter.com

http://tweetdeck.twitter.com


Twitter lists: your best friend when searching for leads

Twitter lists allow you to aggregate into one feed a number of Twitter accounts. These accounts could have a certain cause in common, a certain expertise, or members of a profession based in a specific geographical area.


Conclusions

Be brief and clear in your tweets.

Engage with verbs and adverbs. Use Tweetdeck to get the best of Twitter.

Add value through multimedia and links. Test, learn, adapt.

Start the conversation by mentioning relevant @users and #hashtags.

Extending and Sustaining Engagement | Engaging audiences on Twitter: from consuming to participatingPage No. 27 / 27

In the next resource we will look at how to expand, network and sustain the conversation with your audience.

engaging audiences on twitter: from · “getting” twitter is all about interacting and getting...

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