Among Twitter’s most valuable attributes is the ability to share timely information with key audiences. Whether it’s a new study commissioned by a trade organization, nonprofit fundraising milestone or new hire announcement, Twitter allows businesses, nonprofits and individuals to spread the news and build an online buzz in a matter of minutes. The challenge is, how does one fit all of the compelling information they want to share in 140-characters?
Less is more
While the strategic partnership your accounting firm launched with a local IT company may have many value propositions for your clients, cramming every morsel of news into 140-characters can lead to information overload. When formatting the announcement for Twitter, consider how to make the news re-tweet friendly. For example, leave 20 characters available so people won’t have to spend time shortening your announcement before they can re-tweet it and share the news with their followers.
Tease your followers
Did your nonprofit recently commission a study on the impact of budget cuts on client service? Are you eager to share all of the compelling data with your followers? Extract one key statistic that can be used to catch people’s attention. For example, tweet: X% of nonprofits nationwide have reduced services due to budget cuts, followed by a link to the full report.
Drive traffic
Twitter is a valuable tool for increasing website traffic. House the ‘full story’ behind what you are tweeting on your website, so people land on your website when they click the link within your tweet. By leaving room for re-tweets, you will also make it easier for people to share your news, further increasing the traffic directed to your website.
Making your tweets re-tweet friendly helps to increase the number of people who are exposed to your message. It also prevents your message from becoming misconstrued. Oftentimes, when updates are long and a re-tweet pushes them over the 140-character limit, users have to cut characters before they can share the update. This can lead to the unintentional spread of misinformation which, depending on the inaccuracies, can ultimately damage a brand.
When crafting social media updates, remember to leave room for re-tweets and make content easy for others to share. The more people who share your information, the more people – including potential customers and strategic partners — become exposed to your brand.
