The Dos and Don’ts of Tweeting

Posted by Katie Billingsley on November 3rd, 2011

Of all the social media platforms that have become popular in the past decade, few are as idiosyncratic as Twitter. At 140 characters, each tweet must be concise, interesting and engaging. One wouldn’t think that this could be a powerful social marketing tool, but when executed properly, a Twitter feed can become an important part of an organization’s online efforts.

However, when Twitter campaigns fail, they will often go down in flames. There is a fine line between acceptable tweets and those that fall flat and are quickly ignored. Here are some good and bad examples of ways to make the most of this burgeoning social media tool that is taking the internet by storm.

The Dos and Don’ts of Tweeting

Do – embrace re-tweets

Like Facebook, Twitter is very successful at encouraging users to share tweets from friends, celebrities or organizations. Re-tweeting is a fundamental part of Twitter culture, and copying (and properly attributing) the messages that others have created is a good way to show camaraderie with certain friends and companies. It is also a good way to share news stories that may have been said better by another user.

Don’t – abuse re-tweets

Despite the fact that this practice is popular and accepted, it is ridiculously easy to fall into the trap of constantly re-tweeting. Some success here and there with the sharing of pithy or informative messages that others said can entice users and lead them down the dark path of refusing to generate original content. Make sure to conservatively sprinkle re-tweets among original creations.

Do – entice users to learn more

Because there are only 140 characters available to Twitter users, information has to be concise and to the point. However, an interesting counterbalance to this rule is when tweets are intentionally designed to be intriguing and mysterious, begging followers to learn more. Subtle hints and interesting keywords can drive other users toward search engines or company websites when their curiosity has been sufficiently piqued.

Don’t – be opaque

Just as easily as an intriguing tweet can start an exodus to a company website, an attempt at being enigmatic can also fall flat. Being too opaque and failing to be interesting will assuredly lead followers to scratch their heads and ignore a Twitter account for some time until something more engaging appears. Essentially, it is important to be clever, but not too clever.

Do – offer links

The limited length of tweets lends itself to links, whether they direct followers to one’s own website, news stories or any other outside source. Twitter shouldn’t be all about sharing links, but a liberal sprinkling of them will go a long way toward shaking things up and offering a bit of diversity to followers. This is also an essential practice for unifying tweets with company news and offers.

Don’t – clog Twitter

Here’s a crucial tip – use tinyURL or other online services that shrink the length of links. These platforms allow URLs to become literally tiny so that web addresses don’t fill an entire tweet. It also helps to leave room for messages that give some context to the outbound link. After all – most followers probably aren’t loyal enough to simply pursue any link that a company throws on Twitter.

Do – maintain contact with followers

A large chunk of using Twitter as an online marketing tool involves staying in regular contact with followers. This means answering questions, occasionally offering comments to their tweets and giving out information about discounts, sales and promotions.

Don’t – pester customers

Just because someone has agreed to follow an organization on Twitter doesn’t mean that they want to be constantly reminded of that fact. Be gracious and respectful of any distance that consumers want to put between themselves and a business. Commenting on the tweets of others is appropriate, but it shouldn’t be a daily occurrence. Concentrate on a company’s own tweets and make them appealing before even considering followers’ feeds.

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