Targetting Twitter: Optimisation of tweets

Willy nilly tweeting will get you nowhere.

You can quote me on that! If you want to get your message out there to as many people as possible it’s all about targetting the right tweeters, another case of quality versus quantity.

Firstly, if you are asking people to retweet, an essential aspect you have to get right is the wording of the very short message you are asking people to repeat. Not only do you want your message and your link to get out to all of the re-tweeter’s followers but a bit of forethought into the message will ensure that key words will be picked up by the twitter search tool. Like search engine optimisation (Or SEO), Twitter optimisation also exists. It is arguably a much harder act to perfect as you are limited to 140 characters in which you will probably want to include a link to a website which will take up several characters, even if you use a shortened address via tools such as bit ly. Key words are fundamental – don’t mess around with adjectives and superlatives, just make sure the KEY WORDS are there and if applicable, hashtag them too.

There is a fantastic blog which goes into great depth about Twitter Optimisation called SEOptimise but I have picked out a few of the key points that German author Tad Chef (@onreact_com) made about the concept:

Do not tweet dozens of times per hour, that’s flooding.

It can be tempting to write a fantastic message with a link to your website and feel the need to send it to every single person you can think of that might, just may be able to help. I cannot stress enough the importance of research into the community, which will allow you to prioritise who to target. Ask yourself these questions:

• Does this person RT links to other people’s communities?
• Does this person have a significant number of followers?
• Does this person have a ‘sensible’ and relevant twitter profile by which I mean tweets about your specific area/topic and are there a sensible number of tweets a day so that his/her followers are likely to take notice of the RT?

Be a human being, that is not only a business robot, mention private things others can relate to.

Tweet manually not via automated scripts

I think that Tad Chef, in both of these hints, is making the same point. Be human about your tweets - find out what makes the person you are targetting, tick. Develop a relationship with the tweeter. Chances are, if you are asking them to retweet something of yours, you probably have the same interests anyway. Steer clear of repeating exactly the same tweet to each person. Again, this is like spamming. If you make each message just a little bit personal, they are more likely to retweet your message.

Tweet at least a few times a week, do not lurk

Finally, don’t just send out 50 tweets on the day you publish a post and then go silent for 3 weeks. Established tweeters will notice who has an online presence and once again this seems to boil down to having some sort of relationship with your fellow tweeters. It’s important to interact with them and retweet comments of theirs, or links to their blogs/websites even without being asked to do so. That way they are a lot more likely to help you out next time you’re looking for a surge in your site stats!!

To read more of Tad’s fascinating blog click here

Meg Pickard: Community misconceptions

“Communities aren’t made, they already exist”, says Meg Pickard, the Guardian‘s Head of Digital Engagement. Otherwise you’re just getting in the way. She tells SpinYourWeb that communities must:

• NOT distract people
• BUT empower them

People have always shared photos, but sites like photo-sharing site Flikr allow us to do that in a new way.

The Guardian is attempting to do the same with the news context: people have always talked about news. The challenge now is to find new ways to “encourage people to get involved in those conversations” and to be “informed about them”.