Twitter is the most powerful social media platform to showcase the influence of language in our everyday lives. For a regular Twitter enthusiast, the character limit is set at 280, proving how little we need to say to get the message across. Despite the rumored changes predicted to come after Elon Musk took over the platform, Twitter is still operating at full speed, and if you haven’t already, it is about time to jump on that train. If you want to make your voice heard, we have gathered helpful input on making Twitter work with you instead of against you.

In today’s world, knowing your audience and their capabilities is crucial when opting for a way to approach them. The current generation as well as generations before, like Millenials, are infamous for their short attention span. For this reason, Twitter’s short and sweet approach fits like a glove to the needs of the current audience. Reading paragraph after paragraph of text seems dreadful and is rather off-putting for a typical consumer. If people wish to concentrate for a longer period of time (even though it is challenging), they rather opt for a book instead of relying on social media. 

The fresh CEO Elon Musk has recently launched Twitter Blue Subscription, which elevates the user experience for an eager consumer. The benefits of buying the $8/month Twitter Blue Subscription include a blue verification checkmark on your account, the option to edit tweets, a 4000-character limit, and many other “exclusive” features. If those don’t sound too convincing to you, there is no need to worry. You can easily get by on the platform with a standard account without spending extra on the subscription. However, we do recommend taking the steps presented in the checklist below to assure that your Twitter profile has what it takes to reach a wider audience.

Twitter checklist:

• Choose a good Twitter handle and name (Short and simple!) 
• Fill out Bio / About Me (maximum 160 characters) 
• Upload your Profile Picture (400px x 400 px) 
• Include your website URL for more traffic 
• Update any other contact info #hashtag and @mention applicable words in your bio 
• Upload a header photo that matches your brand (1500px x 500px) 
• Pin a welcome 
• Tweet on your profile 
• Update your theme colours (Desktop only. Profile -> Theme Colour) 
• Have a schedule and repurpose your other social media content for Twitter 
• Batch schedule your tweets ahead but keep an eye on trending topics and hashtags! 
• Use an optimal 3-5 hashtags on each post

Once you have successfully set up your account, it is time to gear your focus to elements that you might not think of typically when tweeting.

Keep up with the trends

If you wish to be relevant, you need to share information that is relevant at that moment. Browse your own Twitter feed and analyze if you see a pattern of the same topic appearing repeatedly. In this way, you can identify topics that are trending and join in on the conversation. Another way to discover what is hot and what is not is to check the hashtags that are currently popular. Peek into the bar “Trends for you” on the right side of the screen (desktop version), where a fair amount of hashtags are displayed, along with the number of tweets that have used this hashtag. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box in order to participate in discussions about hot topics.

Do not copy + paste

We can all probably name a company that is thriving on the Twitter scene. Either their tweets strike us with fine-tuned humor or make us think twice about a serious topic. And it seems to be working well for them! This does not, however, mean that you should try to imitate their ideas to grow your own channel. It will be seen as a fake and low-effort attempt that might cause more damage than success to your account. 

Of course, collecting inspiration for approaching managing a Twitter account is fine. And if there is a relevant trend that requires you to follow a specific pattern, feel free to do so. Just make sure you think twice before posting your tweet. To confirm your tweet’s originality, you could ask yourself: “Does this Tweet only work for my brand or could this tweet be applied to many other brands?”.

Twitter Communities

Do you have a specific niche that could involve bringing together like-minded people? If the answer is “Yes,” do check out Twitter Communities. With Twitter Communities, you can create spaces that will help you engage with the right audience. For example, suppose your brand is about luxurious candles. In that case, you could start a community called “As long as it smells good,” where all candle enthusiasts could share their opinions about certain brands. It is also an opportunity to share your brand with a community whose preferences you already know. 

If you are the creator of your community, you can also manage the membership settings. Your community can be open, meaning anyone can join and get invited to join. If you want to filter who gets access to your community, set your community as restricted. With a restricted community, the moderators need to accept the request before allowing full access to the community.

We’re sure that your Twitter channel can truly boom by consistently implementing these three tips! If you could use some extra help setting up your account, don’t hesitate to contact us!