by Debbie Weil (http://mashable.com)
1. Always Include a Link
Link to a blog post, a news article, a video, or a photo – something that expands on what you’re saying. In other words, learn to tell the whole story by pointing with a link to an important missing piece. You’ll want to use a URL shortener like bit.ly (
) or ow.ly so you don’t use up too many characters.
Here’s an example: Darren Barefoot retweets nonprofit guru Beth Kanter’s link pointing to a list of the 20 most retweeted words. By saying “great stuff,” Beth adds value to the link. She also builds suspense: she makes you want to click to find out what the words are. Interestingly, the most retweeted include phrases like “please retweet,” “how to” and “follow.”
Note that there is a lot of reverberation in this one tweet: Darren is retweeting a well-known Twitterer, which catches our eye. And while Darren doesn’t tell us that the “20 most retweeted words” are from a blog post written for Fast Company about a study by Dan Zarrella (another well-known Twitter user), we learn that instantly when we follow the link. All those little bits of information, which we soak up in a nanosecond, make this tweet retweetable.
So think credibility. Back up your assertions with links that prove what you’re saying.
2. Don’t Use Up All 140 Characters
This is a trick that the pros use. Mashable’s Pete Cashmore is a great example. His tweets are always well under 140 characters. Why? To make it easier to retweet them, of course. He’s already done the editing for you, so u don’t have 2 struggle 2 condense w/ abbrevs.
Short tweets leave room for the @name of the retweeter and allows them a bit of space for additional commentary.
3. When Retweeting, Add Something Original
This is another trick. You may have to fool around with the wording of the tweet you’re retweeting to make your comment fit (i.e., take out the “the’s,” turn “and” into “&,” and so forth). You can almost always pare down someone else’s tweet in order to add your observation or qualification before the retweet. This makes you look smart, which in turn makes other people want to retweet you — either now or in the future. And by putting your words in front of the tweet, you get credit for saying something yourself.
However, while it’s a good thing to retweet others, you don’t want to be known only as a retweeter. It’s always better to add to the conversation.
4. Build Credibility With Your Bio and URL
Just as the “About Me” page on a blog is key to establishing a blogger’s credibility, the tiny space you get on your Twitter profile page is equally important. First, be sure to spell out your first and last name (even if your Twitter handle is @cool_tweeter), then insert a link to somewhere that will build your credibility. If you don’t have a website or blog, use your LinkedIn () page. You must provide a link that visitors can click on to instantly check out your bonafides. Finally, compose your little Twitter bio in the first person. Be truthful, be interesting, and if you can bring yourself to do it, be a little different. Here is one of my favorite Twitter bios, on @ssmirnov’s page:
“President of DeVries PR. Mom. American half of a Russian-American marriage. Beer wench. Into: social media, branding, presentation design, GTD, pop culture.”
5. Combine the Personal With the Professional
It’s too much to expect any of us to write haiku every time we tweet, but it is possible to articulate a snippet from your daily life that offers a tantalizing glimpse of who you are and what you care about. Dave Weinberger gets this combination spot on in this tweet about a trip to the museum.
He breaks rule #1 by not including a link, but he is well known enough that that he already has credibility as an author and blogger () since 2001. Note that he adds a twist: not only is he telling you, in real time, that he’s visiting the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, but he makes a cogent observation about Monet’s paintings: that they’re so lovely you want to be in them. It’s a sentiment he has repeated in later tweets, building on the personality he has established for his followers.
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