Many gymnastics clubs use twitter to try to increase traffic to their website, get information out and market their club.
Gym Momentum posts all articles on twitter but also to send out quick information and link to other articles that and posts that I think Gym Momentum followers may be interested in. As a middle age guy- I am never 100% confident that I am using Twitter most effectively to generate interest and traffic.
Hootsuite is the platform that I use to schedule tweets. It is easy and pretty intuitive. As a bonus- they post some great articles on marketing. Kristina Cisnero is Hootsuite’s Inbound Marketing Specialist. Each day she focuses on bringing small businesses valuable content on social media marketing. She posted a great piece recently on ways to increase twitter engagement.
You Can’t Spell ‘Twitter’ without ‘Wit’: How to Write a Tweet To Engage Your Audience
A study done by researchers at Cornell University, backed by the National Science Foundation and Google, found that style may trump substance when it comes to Twitter popularity. This research found that including an engaging call to action at the beginning of the Tweet—for example, “please retweet, retweet, plz, pls”—can increase people’s engagement rate on Twitter. Now, what does this mean for US?
Recently, Hootsuite (HS) conducted its own Twitter experiment to see what its followers found engaging. They found that knowing more about their audience, using images, and taking some risks really helped boost its Twitter engagement rate (TER). This helped them increase their TER by 180% in two months.
How well do YOU know your audience?
Researchers at Cornell gathered their findings and created a tool that uses an algorithm to automatically learn what kind of wording works better for Tweets. This tool, however, may not work for everyone because it still doesn’t factor in humor or personality—which they (HS) found was a key factor in how we increased our own TER.
Cornell University’s tool is a great start on learning what kind of content to use in your Tweets. But since Hootsuite’s experiment yielded some findings that weren’t accounted for by university researchers, they decided to add to this research. They’ve put together a template to help you know how to write a tweet that people will want to engage with.
Here’s a template demonstrating how to write a Tweet:
Breaking down this how to write a Tweet template:
You’re probably thinking, “Great, a template, but what does this template mean?” Don’t worry, I’ve put together 4 key takeaways that will explain the graphic and teach you to write engaging Tweets.
Write engaging content that speaks to your audience
The first part of your Tweet should be around 90-100 characters. This text should be engaging, show off your brand personality, and include a call to action. Yes, Twitter’s character limit is 140; however, if you’re going to ask people to retweet your Tweet, make sure you leave enough room for them to add ‘RT’ to the body of the Tweet.
Include a URL (or a shortened URL)
For majority of businesses, Twitter is used to drive their followers to their website, or to a landing page. If this is your goal, make sure to include a URL in your Tweet. Better yet, include a shortened URL, using a URL shortener like ow.ly, so you can track click-through rate and save your character count. Make it easy for people to get to your gym’s web page or the event you are hosting.
Wrap up your Tweet with a hashtag
Increase the reach of your Tweet by using a relevant hashtag. Hashtags will increase your Tweet’s visibility on the network, and help you join the bigger discussion going on around the topic. For most reading this you are going to be tweeting about GYMNASTICS. #gymnastics, #preschool, #tonyisfunny
Include an image, a GIF or a video
Still images, GIFs, and now videos can dramatically increase the engagement rate for your Tweets. Make sure the images that accompany your Tweet are relevant and high-quality. There is really no more VISIBLE sport than gymnastics. Include photos and videos in your tweets.
Crafting Tweets doesn’t have to be as daunting as it seems. Just remember to always have your audience in mind whenever you’re writing a Tweet, and you’ll see your Twitter engagement rate rise. The best way to know how to write a Tweet to suit your audience is through practice, tracking, and constant improvement based on your engagement metrics. Happy tweeting!
How do you compose your Tweets? Hit me on twitter @gym_momentum and let me know!
