Regular Twitter users know that a good tweet contains a good headline, short links, hashtags and less than 140 characters. But there’s always room for improvement.
Here’s three ways to make your tweets even better:
- Keep the hashtags to two or less, otherwise the tweet will look like spam. One is optimal to keep the message on-point.
- Use symbols when possible. Your tweet will look neater and you’ll save space. Using an ampersand rather than “and” saves you two characters. A $ is shorter than “dollar.” These add up when you’re limited to 140 characters. However, make sure that you don’t use too many or readability will suffer.
- Slang and trendy abbreviations will confuse many followers. AFAIK may mean “as far as I know” but maybe not everyone will know that. Everyone will understand “I think” and that’s only one more word that leads to complete comprehension of your message. While everyone knows what LOL means, is it correct usage for your audience? If not, using the word “funny” or “humorous” may better engage your followers.
To commit to the Twitterverse can sometimes be daunting, especially when you already have a lot on your plate. If you take a few minutes each day to think through what you want to tweet, then you will keep the flow going.
Don’t forget to be spontaneous. If something crosses your mind and you want to share it, by all means, do so. Just remember to think about the Three Tips for Better Tweets.