Thanks to Social Media Strategist, Betty Anne Whipp, for this guest post.

When you are marketing on Twitter you want to build an audience that will ultimately support your business growth. To get to that point, though, you need to build an audience that believes in your brand. You want to engage people.

The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “engaging” as “very attractive or pleasing in a way that holds your attention”.  The definition of “compelling”, according to that very same tool is “very interesting: able to capture and hold your attention”.

To create an engaging Tweet on Twitter you will want to use numbers, quotes, video links and photo links.

According to Twitter:

• Photos will give you an average of a 35% boost in Retweets
• Videos can provide a 28% boost
• Quotes get a 19% boost in Retweets
• Including a number receives a 17% bump in Retweets
• And Hashtags receive a 16% boost

Remember you want to build an audience that is following you because they believe in your brand. It is not about getting the most retweets because you posted a cool picture. Hashtags, photos, videos etc. are just more tools in your tool kit to help you do a better job engaging with your followers. Don’t use them as gimmicks or all you will earn is a few more retweets but not necessarily the audience that will support the growth of your business which is ultimately your end goal.

Incorporating these into your everyday conversations with people on Twitter is going to help you in building a strong following and compelling tweets. We don’t want to just capture attention we want to hold it for the long term.

  1. Your Tweets can include useful tips or facts.
  2. You can say hello and give a heads up if you are participating in an event.
  3. Use it as part of a program to post inspiring quotes on a daily basis.

If you schedule something at the same time everyday then your audience will come to look for it and build that community with you.

So knowing the importance of hashtags, quotes, videos, links and numbers, and seeing how easy it is to use them in everyday conversation, how will you use these top five features?

Betty-Anne Whipp is a Social Media Strategist and Trainer who works with a variety of businesses to help them build an engaged community. Her primary area of focus is Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. Find her on any of those platforms or check out her website.