Newsworthy content spreads quickly on Twitter, so the service is a natural tool for viral campaigns. If you have some great content you’d like to see go viral, here are a few tips on using Twiter to get the momentum going.
Build an Authentic Following
Focus your time and energy on attracting followers who are genuinely interested in your tweets. Concentrate on the quality of your followers rather than the quantity. You’re more likely to have a tweet to go viral if you have 200 real, genuine followers as opposed to 10,000 unengaged followers with automated accounts. To get more genuine Twitter followers, post quality content on a frequent, scheduled basis. Tweet timing matters, as well. Experts say the best time to post throughout the week is in the early and late afternoon. Use hashtags thoughtfully to attract users interested in your content, and include visuals with your tweets to make them more appealing. GIFs and videos are more likely to be noticed in people’s feeds. An engaged Twitter user is more likely to gain new followers. So, interact with your followers as much as possible. Also, use other social networks, such as Instagram and Snapchat, to reinforce your message.
Tweet About Newsworthy Topics
People love to retweet and favorite tweets about everything newsworthy, from current holidays and the weather to scientific studies and politics. If you can, work your content into what’s making news. You may attract more attention from Twitter. This strategy can backfire. Taking advantage of a piece of news for your own gain can come off as greedy and in bad taste. For example, retailer American Apparel launched a Hurricane Sandy Sale, which they tweeted during the peak of Hurricane Sandy’s presence over the northeast coast in October of 2012. The campaign backfired and went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Show Your Sense of Humor
Not everyone is naturally hilarious, but try to channel your sense of humor into your tweets. Being funny can mean the difference between a few retweets and hundreds of thousands of retweets. If followers appreciate your comedic gold, their retweets can get the momentum going.
Be Different
There are a lot of copycats on Twitter, all using the same strategy to grow followers. Everyone asks for retweets and promises to follow back everyone who follows them. Being different and being yourself is an unconventional strategy that can work. For example, some hilarious Twitter parody accounts have gone viral by integrating witty humor into their tweets. Leveraging entertainment is a great way to attract followers and interaction without a lot of work.
Always Strive to Add Value
Useful, informative, and funny tweets are considered valuable by followers. No one wants to see spam links and boring content. Tweet about things you care about and that are relevant and applicable to the experiences of many users. Whether it’s a piece of news, a warning about something, a how-to guide, a download link, or anything else, your tweets should be high-quality content, even when you’re trying to promote your interests.
