With more than 500 million Tweets per day, this brings up the question: “How do I create a short message that is perceived outstandingly well?

Thanks to more and always better studies, there are luckily more and more better answers. By now, there are certain characteristics identified that make successful Tweets, and we can say how an optimal Tweet should generally look like.

The measurable components such as length or hashtag use are relatively easy to identify. IBM alone evaluates per day hundreds of millions of Tweets and has a relatively accurate idea of how the Twitter universe looks like. However, the most crucial, but not so easy to measure part, is the quality of the content. Based on a Tweet, quality can certainly mean many different things, such as emotional appeal, entertainment, learning and much more.

Quality can trump all other factors, yet the question still remains what successful Tweets normally look like. Of course, the right hashtag can be decisive in how many people will view the message and how many of them recommend it. The same applies to Tweet time or the integration of influencers.

The optimal Tweet needs:

Hashtags: You should not use more than two hashtags per Tweet, as too many hashtags are quickly interpreted as spam. Moreover, it is important to focus on the correct hashtags, therefore use tools such as RiteTag to identify lucrative hashtags.

Tweet time: Studies have shown that the optimal Tweet time for B2C is Wednesdays and on the weekend - at noon and 6pm respectively. However, just because this is in general the best time to tweet, you should not be quiet the rest of the time. Measure yourself to find the ideal Tweet time with the appropriate social media tools.

Quick links: Although Twitter by now automatically shortens links, it is recommended to use a link shortening service, such as Bitly, as it has the additional advantage that you can better analyze who actually clicked on your link.

Use personal pronouns: The more personal the message, the more commitment it generates. Therefore, if possible, squeeze in at least one personal pronoun into a Tweet, as the reader feels more appreciated with a more personalized approach.

Photos and videos: Tweets that include a photo or video generally achieve higher interaction rates. However, do not integrate an image or video by any means. Often it already makes a difference if you just leave out favoritism Tweets to get great results as well. Again, quality is key!

Call-to-action: Call-to-actions work on Twitter as well, but should still be used with caution. Nevertheless, a good call-to-action can determine the success or failure of a Tweet.

Influencer: If your Tweet addresses an influencer, there is a high chance that the Tweet achieves a much higher attention by the multipliers. However, this medium must be used with care, too.  If you are referring to a contribution of the addressee in a link for example, this justifies the contact, but it would not if your message came out of the blue. Probably it would be interpreted as spam; therefore, intuition is in high demand!

Tweet-length: There are different studies with different results: Previous studies indicated the ideal length of a tweet with 71 to 100 characters. However, recent studies point but that Tweets that are at least 120 characters long have the highest engagement rates. Of course, a little space at the end of your Tweets, that allows re-tweeters to attach something, is never wrong either.

Happy tweeting!

By Daniela La Marca