How Often Should You Tweet & Other Social Media Mysteries Explored

When it comes to using Twitter, one of the main questions that newbies have is “How often should I tweet?” While some people don’t feel there’s a true answer to this question, others believe that there is actual Twitter etiquette that needs to be followed if you want to use Twitter appropriately and not upset or annoy your followers.

If you’re interested in using Twitter in the best possible way, the following are some basic pieces of Twitter etiquette.

How often should I tweet?

When it comes to frequency, there are a few basic guidelines. First, if you want to increase your Twitter presence and keep your audience engaged, then you should consider tweeting at least once per day. This is the basic minimum, but it will help you keep your account alive and kicking and keep your followers entertained.

To maximize your influence, the prime number of tweets you should consider sending would be 4-5 per day. It’s been found that companies that stick with this number see a larger number of retweets and responses, and this is very important to enhancing your online brand.

Anything over 4-5 times per day will simply be overkill, and along with annoying your followers, you’ll also make some people consider you as spam, and they’ll stop following you altogether.

What should I tweet?

The content of your tweets depends on your overall purpose. Are you using Twitter for personal reasons? If so, you’ll want to use Twitter to share important information with your followers that interests you or that you believe they’ll find interesting. Do not simply use Twitter to tell your followers where you are (that’s what Foursquare is for) or what your agenda is for the day because guess what? Nobody cares.

If you’re using Twitter for business, you’ll want to keep your tweets targeted towards your company and your industry. For example, use Twitter to tell your followers about the recent award you won or the great sale you’re having, but don’t make them all self-centered. You’ll also want to make sure that you’re pointing your followers in the direction of great industry information or news that they’ll find interesting or important.

Should I automate?

Many businesses and individuals have started to automate their tweets as a way to keep a presence without having to sit on Twitter all day long. Tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social can allow you to schedule your tweets days or months in advance, and you can even set it up so that you always retweet posts by your favorite Twitter users. While automation can be extremely beneficial, it’s very important that it’s not the only way that you use Twitter. Believe it or not, your followers will be able to tell the difference between a real person and an automated tweet, and if there’s never a real person there to talk to, your followers may stop following you altogether.

If you want to use Twitter or any type of social media effectively, it’s very important that you stick to these basic guidelines.

Kathryn Thompson has been in the food industry for ten years.  She is an expert at social media advertising and online review management.

Post Tags: business, engagement, social media, twitter