Have you ever wondered what the perfect tweet looks like?
I know.
There are a lot of answers here.
So I’ll be more specific.
When you’re sharing articles, blogs and other content on Twitter that you think your followers will love, have you ever wondered what you should say to get the best response?
And have you ever wondered how do to that quickly on an ongoing basis?
The key is having an effective curation strategy that you can follow. Because while what you say will change, the formula won’t.
So, here are 4 things you need to do to curate the perfect tweet on Twitter.
1) Your Comment
It’s easy to share great content.
What makes you stand out as an authority online is what you say about it. Why are you sharing it? Is it a good read? Funny? Well researched? Short and sweet? Relevant? Did the 4th point make you laugh? Make you cringe?
You get the idea.
Adding a comment brings humanity to your Twitter feed, which is a great way to showcase your personality and build a following.
So, always say something.
To get you started, here are some of the common phrases we use on Spokal’s twitter account when we’re curating tweets.
- If it’s a quick overview that you know people will love, simply say:
“Short + sweet” or “30 sec distraction” or “Quick refresher”
- If it’s a list of 5 things, choose one or two points to highlight:
“1 + 2 are great” or “4 is good” or “Love 3, 5 is a dated”
- If it’s a well research post that’s worth taking 15 minutes to read, let your followers know that:
“Fabulous + meaty” or “Worth 15 mins” “#MustRead”
2) The Shortened Link
Make sure the link to the content your sharing comes second.
It’s important to include it in the middle of your tweet – as opposed to the end – because tweets with links in the middle get clicked more than if they do if they’re at the end.
Plus, for those of us that use hashtags, this separates the link and the hashtag in your tweet, making the link easier to see and click.
p.s. Shortening links gives you more room to comment on what you’re sharing. If you don’t use shortened links yet, check out of one my favourite resources for shortening links, Bit.ly. It’s free and easy to use. You can also shorten them in most social curation platforms, like Hootsuite or Buffer.
3) The Title Of The Post (Or Video)
Always include the title of what you’re sharing.
It’s good practise to use capital letters, so it’s easy to see which part of the tweet is the content you’re sharing and which part is your comment.
Now, this can be tricky as some people (myself included) write long titles.
When this happens, feel free to use shorten them. Remember, the goal of your tweet is to increase your reach and build relationships with potential customers, not quote the exact title of a post.
For example, one of our posts that gets shared a lot is The Complete Guide Of How Often To Post, Tweet + Facebook For Your Small Business. This title takes up a lot of room, so most people shorten it.
4) Your Source
It’s important to credit the author of the content you’re sharing.
Not only do tweets with Twitter handles in them get shared more often, it’s good etiquette to give a shout out to the creator.
Plus, it can help you build a relationship with that person, which is a good way to grow your online reach. Often times you’ll receive a thank you or a retweet from that person too.
So, always include a “via @source” when you curate tweets.
If the article is written on a blog with more than one author – or it’s a bigger publication – you can credit the author personally and say “by @author via @source” to be more exact. However, this takes up more room, so you’ll need to shorten your comment and the title if you do this.
Final Thoughts: How to Write a Perfect Tweet
As always, the key here is to remember why you’re sharing content on Twitter.
Curating content is a good way to grow your online reach and build customers, however it won’t work if you do it haphazardly.
So, try to follow a schedule. We recommend 4-5 tweets a day to maximize the chance that your tweets will get shared. One can be about you, the rest should be curated content.
So, what tips do you use to write the perfect tweet?