Getting more ReTweets for your content on Twitter is important to get the most from Twitter. With almost 400 million users, Twitter is popular among consumers and businesses alike. The real power of Twitter is if you go viral i.e. if your content is shared (ReTweeted) in-turn by others on Twitter.

Here are 15 ways to encourage ReTweets and get your content to spread virally. Increasing the number of ReTweets for your valuable content can increase traffic to you site manifold whilst improving your social authority and reputation.

1. Leverage Your Existing Customers

Leverage the existing traffic to your website or blog to get your content noticed on Twitter. Make it easy for your site visitors to share your content on Twitter. There are many free tools or plug-ins you can use for further integration such as displaying a tweet box on your site to display your tweets or to enable users to tweet without leaving your site..

This applies to all your content not just blog posts. Use Follow Me or ReTweet button on your website content, blog posts, email marketing messages and RSS feeds and content on other social sites you use.

2. Tweet at the busiest times of the day/week

The time of your tweets thus play a role in determining its overall impact. Users are most active on Twitter during standard working hours i.e. 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. In fact activity starts to reduce from Friday onwards, making weekdays as the best time to Tweet to improve results.

Weekends on the other hand have lower activity so the chances of tweets going viral are also less.

3. Use Links in your Tweets

A majority of the tweets that get re-tweeted by others include a link. In fact 70% if tweets that get ReTweeted contain links. Studies also indicate that the amount of links you tweets has a direct impact on the number of followers you have.

Bloggers also use it for building links to their new posts and attract new readers. All these point to the importance of including links in your tweets.  Studies have shown that links are widely accepted on Twitter and tend to be more popular than standard conversations.

Link Tips for Twitter:

• Link to a powerful or compelling resource
• If you are using a URL shortener service, use a popular one like bitly as they are more trustworthy.

4. Use Compelling Headlines

The benefits of compelling title are even more evident on Twitter as you only get 140 characters to capture the user’s attention. It should hence come as no surprise that appealing titles tend to attract more Re-Tweets and can easily go viral.

List titles such as “Top 10 Ways” and “How to” are some examples. Other examples of words that are popular on twitter are Free, Top, Check out and Follow.

5. Ask Users to Tweet/Re-Tweet Your Content

New Data Proves ‘Please ReTweet’ Generates 4x More ReTweets

In addition to Tweets, this also applies to your external content. Bloggers have reported increase in Re-Tweets of their posts by explicitly asking users to ReTweet their content (typically at end of the posts) e.g. “Please ReTweet this article”.

6. Get ReTweets From Influential Users

Tweets that are shared by influential users are very likely to go viral. It is hence important to identify influential users from your niche and work towards cultivating relationships. You can start by following them, ReTweeting their content or commenting on their blog.

I have also come across bloggers who suggest you can even send them a direct ReTweet request. Although you should be careful not to spam them with too many messages as it can have a negative impact.

7. Be Relevant and Offer something of Value

Simply tweeting about where you are is unlikely to get re-tweeted and go viral. Provide information that is useful for other users. It is also important to keep your tweets relevant to your intended audience. Your Tweets are delivered to all your followers so tailoring it to meet their needs increases the chances of going viral. How To guides, tutorials or review of something that is in demand are some examples of content that can be valuable for others and get retweeted.

8. Cover Breaking News

Tweets that cover a breaking news or hot topic stand a good chance of going viral. There is nothing wrong in tweeting about your blog posts or ReTweeting other content. However you should find the time to tweet about hot topics or news items from your niche to improve the chances of going viral.

9. Take Advantage of Photos

Many users fail to take advantage of the attach photo option with tweets. Like with any other content, images improve the appeal for users and is a good way to attract re-tweets. Perhaps you can create an infographic in Photoshop or post an interesting photo you have taken. The possibilities are endless. You can use tools like TwitPic to manage photo uploads easily.

10. Re-post Popular Old Items

You can also occasionally tweet old content from your blog to boost visibility. Do this for popular or relevant content only as tweeting the same content again and again can appear as spam.

Moreover, you are likely to have acquired more followers and improved your influence over time so re-purposing your old content second time around can be more effective and produce better results than it did originally. For better results, change the message if there is room for improvement..

11. Avoid Negative Remarks

Negative Remarks Lead to Fewer Followers. It appears that negativity is not perceived well by others even on Twitter and there is a tendency for such messages not to be ReTweeted by others. Negative remarks include bad comments and messages that display sadness, aggression or other forms of negative emotions and feelings. You can use this data to your advantage by adapting a positive attitude in your tweets in order to encourage re-tweets.

12. Tweet Less to improve impact

Studies show that the more frequently you Tweet, the fewer clicks you’ll get.  So tweet less you want more clicks. I guess this is to do with attention span of readers. If you put too much information in front of your followers, it can end up diluting the overall impact of each of your tweet. If you want your Tweet to get noticed and ReTweeted, you should slow down your posting rate.

13. Limit Promotional Messages

The primary focus should be on providing valuable information. You should regrain from posting too many promotional messages promtig your products or services. Blog posts are different as they are usually on topics that users will find useful.

Once you have established your influence and authority you can begin to promote products or services occasionally.  Altghough there are no hard and fast rules, experts suggest that promotional messages shoule be limited to under 5% of your total tweets. Otherwise you risk the chances of being treated as spam.

14. Offer an Incentive for Tweets

Offering an incentive to users for ReTweeting your content is another innovative way to increase ReTweets and can help you go viral on Twitter. You can offer a discount to all those who ReTweet or to the first 10 users who ReTweet your content. Or you can offer a free report or e-book relevant to your audience if they ReTweet your content.

I came across a blog that recently offered to donate $100 to the “Jimmy Fund’s telethonthat “if at least 30 users ReTweeted a blog post written specifically for that purpose. Needless to mention, it exceeded this number manifold. In addition, the blog also received significant increase in traffic as well as many new Twitter followers.

There is also a free service that you can use to allow users to pay with a Tweet to access content or service on your website.

15. Take advantage of Trending Topics

Following the trending topics on Twitter helps you see what other users find important or interesting. Mentioning these trends can be a great way to trigger conversation and connect with other users. Try to offer a new viewpoint or cover a different angle on the trending topic to make it unique and more appealing for users. These topics are already in demand and stand a good chance of going viral and being ReTweeted by others.

Summary:

Twitter has changed the way we share information on the Internet and is fundamental for spreading your content on the web.