If you’ve been keeping up with the AIMS blog lately, then you know we’re all about
social media. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram – we love it all. Social media is
one of the most effective marketing tools that a small business can use to connect
directly with consumers.

Today, we want to talk to you about Twitter and how retweets help to gain your
content interest.

Why Retweets are Important

Retweets haven’t always been a thing; in fact, it wasn’t until nearly three and a half
years after Twitter’s launch that the retweet button was added. Back in the day if
you liked a tweet enough to share it, you had to do it manually, which meant typing
“RT” followed by the “@” symbol and user name of the original tweeter. FINALLY,
you had to copy/paste the thought you wanted to share.

Today though, it’s different; retweets run Twitter.

How do you know that you’ve crafted an engaging tweet? It’s been retweeted, and
not just once, but multiple times. The more you’ve been retweeted, the wider your
audience and the greater your exposure.

Increase Your Retweets

So now that you know why retweets are important, let’s work on your tweet
strategy.

Trackmaven recently released the results of a study they conducted that analyzed
1,423 Twitter accounts, 1.7 million tweets, and the impact of using visuals within
tweets.

The Retweet Report (© Trackmaven) is exhaustive at 23 pages long, but is chock full
of valuable information for stepping up your tweet game. Save yourself some
reading time and check out our list of The Retweet Reports’s most valuable tips for
increasing your exposure on Twitter.

Tweet on Sunday – Roughly 85% of all tweets are sent out on weekdays, but they
are more likely to be retweeted on Sundays than any other day of the week.
Thursday is your next best bet, with Friday being the worst.

Tweet After-Hours – Twitter is at its most active during regular business hours, but
that is not the most likely time for a retweet. That honor belongs to the evening and
the10 o’clock. It may be intuitive, but don’t expect too many retweets between the
hours of 12 A.M. and 7 A.M.

#Hashtag – Not everyone understands hashtags or their importance in the social
media world, but make no mistake, they matter. A hashtage is the “#” sign followed
by a word or phrase that helps to identify the purpose of your tweet. A tweet with
no hashtags is far less likely to be retweeted than one with 5, which was found to be
the optimal number.

End with a Link – Planning to link your tweet? Position matters. A tweet with the
link 90% of the way through the tweet is the most likely to be retweeted.
Use Images – Tweets with a picture are 3 times more likely to be retweeted than
those without.

GET EXCITED!!!!! – TYPE IN CAPITALS AND USE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!! Twitter users respond to emotion, they want to know that this is something you are excited
about and they should be too.