How to go viral on Twitter

Twitter is a very powerful tool in which to gain exposure for content and copywriting if used correctly.

Twitter has changed the way that information spreads online. People are more focused on getting their content Retweeted. A ‘Retweet’ means getting people to repeat what you’ve posted, along with a link if you can, which can drive a significant amount of quality traffic to your website.

To learn how to make your content go viral using Retweets, there are five key areas below which should be considered:

• Always include a call to action, it encourages people to Retweet your content. Research has shown that simply asking people to “please Retweet” , or “please RT” (the more common abbreviation), can often have very positive effects. Other common calls to action include “check out”, “please vote”, “help me” or a tweet which contains a question such as “what do you think of…?”
• Timing can be essential when you’re considering issuing a tweet. According to Mentionlytics.com, the peak hours that are busiest are from 5pm to 6pm on work days, while workers are commuting back home. You can also use Twitter Analytics and Followerwonk tracking data on your own followers to find the perfect time tweeting by finding out where your followers are located and identifying the perfect time zones.
• Links are key to any Retweet and research has shown that almost 70 per cent of Retweets contain a link. This is positive news for marketeers who wish to spread their off-Twitter content effectively.
• Social worth is also very important. People want to be reassured that a post is worthwhile and there is no better way than your tweet being Retweeted by others. The more your post is Retweeted, the more likely it is that other people will see it as being credible and will Retweet to their friends. One way to increase your social worth is to persuade well known users to Retweet your content, to give it more credibility.
• Adding value to your tweet is a good way of encouraging people to read it and Retweet it. Some of the best ways to add value to a tweet are to write copy that contains instructional content, news (especially breaking news), warnings, freebies and contests.