Twitter has become one of the most popular social media platforms, where people share their thoughts in 140 characters or less. This kind of communication is happening between 500 million Twitter users more than 340 million times per day. That statistic alone is enough to encourage small businesses to start using Twitter.

If you don’t already have a Twitter account for your store, we suggest you create one now! You can easily do so by visiting www.twitter.com, or by downloading the mobile app.

When should I tweet?

If you’re thinking about Twitter, that probably means you’ve already been using Facebook, or another form of social media to market your business. All social media sites differ in their effectiveness, including Twitter. In fact, Twitter is most effective on theweekend. It is extremely important that your customers are engaged all week long.

On the weekends you can inform customers of weekend sales, upcoming events for the week ahead, local news, or anything you think your customers might like or need to know. Be sure to monitor conversations and encourage customers to stop by when they are out and about during the weekend.

Cheeky Monkey Toys tweets about an event

Cheeky Monkey Toys tweets about a major sale

When tweeting, it is just as important to consider the time of day that you tweet. Once you get your feet wet in the Twitter world you will find out what time of day you get the best interaction from your customers. Keep in mind that Twitter sees 30% higher engagement from 8am – 7pm.

How many times should I hit the tweet button?

This will be an easier question to answer once you gain a solid following and learn what works best for them. When you’re just starting out, we suggest tweeting up to four times a day. Some important questions to ask yourself before sending a tweet are:

  • Is this valuable to my followers?
  • How often do my followers tweet?
  • When do I receive the most @replies?

What makes a good tweet?

At first thought, you may think 140 characters are not enough to communicate all of the wonderful things about your store. Turns out, it is just enough! Twitter users respond best to tweets around 100 characters.

  • Tweets with hashtags receive 2x higher engagement
  • Image links receive 2x more engagement
  • Asking for retweets received 12x higher RT rate

If you keep all of the above in mind, you’ll be on the right path. Better yet, you’ll have a new audience of brand advocates for your business. The simplest thing you can do for better interaction is to provide a clear Call to Action. Some examples are included below:

Gabby's Gifts tweets about a sidewalk sale

Wonder Place tweets about Father's Day

Don’t hesitate to ask for retweets or provoke conversation with questions. Be sure to constantly test different tactics and evolve your Twitter strategy as you grow. There is no shame in trying something new and it’s the best way to find out what works best for you!

Before you know it you will become a pro on Twitter and your store will be showing the results of your efforts. Don’t be overwhelmed, SnapRetail can help you schedule out your tweets in advance, just like you do for Facebook.