6 keys to sharing content on Twitter

How you share is just as important as what you share.

In one second someone subconsciously decides whether to engage with your content or to scroll by.

These tips are about optimising for that one second:

1) Give people a reason to click

Two of the best at this are Steph Smith and Anne-Laure Le Cunff.

They'll never “just share” an article. 90% of each tweet is focused on building interest:

2) Don’t waste characters

Characters are limited. Don’t waste them rewriting your article title. It’s already visible on your Twitter card.

3) Use video to draw attention

People are too busy to click your content. But they've got time to retweet a video.

So edit a good video, show off your content, and your link gets more attention as a result:

4) Your SEO title doesn't need to match your meta title

99% of articles have just one title. But if your SEO title is keyword heavy there's nothing stopping you going for a more engaging social sharing title:

• “How Jeff Johnson sold Nike’s first shoes” - SEO title

• “How Nike sold its first shoes” - Social sharing title

5) A bespoke meta image signals a higher quality article

“If they took the time to make an image then it must be good”

And it’s less work than you think. Hone one template, then you’re just tweaking the copy / colours for each new article:

6) People retweet clean tweets

Some people are conscious about what they retweet. My general rule of thumb is to stay away from blue text:

• Strip away hashtags

• Place URL at end of the tweet to hide it

*Edit - I've had some replies saying, “But aren't hashtags necessary for more reach”. Hashtags have merit if you're a running some sort of campaign: #VolvoContest or #EndAlz.

But retweets are a far more effective way of increasing reach than hashtags. And excessive hashtags will limit your retweets.

Summary

If you're investing three days in an article it pays to spend an extra ten minutes getting the social sharing right:

1) Use your tweet to build interest

2) Don’t waste characters

3) Use video to draw attention

4) SEO title ≠ Meta title

5) Use a bespoke meta image

6) People retweet clean tweets

Appreciation

Thank you to Steph Smith for helping with ideas. And no, she didn't recommend her own tweet as the “textbook example!”