Twitter is an essential social platform for spreading some instant love to your fans with show announcements and Giveaway offers as well as a way for you to share your voice! As part of your Editorial strategy, we have some tips and tricks based on how other metros successfully use Twitter.

What to Post

1. Twitter is all about timeliness! Important dates or news such as state, city and celebrity birthdays (and deaths) seem to always receive a lot of reTweets and love. Be the early bird and Tweet before others to get more engagement!
2. Relevant Tweets are always important when it comes to Twitter, and so is HUMOR. 
• Austin takes their barbecue seriously... maybe a bit too seriously? Do512 shared a Craigslist post offering someone money to wait in line for them, which some people found amusing and some a brilliant idea!
3. Combine popular topics: Humor + City Pride
• Do312 was able to show pride for their city by poking fun at Do512 and adding a bit of pop culture. It not only drew in Twitter users from Chicago, but also brought in Austin users that had to make sure that they defended their city. 
4. Tweets containing show rumors create buzz among followers, creating incentive for them to reTweet the info to their friends.
• Do512 created a bold Tweet by telling users that Slim Shady may or may not be at SXSW, causing dozens or followers to reTweet, comment and favorite the Tweet.
5. A great topic that is sure to stir up user participation? Sports. Whether their passion stems from love or hate, your metro’s Tweets will surely be noticed.
• Do312 had a successful Tweet after the Chicago Blackhawks won a playoff game, but they were able to take it to the next level by combining sports fandom with the loss of one of our nation’s prized desserts: The Twinkie.
6. Everyone loves getting reTweeted or Tweeted @. Share other users’ content, chiefly that of your partners, Tastemakers and target partners or influencers, and they’ll likely return the favor. This can go a long way with not only important users, but also their fans, and it increases your online presence.
• Reference others, especially when you get coverage from other media outlets or blogs and share their link the right way. Tag the author and/or outlet in every post with a big thank-you. Give proper shout-outs and credit where they’re due. 
• Give your followers some love by Tweeting @ your fans. Personal exchanges allow your followers to feel more connected with your community.
• DoNYC Tweeted at a follower to tell them that they had won tickets to a show and a nice exchange followed.
7. Standard go-to posts. 
• Top Picks of the day are solid and valuable to your followers. You are the voice that let's them know what there is to do, after all!
• Free tickets, swag, or other promotions: everyone loves an opportunity to win stuff.
8. Finally, don’t be afraid to REpost important or great content for more visibility and attention. 
• DoNYC had a ticket giveaway for a sold out show and asked for reTweets in order to be able pick a winner. Tweeting a similar message later enabled them to increase user participation, reTweets and followers.

How to Post

1. Keep it short and sweet.
• According to this article by Buffer, 100 characters is the engagement sweet spot for a Tweet. 
• But If you’re posting Tweets with links, Dan Zarrella’s research shows that 120–130 characters have the highest click-through rates (CTR).
2. Use more verbs and descriptors! 
• Buffer analyzed 200,000 link containing Tweets. Tweets containing more verbs and adverbs had higher CTR than noun and adjective-heavy Tweets. 
3. Use images!
• Tweets with image links get 2x the engagement rate than those with no images.
• Just like on Facebook, photos are more engaging for Twitter users.
4. Use links!
• Tweets that include links are 86% more likely to be reTweeted. 
• Make sure they are mobile friendly.
5. Use #hashtags!
• Tweets with hashtags get 2x more engagement.
• However, keep hashtags to a minimum. 1 or 2 will get you 21% more engagement than if you add 3 or more.
6. Tweet at others relevant in the post.
• But never start a post with @twitterhandle. No one will see them. Say “Thx @twitterhandle”.
7. Let your voice be heard. 
• Make sharing others’ content an important part of your strategy but add value by inputting your own commentary.

When to Post

• Tweet on the weekend
• Higher CTRs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday than the rest of the week.
• Tweets in the afternoon or at night, before and after that time people eat dinner, have higher CTRs than Tweets sent in the morning
• 6-7 PM sees a dramatic drop that quickly increases.

Summary Takeaways