April 28th | by Landon Fears
5 Easy Ways To Get @Replies and Retweets on Twitter
Most of you familiar with Twitter know that the lifeblood of the service is the ability to grow relationships with others by communicating and sharing information. This is best accomplished with @replies and Retweets (also known as RT) that include your Twitter username. Not only are @replies and RTs the best way to build a following quickly, but they are also the only way to develop a personal connection with the people who use Twitter.
Here are 5 very easy things you can do that will get your username in @replies and RTs:
1. Make “What are you doing?” interesting
The original intent of Twitter was to answer the question, “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less. While people still answer this question, Twitter has evolved to the point where there are more engaging and interesting ways to express that you’re eating lunch or driving to work.
For example, last weekend it rained two days in a row where I live. The first day it rained, I simply tweeted that it was raining. It was informative, but boring, right? Well, the next morning it was raining again, and I was prepared to send another simple tweet about the weather outside. But here’s what I decided to do instead. I went to Digg.com, ran a search for “rainy day”, and found a bizarre post about a photography trick called ‘jowling’. Here’s the link. So I sent out a tweet that said, “It’s raining again today. Should I try jowling?”, and included the link to the blog post. Within a few minutes I got an unexpected RT. I’m positive my tweet would have gone unnoticed if I hadn’t found that link.
Try finding Digg articles by searching the more mundane things you do during the day, like “eating lunch”, “getting dressed”, and anything else you can think of. You’ll certainly make your tweet that much more interesting.
2. Tweet a “Numbered List” link
Examples of a “Numbered List” includes blog posts and articles with titles like, “Top 23 Snacks for All-Night Gaming” and “The 77 Best Lil’ Wayne Songs of 2007″. I found both titles from Google. Digg has many articles like these as well. These kinds of titles are proven performers for getting attention on blogs and news sites, so it should come as no surprise that they will get retweeted and passed around on Twitter.
A good way to find these types of lists are to search within the specific topic you want, and include the word “Top”, “Best of”, “Greatest ever”, or some other variation. Include the title and the link in your Twitter post. If you tweet these, you will likely get at least 1 of 10 Retweeted by someone.
3. Ask a question
Asking questions is a great way to receive @replies and get to know your followers better. Check out Sean’s hiccup post for a great example of a question on Twitter in action.
Ask a question that relates to your needs, interests, or the topic of your site or blog. This will help you get some feedback that you can use to make your own site better. If all else fails, ask a Twitter-related question. Obviously people enjoy answering questions about Twitter on Twitter! Last weekend, I asked my followers if they used Twitter differently on the weekends. I received about 10 great responses, with one person commenting how interesting the question was.
4. Play a quiz or game
Quizzes and games are a great way to break the ice and engage followers who may not share the same interests as you. Quizzing followers on movie, sports, and music trivia are great examples. I’ve even played a game of Twitter tic-tac-toe in 140 characters or less (I won!). People love these kinds of fun games, because everyone can participate.
Playing a game is also a creative way to introduce your site to your followers. I use my own site to play the “Name That Logo” game, which asks followers to reply with the name of a popular company, product, or brand based on a logo. The first to answer correctly gets a link back to their Twitter profile from my site, and I encourage all who play to follow the winner.
5. Reply and Retweet others
If you want people to reply and retweet you, you better be willing to do the same for others. This is so important, as growing a following on Twitter is dependent upon having two-way communication with people. Always be on the lookout for interesting and funny tweets. If someone is asking a question that interests you, answer it. RT all links you find interesting and helpful. This will start a conversation with others, and help them to remember you in the future. I tend to recognize all the avatars and usernames of people I’ve had a conversation with, as well as those who consistently RT me.
Try out these 5 things every day when you Twitter. I can guarantee that you’ll receive @replies and RTs every single day. As a result, you will talk to more people, learn new things, and send more traffic to your site or blog. That’s what makes Twitter such a great community.
Bio
Landon Fears is a web developer, internet marketer, and self-proclaimed “Creativity Consultant”. A lover of branding, media, design, and advertising, Landon uses his creative ideas to regularly execute unique endeavors. His latest venture, Admance, lets individuals and businesses create and share their advertising space.
You can find Landon on Twitter @Admance and online at http://admance.com.
