Spread Your Wings- Get More Retweet Action Today

May 20, 2009 · Comments

birds Twitter offers a great way to get your information spread far and wide: the retweet. Simply, if you say something interesting or useful on Twitter, other users re-post the information, giving the original poster credit for the information. Some users are well known for their ability to find good information and share it. I’m thinking of @mayhemstudios and @ed, for instance. But it’s not just having good information that gets you retweeted. There are things to consider. Here are some ideas.

Making Re-Tweet Ready Posts

  • Make sure your post info has room for your original info plus a retweet. If your original post is close to 140 characters, the person retweeting has to edit your post to send it back out. Smells like work? People won’t make extra effort to retweet you if they have to edit your posts.
  • Make sure you use URL shorteners like bit.ly or is.gd or ow.ly (there are dozens) to get back more of your real estate.
  • If you’re going to tweet a URL, give folks a sense of what they’re clicking into. For instance, I use (video) or (youtube) when pointing to a YouTube video. And make sure you use (NSFW) on things that are Not Safe For Work.
  • The more helpful or entertaining your tweet, the more likely people will take an action.
  • The more jumbled with @ names and multiple urls and hashtags your tweet is, the less likely it will be retweeted.
  • People will gladly retweet causes (unless you fatigue us).
  • Starting a tweet with an @ means that a good chunk of folks won’t see it.

That’s a pretty good start to getting your re-tweet on. But you know what? There’s more.

And Now, the Bonus Round

  • Retweet other people and promote other people 15x to every 1 time of your effort.
  • Don’t tweet every damned thing you write about or do. Folks will fatigue quickly.
  • Befriend and add value to the best retweeters. It’s a live network, a human network, a give-and-take relationship.

That’s it. That’s how I do it.

What about you? How are you getting it done?

Photo credit Mike Baird

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  • Tweet unto others as you would like to be tweeted. Not shabby advice! I may have to RT this...
  • "Tweet unto others as you would like to be tweeted." First time I've heard that. Funny. I think we've found the 11th commandment.
  • So, really it all boils down to this - think about others and what you can do for them, rather than about yourself and what the tweet will do for you. Right? Personally, I think this is the path to success, financial and personal.
  • Yep. I sell the same advice every day slightly different. Be helpful, dammit.
  • How can I help? :)
  • Also, for particularly important or interesting tweets (NOT ALL OF THEM!), you may want to add "Please RT" of the shorter "Plz RT". Human nature - some people simply don't think to re-tweet unless they are asked/reminded.
  • I don't agree with this, sorry! If it's good content, people will retweet it. There are a lot of people I know who WON'T retweet if asked (unless they're specifically asked personally)
  • I agree with Rachel, I find "plz RT" obnoxious unless it's for charity or good cause. If it's good enough to be RT-ed, people will RT it.
  • I agree with different points that Steve, Rachel and "bestieverdid" made. It really depends on what the tweet is about. For example: If a musician has a concert or gig coming up, that's a great use of Plz RT. Another example: if a political candidate such as Thomas Castillo (@ThomasCastillo) has a parade or fundraiser coming up, that is also a great use of Plz RT.

    A horrible use of Plz RT is if you are trying to make a topic trend of Twitter. Another horrible use of Plz RT involves any spam tweets such as "How to Gain a Billion Twitter Followers in 90 Days."
  • Great tips for those still getting their feet wet using twitter. Will share with some new connections of mine.
  • urbanseo
    I make it a point to read everything before I RT. Unless it has to do with a cause I believe in. I still think "power" users like yourself have a greater chance of getting RT. After all, you have many fans plus you are out there talking the talk and walking the walk. But I do agree sometimes we get tired of all the RT's. I would like to suggest if you do like a RT to take the time to post a comment. That's another point I have been actively doing. I post comments on peoples blogs... at least to me it gives me a sense of "hey I enjoyed your copy." Again thanks for a great post.
  • You're totally right about "power" users getting over retweeted. I'd rather lesser-heard voices get that option more often, to be honest. But then, it's hard to make the system act that way, eh?
  • Everything Mashable "prints" is retweeted over a hundred times, it's sickening...
  • Man, I totally agree. But the day the publish something of mine my tune will change :)

    I'd agree that the power/celeb Twitter users get more RT's, but that is becuase people want to be associated with them and be seen by them so they get noticed.

    Let's be honest, we all want a RT from someone like our buddy @chrisbrogan here! Chris, hook me up man!! (totally kidding, i wouldnt be that bold)
  • I first found about Chris when he retweeted an article I had written for Mass High Tech. The story skyrocketed on the "most read stories" list for that day, which prompted me to ask "Who is this Chris Brogan?" Turns out, he's a pretty cool guy. :)

    Power users are great for people who are less known but who are still churning out great content to be noticed.
  • Chris:

    I almost commented that you're the Seth Godin of social media... but a bigger and more suitable compliment would, of course, be that you are the Chris Brogan of social media. Thanks for post after post of easy to take-away social media goodness! And for being such an-all-around-good-guy!
  • If all you want is re-tweets, just write something about Twitter. I am not joking, it works almost too well. My post last week receieved almost 1,000 re-tweets, because - well - it was about Twitter. It's easy to do that because the network is still very much a meta network.
  • Yehoshua
    Shalom Chris:
    I'm a serious didactic scientist, whose produced the global solutionto the collase of the world economy that's Humanomics(sm). And its four major parts have to be "branded" ans so after 450 Tweets I've NOT yet begun. First mistake, was to max the 140 char. limit on most of them, thus all of them are outside limit when going wiith RTs and before knowing the rules max with 2000 followings and so what suggestions might work?
    Tky, Yehoshua Ya'acov
  • I think that beside the things you just mentioned it really matters if :
    1. people are used to tweet with you
    2. people see you as a friend and trust you
    3. the person that tweets it is a VIP or a celebrity or someone that is very popular.

    Thank you,
    @TomaBonciu
  • natalia phillips
    Thankyou for your info it has helped me so much on Twitter (nataliaphy) especially this one on Retweet. I am learning something new everyday.
  • Help others, keep it simple and leave enough room for RTing. Sounds like solid advice Chris :).
  • The key is to make connections with people. Be helpful and share freely. Make sure others see that you share their stuff. RT's will start to come once you have a solid network of people who you are close to and think you publish good content.

    All this implies you are consistently active.

    http://twitter.com/franswaa
  • Let's see if it works:

    "'Get More Retweet Action' writes @chrisbrogan http://digg.com/u13iSX Please Retweet. Ha!"

    http://twitter.com/stevegarfield/status/1859553365
  • Some day, you'll get my little joke. EVERY post where I show you how to do something, I do the thing I'm talking about around the post. Right? I stole the idea from Mister Seth Godin. You might know him? : ) Free Prize Inside had a free prize, etc, etc, etc. : )
  • Without Chris Brogan RTs my life would suck, thanks to the "2 Step Brogan Bump System" my twitter life is great... http://bit.ly/ddZWK (offer void where prohibited)
  • If everyone can abide by these 'rules' the Twittersphere will be a better, clearer source of information and the ability to share knowledge will improve. More clarity, less noise!
  • Chris, thanks for the mention. :)

    You're dead on regarding retweets. I spend 90% of my time editing tweets so that it's retweetable. People need to be concise as possible and cut down on unnecessary characters/words. You almost have to write tweets as headlines; short, concise and to the point.

    Retweeting is a great way to connect with new friends and build credibility. Make sure to include any twitter names, in articles, if they have one. It assures that they'll see your retweet on their mentions. It's a good chance they will retweet, follow or engage you.

    I also agree, anything about Twitter, How to's or lists will get retweeted often.
  • Thanks Chris & Calvin, both of you are great RTers & people I like to RT. I learned a lot about how to use Twitter from watching both of you.
    Chris, for weeks I've been mulling writing a blog like this -- but it's really outside my general scope & purposes that deal with art, inspiration and understanding (brain). So glad you did so now all I need do is RT and add this comment. ; -))
    I do not RT any causes or pleas for help that I do not personally have real solid info on, unless they come from someone I trust, like Chris, to have checked it out. Far too many charities and pleas are or verge on scams. There is an important ratio of where the money is spent or goes. Does it go to those it's supposed to help or administrative costs and salaries. I want, and I want my followers to have the most bang for their charity bucks.
    Also, the least likely way to get a RT is to ask for it, with a link in a DM. If whatever it is is so great or important it belongs in the stream from the get-go!
    Again, Chris TY so much. But I gotta go now and RT this!
    @judyrey
  • Wow, this can also be named: how to turn Twitter into a SPAM machine for self-promotion. If you're only concerned about getting RTs, is Twitter any value to you beyond promotion? I send out Tweets which get enough RT, and I shake my head bc it's mundane or inane things - but it's interesting for people. And, I send out RTs on stuff that I find interesting.

    But I never stop to think "oh, is this going to get retweeted, how am I going to get this retweeted" or anything of the sort because that's not conversational, it's promotional. And, as for your 15:1 rule, so you're recommending people become RT bots, for the most parts? Why, what is the value? Oh, if you RT a lot, you MUST know something, so I should RT you? How is there logic in that?
  • Retweets aren't self-promotional by nature. I retweet the hell out of things like causes. (See also, my stream today). I am showing people HOW to make their tweets re-tweetable, not how to self-promote (See also, "Shut Up, You Self-Promoting Turd").

    As for my 15:1 rule, I'm recommending people not be self-promoting turds, and that they retweet other people's stuff where appropriate WAY more than they do their own.

    You're making up interesting end goals, but that's not what I wrote up. Nothing to do with who knows what. Just a functional how-to.
  • Any Tweet that ends with "Please RT" is self promotional by nature. When you sent out this post, did you not put that at the end of it? Self promotion.

    And, by showing people HOW to make their tweets re-tweetable (which, at the end of the day, matters SO little), you're TELLING them how to self-promote their OWN Twitter channel.

    As for the 15:1 rule, maybe I didn't make myself clear on it. That rule is akin to scratching their back. Most people will look to then RT something of yours, when you take the time to RT something of theirs. It's human nature.

    As for functional how-to, we've talked about that before. You write on tools, and just tools and that is extremely helpful. But, people need real world experience and recommendations on how to use with clients, not just for themselves. That is what's helpful.
  • Ed
    You're wrong. Or painting with a broad brush (perhaps you've witnessed those who end every one of *their own* tweets that way.

    I have personally connected thousands of people on twitter through retweeting other people's tweets.

    More than ever with the change to twitter's @ replies,
    retweets are a great way to bring awareness to someone, some link they're sharing, a time sensitive event, the fact that someone is on twitter, etc.

    (Thanks again Chris)

    - @Ed
  • I think you're taking Chris' post WAY too literally. It's not about how to get RTs, it's about creating content that's useful to other people. And the 15:1 rule is about making sure you're NOT too self-promotional, and instead are focused on sharing more than you promote.

    I don't see what the problem is here, then again I'm not looking for any ;)
  • Thanks for the insight, but most of all thank you for putting me on track...( A RT from a big dude sure makes you feel good!!) However, at times negative publicity is a must in my opinion.

    What i like about you Chris is your approach and tact, and thats something we can all learn from (at least those who want to!!)

    KUDOS..
  • Hi Everyone-

    Check this out!

    http://tinyurL.com/dh57bz

    follow me, Nanita Jones
  • Timely post Chris, it's nearly an art, the RT. Here's another good one: '120 is the new 140' by @StaciJShelton http://tinyurl.com/qp3uum, and my own novice attempt at defining RT: http://tinyurl.com/cm7yl5
  • Please don't direct message (DM) your followers, asking to please retweet your tweet. If it is interesting or entertaining, I will RT. But asking me before I have even seen it, that is pushy, annoying and well annoying. (as well as sending me a DM every time you post something to your blog - I unfollow you immediately.)
  • I try to put a short subject line that will fit in a single line, then a link on the second line with a (via @xxxx) at the end, like so:

    WarcraftPets.com gets cease and desist from Blizzard
    http://is.gd/BM25 (via @davemark)

    Well, the @davemark would be whoever's post I was retweeting or resending. You get the idea.

    Terrific post, thanks!

    -- Dave Mark
  • I've been thinking a lot lately about what I'll retweet.. and even what I'll tweet.. and often I'll find something I really want to retweet.. and I'll so edit you! And not only that.. I'm finding that after I edit your tweet.. I find other people retweeting it.. and.. get this.. editing it still further!

    Of course you want to make it so folks don't have to edit.. you want to remove friction.. but at the same time.. sometimes you just want to make the best damn tweet you can.. and sometimes you need a little extra length.. and sometimes that's the more important thing.. so I think its a question of balance.. and what the right balance is.. changes from moment to moment.. as a combination of.. lets say your will.. and the will of.. lets say strategic / tactical considerations, and that of the ecology of the folks you're following / following you..

    You know.. its like relationships.. good relationships are give and take.. and you don't want.. if you just went to the middle of that.. you'd never be giving or taking.. so I guess what I'm trying to say is its ok to be one way one moment, another another moment..

    Don't know how well i got to what I meant to get to but....
  • -loved the list!

    Retweeting for causes is something we plan to do more of. No one wants to sift through a sea of "empty tweets".

    Let's make our world better -tweet by tweet!!

    Thanks for sharing your best practices...much appreciated!!

    Coretta
    @businessethos
  • K Lay
    i like the RT ideal, thanks for sharing
  • Chris, are there any stats available for how often people RT? Any count of how many RTs have transpired on Twitter weekly, monthly, yearly? Thanks!
  • Great advice! And I could not agree more about limiting your tweet so it can be retweeted with ease, there are so many I wanted to retweet and started to but then canceled b/c I had to edit it down to fit..I don' t have time to do that!
  • Scott Boren
    I think you are "spot on" with these comments. It must be a worthwhile tweet and easy to read. I hate seeing a RT that is in it's third RT stage. Seems it's OK to me to remove some of the RT people leaving only the original.
    How do you feel about people who say "please RT" in the tweet? Somehow that seems to bother me.
  • I'm getting worn out on the "RT" term. It's starting to become cliche. When I RT, I've started doing "via @chrisbrogan:" or "@chrisbrogan is looking for..." It may be just that I've been around so long that I'm tired and want something different, more creative, than a simple "RT @chrisbrogan:".
  • Daniel, you bring up a great point actually. Depending on the content of the tweet, sometimes you don't want the RT @PhilipNowak to get in the way of the quote, article title, joke, etc... (Via @PhilipNowak) at the end of a tweet is a perfectly acceptable variation and I use it quite often.

    Be careful with the @ChrisBrogan is looking for because Twitter considers that to be an @reply to Chris Brogan, thus only the users that are following the two of you will see the tweet. A better option is to say: Everyone! @ChrisBrogan is looking for...
  • Thanks for your insight. I am learning to be more creative and it has taken me awhile but I do notice a difference and I am a RT queen. I retweet a ton of stuff. But when it comes to my content I need to get better with it.
  • Great tips. Can't get over why some of those aren't just obvious but they aren't.

    I've shared some of those very tips just this week. Problem is I feel like it's preaching to the choir. FOlks that get it, get it, those that don't, won't?

    Another great step to getting retweets is to get directly to the source. Don't send folks on a wild goose chase to find the actual thing you're interested in sharing. So many times folks send me a link to just a blog home page and not the actual post. Same thing goes for general web sites where they should send me to the actual page on the blog.

    Mentioning it's video is a big plus for me as well. Where my day job is, streaming video is verboten. Saves me the click through.

    Another hint is not to mislead folks. Don't set folks up for one thing and link something else. Funny once, after that it's of no interest.

    Makes me want to dump one of these on my blog again.
    Good stuff as always Chris.
  • As a relative novice, I've found that participating in tweetchat gets me rt'd. The value for me is that the audience is actively listening bcs the topic matters to them. Knowing the rt is being read puts me one step ahead, no?
  • I agree with most of the comments here. I do read the content and mix a blend of RT's by power users as well as my own tweets at a 15:1 ratio (at least).

    I do notice a major increase to my blog http://deanholmes.me when I retweet a power user - as well as views on my Twitter Profile. Content and timing are key here - get your mix right and you could get rt'd often as well.

    Thanks Chris.
  • Good article for newbie Tweeps. I view twitter as one big online chatroom so I tend not to get bent by every tweep that is made. It is fairly simple, if you don't want to read what someone tweets, don't follow him or her.

    Happy Tweeting!
  • retweets would be SO much easier - and propagate so much faster - if twitter had a native RT button built in. A native RT function would put the "RT from" metadata below the actual post text, where it belongs - so you wouldn't have to think about making room for the 'retweet' text and extra handle, as you describe above. one-click viral propagation, and voila, easy to track metadata about propagation of any given message.
    Wouldn't it be nice?
  • socialscience101
    I disagree Chris.
    You haven't seen the research, yet.
    We're slow to publish, sure, but give us a chance to give you the real data.
    And these five points are not exactly what we seem to be seeing.
  • We can all help each other with RTs. Be generous with them. Rgds Vince
  • Good advice. I find that this is a basic primer to getting retweeted. Another rule to live by is to post quality stuff. People care about quality and will retweet good stuff, crap will naturally flow off my timeline.

    ~Joe
  • I think the 15-1 ratio of Re-tweets doesn't mean much. People just re-tweet to do it. Ive asked people if they have actually looked at the article or video or whatever link they are spreading. Most of the time they have not. Is that real Karma or fake recommendations to fake friends?
  • bhartzer
    Great post, I'm always trying to get more retweets, and this is very helpful. Tell them what they're going to see when they click the link...I'm retweeting this, though.
  • This was incredibly helpful. Thanks!
    Julie
  • I love how re-tweeting is basically like small town gossip (the good, helpful kind!), in an endless online world...
    Feeling connected and sharing good info with others will never be just a fad.
  • Guest857486834
    Seriously? This is the type of fluff that allows this bloke to be considered a "Social Media Guru"? I mean, this is solid advice, but Jesus Christ Almighty ... I expected more from this git.
  • Solid advice on re-tweeting. Some of it plain common sense all too often missing these days.
  • Great point of retweeting helpful of entertaining things. And promoting other people will lead to friendships and others helping you out.
  • Nice post on retweets. I have already follow the two person that you mention here. I required mote twitter follower.
  • Most of my tweets are scheduled to go out every couple of hours and contain links to other people's posts that I find interesting. My blog posts are automatically fed to twitter using twitterfeed so that takes care of most of my self-promotion. I hop on twitter a couple of times a day to answer @ replies and DMs, retweeet current tweets I find useful and converse with a few people.

    Just like you said I try to ensure that my tweets have enough space for it to be retweeted without major editing by potential retweeters. There are tweets that I see that I would love to retweet but when I try to shorten it and it's too long I just don't.

    That's how I do it.
  • I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
  • usmcjunglist
    Good advice. I also noticed that tweets also show up in the Google surch engine. So the more your tweets get re-tweeted, The better ;-)
    https://twitter.com/usmcjunglist
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