18 Ways to become More Retweetable

July 03, 2009 5:02 PM

You can’t make people retweet you.

All you can do is increase the probability of getting retweeted by becoming more retweetable.

Today, I’m going to tell you HOW.

Not because I’m a Twitter Coach.

Not because I’m a Social Media Expert (even though everyone and their mother claims to be one these days…)

Nope. I’m just a guy who gets retweeted a lot.

My name is Scott Ginsberg, aka, The Nametag Guy, aka, @nametagscott.

I’m a writer, speaker, consultant and entrepreneur. And I teach people how to become more approachable.

So, here’s a list of 18 ways to turn approachability into RETWEET-ability…

1. Ask smarter questions. Penetrating questions. Dangerous questions. Though-provoking questions. Remember: Once a question has been asked, it’s impossible for the human brain (not) to see an answer. Do your tweets have enough question marks?

2. Be a living brochure of your own awesomeness. I know. Easier said than done. Fortunately, I wrote an ebook on how to do this. My theory: 90% of your tweets should be pure GOLD. Gold Jerry, gold! All keepers, no fluff. Are your tweets works of art or self-absorbed narrations of your boring life?

3. Be disturbing. Evoke emotion. Move people. Challenge them. Make your followers squirm in their seats when they read your tweets. So much so that they HAVE to retweet you. How provocative are you willing to be?

4. Become the most interesting person you know. Nobody notices normal, nobody buys boring and nobody pays for average. The secret is unpredictability. The enemy is recycled wisdom.

Here’s the reality: If you want to be more retweetable, your tweets need to be more interesting; and if you want your tweets to be more interesting, YOU need to be interesting. Period. Here’s another handy guide on 30 ways to triple your interestingness. How are you keeping yourself (and, therefore your tweets) fascinating?

5. Brand your language. Stop retweeting ALL the time. Say something original for once. Because if you don’t quote yourself, nobody else will. And you can quote me on that. To learn more about branding your language, see the principle in action at www.stuffscottsaid.com. How quotable are YOU?

6. Combine honesty, vulnerability and humanity. These virtues are so rare that they’ve become remarkable. And remember: The stuff nobody does tends to be the stuff everybody loves. AND retweets. Are you a robot or a real person?

7. Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness. What’s more, consistency – despite convenience and comfort – creates uncracked character. And in a low-trust, low-integrity culture, that’s exactly what people are looking to retweet –people who (actually) have CHARACTER. Check out this module called How to Run a Consistency Audit. Do these things and, again, you will start to get more retweeted. Is what you’re about to tweet giving people the tools they need to build the world you envision?

8. Don’t go link crazy. For most of your tweets, put the value in the actual tweet itself. Don’t just mindlessly post a bunch of links that YOU think are interesting. Links = More Work = Bad. Maintain a balance between linking to items of interest and actually WRITING about items of interest. If all you do is retweet, people will assume you can’t think for yourself. Do people (really) have time to read this article you’ve sent them?

9. Get off. Offline, that is. According to Adam Kreitman, aka, @WordsThatClick, “The secret to online marketing is offline marketing.” So remember: Social media isn’t enough. It’s a great side dish, but don’t make it the main course of your networking meal. Go call somebody. Go have lunch with somebody. How many REAL friends do you have?

10. Help people fall in love with you. That’s easy: Just help them fall in love with themselves first. And you do that by making them feel essential. So, honor people’s awesomeness by retweeting their thoughts – and saying WHY you’ve chosen to retweet them. They’ll usually reciprocate.

But, make sure you’re doing so because you ACTUALLY like this person and what they have to say, not because you just want them to retweet you back. After all, the best way to GET anything is to GIVE that thing first. When someone reads your tweets, how do you want them to feel?

11. Inspirational = Retweetable. Unfortunately, you can’t inspire anybody. All you can do is increase the probability that they will become inspired by making yourself more inspirational. Here’s a rapid-fire list of how to become the most inspirational person you know. Do (and BE) these things, and you WILL be retweeted more often. Guaranteed. When was the last time you retweeted somebody talking about their breakfast?

12. Lists work. If you’re going to link to an article or blog post, lists have the best chance of getting retweeted. If you’d like to learn the science behind why lists work, enjoy this handy list called, 43 Reasons to Make Lists for EVERYTHING. Practice this stuff and you will be retweeted more often. How many lists have you tweeted this week?

13. Meaningful concrete immediacy. Before you tweet ANYTHING, remember these three keys: (1) Keep it compact – give people the meat. (2) Keep it relevant – appeal to self-interest. And (3) Keep it actionable – tell people HOW to do stuff. Are your tweets low-carb enough?

14. Remember that nobody cares about you. People care about THEM. They care about money, sex and happiness. That’s it. So, just make sure all of your posts appeal to those areas. Why are you tweeting about your husband’s snoring patterns?

15. Risk. Don’t be afraid to tweet something controversial. Take a stand. If you offend someone, so be it. If you piss someone off, so be it. It’s probably better that way. Comfortable people don’t take any action anyway.

Besides, you can be edgy without being a jerk. So, stick a stake in the ground, let people gather around, then do everything you can to prove that your stake is sound. What risk do you incur by tweeting this idea?

16. Thank your retweeters. Either by replying to them publicly, or, better yet, by sending them a DM. This shows an appreciation for their willingness to share your thoughts with their followers. It also makes them want to do it more in the future. Admittedly, I don’t do this NEARLY as often as I should. Fortunately, I’m getting better at showing gratitude for people who RT me. How thankful are YOU?

17. Twality control. Before posting your tweet, ask yourself qualifying questions such as: Does this tweet leave the impression of value or vanity on my followers? Is this tweet consistent with my Theory of the Universe? And is this something I, personally, would retweet? What’s your filter?

18. Write less. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. 140 characters should NEVER be fully used. Always leave at least 20-30 characters of blank space. This makes it easier for your followers to write “RT,” your username, and perhaps a comment like, “I agree!” or “<---This guy is my hero!” Without that extra character space, people will butcher your words and dilute your message. This reduces the probability of getting retweeted. Are you getting better at brevity?

REMEMBER: You can’t make people retweet you.

All you can do is increase the probability of getting retweeted by becoming more retweetable.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How retweetable are you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “26 Ways to OUT Brand the Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

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