To keep up with the constantly changing way social media is used as well as the ongoing emergence of new social channels, Twitter continues to add features important to businesses. For example, Twitter now provides insights into how individual tweets are performing and which tweets are getting the most views and clicks. After reading the article, “23 Epic Twitter Facts and Statistics That May Surprise You,” by Jeff Bullas, SPR has gathered some powerful statistics in order to help healthcare, insurance and technology companies perform better on Twitter.

How does this translate to your business?  To better understand the potential for greater engagement, here are some key facts about Twitter:

  • Timeline views during the first three months in 2015 reached 182 billion.
  • Twitter boasts a healthy 288 million monthly active users.
  • Mobile users should not be ignored as they represent 80 percent of active users.
  • The daily number of tweets sent daily reaches 500 million.
  • Three out of five television viewers are tweeting interactively during live broadcasts.
  • Original tweets have a slightly higher percentage of engagement over copied tweets.

Below are some Twitter insights to help refine your social media strategy, compiled from “12 Twitter Stats That Will Refine Your Twitter Strategy,” by Nicholas Grizzell:

  • Get retweeted. It is okay to ask for retweets. By doing this, you increase the potential for retweets by 23 percent, especially if you spell out the word “retweet.”
  • Shorten your links. Sites like Bitly can help you create a short link that you can used to direct to your company website, article, or other online location.
  • Don’t be passive. Action words are a great way to help boost your tweets. Download, visit, click here, retweet are great action words used encourage further engagement.
  • Tweeting after hours. Late night tweeting gets results. A study by TrackMaven shows that the best time to tweet is between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. EST (7:00 – 8:00 P.M. PST).
  • Respond in a timely manner. Even though your Twitter account may not have been created as an extension of your customer service, it organically does become that. People reach out and expect to receive a response.  Take the time to respond quickly.  One study shows that 53 percent of followers want a response within one hour.  This percentage increases to 72 if there is a complaint.
  • Don’t forget to add graphics. As noted above, photos and graphics are a great eye-catcher and help increase follower engagement. Tweets with graphics see a whopping average 581 percent increase. Original tweets with graphics have a much greater chance of being retweeted and shared.  On average, visual tweets have seen 150 percent more retweets.  Clickthroughs and favorites have seen 18 percent and 89 percent increases respectively.

Stay on top of breaking news with Twitter.  With the 140 characters expanded through links to resources, Twitter has become the go to source for in-the-moment news and updates.

Share your experiences and tweeting tips that you have found effective by leaving a comment below!

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR, marketing or social media campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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