Be More "ReTweetable"

One of the greatest benefits of social media sites such as Twitter for PR professionals is that it's an inexpensive (free) tool that you can use to get your message across, and potentially reach a large audience quickly.

We spend time crafting our tweets to have the most critical information in our limited 140 characters. After we hit "Tweet," we take a breath and hope for the viral message to spread. We go back to our @ page a few times a day and look for the desired "RTs" to begin. ReTweets don't always happen though, as creative as we try to be with those 140 characters.

Valerie Maltoni on her blog Conversation Agent, recently posted the article "What gets Retweeted?" to discuss what types of tweets have the best chance of being multiplied throughout the Twittersphere. Maltoni says the following are most likely to be ReTweeted:

• Research - you look smart by sharing and your network benefits from receiving
• News - you look like you're on top of things, your network sees and benefits from that
• Easy to digest tips and lists
• Offers
• Genuine requests for help - causes/stories you believe in and are passionate about

Another interesting tip to be aware of: Keep tweets between 100-125 characters so the ReTweeter doesn't have to edit before sending. The easier it is to share, the more likely your Tweeps will do so.

If you found the content of this article interesting, also visit Dan Zarrella's post about the science of ReTweets here. One of the many charts in his presentation illustrates that the most effective times to tweet are between 1 and 4 p.m. and the least effective times are between 7 and 10 a.m.

Happy ReTweet Seeking!