What the data reveal about getting the best results from Twitter posts

As with any new phenomenon wherein masses gather – virtually or otherwise – the porn merchants, marketers, salespeople, spammers, consultants and other charitable creatures quickly jump into the fray.

Such is the case with Twitter, the micro-blogging site that has turned the world upside down with widespread zeal and confusion. Not really. The fact is that making sense of Twitter can be a confusing chore at first. Using it effectively appears even more so.

Many, aside from the spammers, marketers, salespeople, consultants, porn merchants and other charitable creatures, seem to use Twitter to engage in conservation as well as a tool for self promotion. But taking a step back from the phenomenon means looking behind the curtain of what Twitter use shows. This is where the research-minded step in.

Here are what some experiments reveal about Twitter usage. Keep in mind, I don’t necessarily recommend any of these, as each approach has its pros and cons, which I discuss below. Doing any of these without engaging others on Twitter will result in you looking like an uber-douche.

Nevertheless, Twitter research, albeit informal and uncontrolled, reveals patterns similar  to other online marketing research. These results are fascinating to me, though not necessarily surprising:

1. Mass following will result in increased click-through rates. I have made a three- to five-fold jump in my click-through, as measured by Tr.im, by simply creating a second Twitter account and by engaging in the “I’ll follow you if you follow me” game. I also went from 0 to nearly 1,000 followers in three weeks with minimal effort.
2. By targeting who you follow and who follows you, your click-through rate will likely be more meaningful than what you see from gratuitous followers. As mentioned here, taking the approach mentioned in #1 doesn’t inherently provide more value. My initial click-through comparison was roughly the same from both accounts despite the dramatic difference in the number of followers. In other words, if you genuine in your posting, following behavior and who you are speaking to, your click-through rate will be similar as mass following and spamming. An email to me after my initial post confirmed this by saying, “Dedicated followers (versus gratuitous followers) are actually interested in your content.”
3. Duplicate posts of the same “tweet” during the day will at least double your click-through rate. One blog post was auto-posted in the morning using Twitterfeed followed by an exact duplicate manual post. This was again reposted in the early afternoon. The result: a five-fold increase in click-through to that post.
4. The time of day you post will have an effect on click-through rates. Tim Ferriss did an experiment about this. The best time to post? 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, based on his results.
5. How you phrase your post matters. Again, Tim Ferriss says the way your tweet is written matters as far as click-through. “If you include a question, using it to begin the Tweet will increase click-through.”

Caveats

Here are some precautions for each of the above, in order:

1 and 2. I set up my second Twitter account deliberately, in part to better manage followers and in part for measurement purposes. I still engage as I would in any other medium, but I reserve my personal account for friends and people I know personally. This to me is effective time management and use of the technology.

3. I’m on the fence about duplicate posting. It seems like spamming to me; yet, the results are undeniably different than from just a single post. What are your thoughts on this? Re-tweets from others also increase with duplicate posting. Please let me know what you think in the comments below.

4. The time you post definitely shows differences in click-through rates. I suspect the day is important too. A Saturday afternoon post will likely have less click-through than a Tuesday afternoon post. But again, if you’re doing this just to do it, you’re going to come off similar to a spammer. Twitter is conversational and as with any public relations, you are better off if you are being authentic and engaging.

5. See number four. While how you phrase your post has an effect, it is important to keep in mind the conversational nature of Twitter.