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February 17, 2009
How to Go Viral on Twitter: The Science of ReTweeting
Dan Zarrella has been studying one of the most crucial aspects of Twitter: the ReTweet. This is when Twitterers repost something that another Twitterer has posted in their stream. Zarrella's findings can help you go viral on Twitter.
One of the most important findings is a basic marketing method that has been used across channels: the call to action. Tweets that flat-out ask for a ReTweet are more likely to, you guessed it, get ReTweeted.
So what's most likely to get ReTweeted? Freebies, lists, blog posts and meta Tweets (i.e. Tweets about Twitter).
Another interesting statistic is who is more likely to be ReTweeted. The most Tweeted users are:
1. StatSheet (1515.92)
2. yrtv (420.244)
3. MacHeist (386.29)
4. kshashi (313.207)
5. abcinnercircle (273.789)
If you can get a highly ReTweeted user to post something about you, then you're more likely to go viral on Twitter.
(Of course, like pitching bloggers, you'll have to be extremely delicate - covert, really - in how you go about doing this. You'll need to strike a relationship and offer something of value that will benefit the Twitter user.)
Last but not least are two final tips. If you want a ReTweet, include a link in your original Tweet. 65% of ReTweets include a link. Also, post those original Tweets during regular business hours. Most ReTweets occur between 8am and 5pm, peaking in the afternoon at around 3pm EST.
via Mashable
Related Reading:
Twitter Not Planning to Charge for Commercial Use
10 Ways Twitter Can Make Money
Are Social Media Experts Ruining Twitter?
Posted by Nathania Johnson on February 17, 2009 11:51 AM
Comments
"Of course, like pitching bloggers, you'll have to be extremely delicate - covert, really - in how you go about doing this."
Wrong. Just make cool content and it happens naturally.
Adam Singer February 17, 2009 3:15 PM
I'm with Adam. Delicate/covert sill usually looks spammy.
pnw fitness February 20, 2009 12:16 AM
With all due respect, if the effort is truly covert, you wouldn't be able to detect it. At all. If it looks spammy, it's not covert, and it's not worth re-tweeting.
Creating cool content only works if you can get it in front of eyeballs who can spread it virally. It's like creating a really, really nice basketball. Not really worth anything unless Michael Jordan signs it and you can throw it on eBay for a good sale.
Nathania Johnson February 20, 2009 12:26 AM
