Want to write content marketing pieces that get shared?

Before publishing content, make sure it’s entertaining. That’s the No. 1 reason people share content, according to Chadwick Martin Bailey:^[1]

• Because I find it interesting/entertaining: 72%
• Because I think it will be helpful to recipients: 58%
• To get a laugh: 58%

(Another approach: Reach readers on an emotional level, according to a study of most-shared content at The New York Times.)

Want to write high-quality content that gets your stories read and your organization followed? Here are three ways for making all kinds of content marketing efforts more interesting and entertaining.

Steal from the FBI.

That is, steal techniques for writing entertaining tweets from @FBIPressOffice.

OK, granted, the FBI material is great. You’re probably not writing about bad cops, undercover stings and dog-fighting rings. But here are some tricks any of us can use:

1. Write mini-heads. When used with captions, two- to four-word “catchlines” draw attention and increase readership. I suspect the clever, feature-y mini-heads on these tweets — “Gotcha!,” “A Dangerous Betrayal” and “Bodies of Evidence,” for instance — do the same thing.

“Gotcha!: Bad Cops Caught, Part II: Five cops go bad in Memphis, Tennessee, and the FBI worked with police. http://bit.ly/d4M1h”

“A DANGEROUS BETRAYAL: The Case of the Cash Hungry Contractor: An undercover sting helped prevent a federal energ… http://tinyurl.com/lzvnrp”

“CANINE CRUELTY: Five-State Dog Fighting Ring Busted: A year-long multi-agency investigation results in approxima… http://tinyurl.com/mffmh6”

2. Find the drama. You’re sharing a story, right? Not just promoting your products or services?
If so, then something interesting must be happening here. If not, your problem isn’t the writing, it’s the content. Reconsider your tweet.

“CRIME FROM BEHIND BARS: The Case of the Con Turned Con Artist: Inside a two-year identity theft and bribery scheme … http://bit.ly/c4AfNq”

3. Push the verb. Remember, the verb is the story. Verbs like “go bad,” “busted” and “exploit” tell good stories. Verbs like “announce” and “introduces” just point to the noun.

“Fraudsters Continue to Exploit Telecommunication Relay Services http://tinyurl.com/n6jkdg”

Plus, research by Dan Zarrella shows that tweets containing novel words tend to be retweeted more often than those that don’t.

4. Choose interesting nouns. Verbs are the story, but nouns help, too. “Sting,” “ring,” “bad cops,” “body farm” and “fraudsters” are fascinating nouns.

Phrases like “Year-long multi-agency investigation” are not. Use Visual Thesaurus and other tools to choose more like the former and fewer like the latter.

“BODIES OF EVIDENCE: Part 1: FBI Trains at Body Farm: Every year, 40 Evidence Response Team members arrive on a w… http://tinyurl.com/kjla6l”

5. Model the masters. Follow @FBI to find ideas and inspiration for your own tweets.

Tweet like WADOT.

The Washington State Department of Transportation Twitter feed brings a sense of humor to public service announcements and other official communications. Take a tip from these tweets when creating content of your own:

“@blowdart Doh! We’ll do better next time. We feel the same way about ‘daylight-saving time’ – hyphenated, no S.”

“PSA O’day: It’s not the luck of the Irish that’ll get you home safely; it’s a cabby or DD. Don’t drink and drive. #stpattysday”

“Thunder, lightning, hail & rain, oh my. http://twitpic.com/49trz5 Be sure to leave extra space btwn you and the cars in front.”

“Expecting busy weekend for @wsferries. Pack patience if ferry trip planned for this wknd. Ferry alerts: http://bit.ly/9EfdcV”

“Slightly giddy watching tug pull the 1st pontoon, then reminded there are 76 more to go: http://bit.ly/S7COZL #followthetug”

“There’s a breakdown worth gawking at … a couple of gorgeous classics on SB I-405 exit to SE 8th. http://yfrog.com/ocxk8ktj”

Blog like Alex Robinson.

Alex Robinson, CIO of Norwich Union UK, the world’s sixth-largest insurance group, brings the humor to his internal IT blog. You heard me. I said humor … IT blog. Here are a few of his pieces:

Write entertaining content marketing campaigns.

To reach your target audience, use these techniques for all of your content creation? Good writing is good writing regardless of the types of content, whether you’re writing a blog post or a brochure, a tweet or a treatise.

So write interesting, entertaining, funny digital marketing pieces. That’s one of the best content marketing strategies there is.

[1] The Content Marketing Institute agrees!

The post How to write entertaining content marketing pieces appeared first on Wylie Communications, Inc..

How can you write social media messages that are relevant, valuable and interesting to friends, fans and followers?

Pass educational consultant Angela Maiers’ 70-20-10 test. That is:

1. Share 70% of the time.

Give readers information they can use to live their lives better by linking to valuable information — new research, tipsheets and tools

That’s what Guy Kawasaki does. Kawasaki makes himself a go-to guy with interesting, valuable tweets like these:

• Forget the press release http://sbne.ws/r/qvP
• Top Twriters: 25 writers to follow on Twitter. http://adjix.com/n83r
• Research on the cause of the gender earnings gap http://sbne.ws/r/qkG
• Social media’s 10 commandments http://is.gd/vmcKjd
• 5 tips for power tweeting http://is.gd/FoA5J2

Tweets like these have earned Kawasaki a spot on Hubspot’s Twitter Elite — tweeters who have the highest power and reach in the Twitter community.

2. Engage 20%.

Put the social in social media: Connect, converse, ask questions, answer them, respond to people who mention you and generally help out your online connections.

You’ll find this approach on Southwest Airlines’ Twitter feed. Sample tweets:

• Hey everyone, if you have a good winglet pic or airplane window photos ‪@cnnireport wants them! Info here: http://on.cnn.com/PlFJzx
• ‪@BlessNDress I’m sorry to hear you are having trouble. Please follow & DM your info. & additional feedback. I’ll see if we can help.
• Alright, NYC locals … tourist attractions are great, but what are your favorite hidden gems? What would you do in one day in New York City?

This engaging Twitter style landed Southwest’s Twitter feed on Time magazine’s list of Top 10 corporate tweeters.

3. Chirp 10%.

In one in 10 tweets, Maiers suggests, go ahead and chit-chat about yourself.

Because the bulk of his tweets inform instead of meforming, the late Zappos CEO Tony Hsei can get away with the occasional chirp like this:

“Swam in Silverton mermaid aquarium on my birthday! Wore costume b/c they don’t allow birthday suits. http://twitpic.com/3fpe9r”

Hsei is another honoree on Time magazine’s list of of Top 10 corporate tweeters.

But beware: A little chirping goes a long way. Too much can veer into corporate narcissism.

The post How to engage via social media appeared first on Wylie Communications, Inc..

Want to expand your reach and influence on Twitter? Share links.

Why links?

Research shows that:

1. Links increase followers.

The more links you share, the more followers you’ll get, according to research by viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella.

For his study, Zarrella analyzed a random selection of more than 130,000 Twitter users. He found that the more links tweeters share the more followers they get.

Twitter accounts with more than 1,000 followers tend to tweet many more links than those with fewer than 1,000 followers.

Starbucks is a master of this approach. The coffee merchant’s tweeters tweet links to recipes, photos and all things coffee. Sample tweets:

“Mmmm, coffee cupcakes!”

“What’s the secret ingredient in our Chocolate Cinnamon Bread? A pinch of #nomnom”

“Cheers! Coffee Ice Cream Martinis #starbucksicecream”

“Tiramisu Ice Cream Parfaits anyone?”

Sharing valuable resources via links helped land Starbucks on Time magazine’s list of best corporate Twitter feeds.

People want to know what you know. Link to your research and resources.

2. Links go viral.

The more links you share, the more retweets you’ll get, according to Zarrella’s research. For this study, Zarrella looked at nearly 10 million random tweets and 10 million retweets.

He found that nearly 60% of retweets include links; fewer than 20% of non-retweeted tweets do.

In another study, this one by SalesForce, tweets with links generated 86% more retweets than those without.

See how it’s done on JetBlue’s Twitter feed. The discount airline’s tweeters tweet links to travel tips and cheap seats. Sample tweets:

“Thunderstorms in the Northeast are causing delays and possible cancellations. Fee waivers in effect, check details at http://bit.ly/jbalert”

“To celebrate our newest destination Grand Cayman, we’re offering fares from JFK at $139 & Boston at $159 terms apply. http://cot.ag/OfgTBa”

“Getaways Cheeps! $299 pp/dbl occ limited avail 2nt pkgs to Nassau, Bahamas w/air from JFK or HPN. Terms apply. http://cot.ag/J8yBkB”

JetBlue also made Time magazine’s list of top corporate tweeters.

Want people to spread the word? Provide links to resources, tips and tools.

Best practices for linking

OK, so you’re in for more links. To make the most of your links, use these linking best practices:

1. Link 60% to 80% of the time.

Share links in 60 to 80% of your tweets, Zarrella counsels.

One great model of this approach is Southwest Airline’s Twitter feed. The discount airline’s tweeters tweet links to travel tips and cheap seats. Sample tweets:

“Hey DENVER! @byallmeansband will provide the summer sounds @downtowndenver tonight w/ a free concert!  Details here: http://cot.ag/OM6drM”

“Does your travel to-do list include attending a concert at the famed @RedRocksCO? We’re here to help.”

“We’ve lowered fares for fall travel with prices starting at $69 one-way to select destinations! (restrictions apply) http://cot.ag/MXOcd1”

Southwest also made Time magazine’s list of best corporate tweeters.

2. Where to place links.

Turns out there’s a place for everything on Twitter, too.

Followers are more likely to click on links placed 25% into your tweet than at the beginning or end, according to Zarrella’s research.

For his study, he used bit.ly API to analyze 200,000 random Tweets containing bit.ly links. Then he correlated the relationship of the link’s position in the tweet with its click-through rate. Those located 25% of the way in got the most click-throughs.

Want to increase click-throughs? It may be a matter of nudging your link a little to the left.

Link up.

Want your social media status updates to move further and faster? Share more links.

The post How to engage audiences on social media: Share links appeared first on Wylie Communications, Inc..

In a recent “Dilbert” cartoon, Dilbert and Wally beg their pointy-haired boss to keep them constantly updated on all his daily activities via Twitter.

“We find you fascinating,” Wally says. “Oh, yes. Every little thing you do is interesting.”

Fast forward to the last frame, where Wally and Dilbert are sitting with their feet up in the conference room, drinking coffee and checking Twitter on their mobile phones.

“Where’s idiot boy now?” Wally asks.

“In the parking lot,” Dilbert answers. “No need to look busy yet.”

Are you meforming?

Do you really think your social media users find every little thing you do fascinating?

Four out of five Twitter users seem to, according to a study by Rutgers University professors Mor Naaman and Jeffrey Boase.

The professors dissected more than 3,000 tweets from more than 350 Twitter users and concluded that 80% of tweeters are “meformers”— those who write mostly “me now” status updates. “Me now” updates cover everyday activities, like going to yoga or heading to happy hour.

The organizational version of meforming includes, “XYZ Company …”:

• President of XYZ company to present conference speech.
• XYZ Company moves to new office space.
• XYZ Company launches new product.
• XYZ Company hires new VP.
• XYZ Company wins award.
• XYZ Company signs client.

“There’s a lot of me in social media,” says thought leader Brian Solis. He refers to social media as the “egosystem.” And he points out the great big I in the middle of Twitter.

There’s a lot of me in social media.

— Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter Group

This study comes on the heels of research showing that 40% of all tweets are pointless babble, along the lines of “Eating a sandwich now,” according to a random sample of 2,000 messages by Pear Analytics.

No wonder 57% of Generation Y members believe social media is for narcissists, according to a new study by San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge.

So how do we avoid organizational narcissism? Whether you’re developing blog post content or social media posts, polishing your social media presence, creating your content calendar or just staying active in front of your social networks, these seven content marketing strategies should keep you relevant to your prospective customers:

1. Write to and about the reader.

It’s the most retweeted word in the English language, according to viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella: You.

And no wonder. Regardless of the type of content you’re creating, starting with you pushes the benefits to the front of the sentence and focuses your message on your target audience’s favorite subject.

Second-person pronouns — like you — increase readability. First-person pronouns, like we, reduced it.

— Ralph Tyler and Edgar Dale pronoun research

In fact, we’ve known that you was a writing power tool since 1934. That’s the year Ralph Tyler and Edgar Dale had adults read passages about personal health taken from newspapers, magazines, textbooks and children’s health books. Then they gave the readers multiple-choice tests about what they’d read.

The researchers found that the more second-person pronouns — you’s— existed in the passages, the higher readability soared. First-person pronouns (I, me, we, us) and third-person pronouns (she, her, he, him, it, they, them), on the other hand, reduced readability.

“It’s not ‘who, what, when, where, why and how,’ it’s ‘YOU, what, when, where, why and how.’”

— Anita Allen, communicator at Sabre Travel Solutions

Folks, that’s 80 years of research telling us to write about the reader and the reader’s needs. That’s not exactly breaking news. And still, day after day, year after year, we show up at work, open our laptops and write — once again — about us and our stuff.

“People spend 99% of the time thinking about themselves,” says Liam Scott, a Toronto-based speechwriter. “Actually, that’s probably a little low.”

Digital marketers: The results are in, and you won. Want to reach the reader? Write to and about the reader.

2. Put the reader first.

Here’s a simple step: Start your next sentence with you.

• Instead of We’re introducing a new disability insurance, try You’ll get back to work faster, thanks to our new Ability Assurance.
• Instead of com helps you improve productivity, try Get all your work done in half the time, be the office hero and go home early with Trainingnet.com’s new webinar.
• Instead of XYZ company offers SuperPlantGro, try You’ll grow bigger, lusher plants — and never have to water again — with XYZ’s SuperPlantGro

To focus your message on your readers’ interests, put the reader first. Start your sentence — start all of your social media marketing, for that matter — with you.

3. Try the imperative voice.

Also known as the command voice, the imperative voice can be commanding: Go to your room! Do the dishes! Take out the trash!

Think of it instead as the invitation voice: Make money … Save money … Save time … Avoid effort.

When sharing content, write directly to your readers about how they can benefit from your products, services, programs and ideas.

4. Use a placeholder for you.

When you doesn’t work, try a placeholder for you. That’s what the writers of these headlines from PRSA Silver Anvil Award-winning campaigns did:

• Blood Cancer Patients and Advocates Visit Capitol Hill to Inspire Continued Support for Be the Match: July 18 Legislative Day event aimed at delivering more cures to patients in need (Be the Match)
• Teens Get Opportunity to Celebrate With an Idol: State Farm and Grammy Award Winner Kelly Clarkson team up for teen driver safety (State Farm)
• Parents and teen drivers dangerously disconnected: New State Farm survey reveals an alarming gap between parents’ and teens views on driver safety licensing laws (State Farm)

5. Count me out.

The more you talk about yourself on Twitter, the fewer followers you’re likely to have.

Or so says Zarrella. Using TweetPsyche data on more than 60,000 Twitter users, he looked at self-reference on Twitter. He found that Twitter users who don’t talk about themselves much tend to have more users.

“Want more followers?” Zarrella asks. “Stop talking about yourself.”

6. Spread yourself thin.

The more you tweet about yourself, the fewer retweets you’ll get.

Zarrella compared tweets that had been retweeted with those that had not. Non-retweets had nearly twice the number of self-references as tweets that went viral.

“I’m not on Twitter to hear about you and your life,” Zarrella writes. “I mean, unless we’re friends in real life, of course. I’m on Twitter to get information that will either benefit me, or help others (and by extension, benefit me). … So stop talking about yourself, and make content that others can relate to and get value from!”

7. Make it all about me on Facebook.

On the other hand, talking about yourself on Facebook actually increases engagement.

Zarrella learned that status updates with personal references (I, me) tend to get more likes than those without.

That’s in contrast with … well, every channel everywhere in the history of mankind. Usually, focusing on you, or writing to and about the reader, works better than self-reference.

Stop meforming.

One more finding from Zarrella: While you is the most retweeted word in the English language, me-focused words reduce retweets.

Among the least retweeted words in the English language: Answers to the original Twitter question, “Whatcha doing,” including “-ing” words, like “going,” “watching,” “listening.”

As in “I am.”

As in “me now.”

Sorry, “meformers”: We’re just not that into you.

On Twitter, as in so much more in life, better “you” than me.

The post How to be relevant on social media appeared first on Wylie Communications, Inc..

“How do you find time to tweet?” my speakers’ network e-zine asked subscribers.

“I don’t have time to not use social media,” I wrote back.

That’s because the people I follow on social media (heart emojis to @ShelHoltz, @BillSpaniel, @mar_de_palabras and others who surprise and delight me every day) serve as sort of a virtual research team. They scour the Web, finding valuable information — new studies, quotes, resources and insights — so I don’t have to.

“Our readers don’t want to just read stories. What they really want is a big button they can push that says, ‘Solve my problem.’ It’s up to us to be the button.”

— Brian J. O’Connor, editor at Bankrate.com

That is, they’re “informers” — the 20% of Twitter users who tweet information, ideas and insights — not “meformers.”

Not surprisingly, informers have nearly three times as many followers as meformers, according to a study by Rutgers University professors Mor Naaman and Jeffrey Boase.

Just two-thirds (66%) of content marketing programs prioritize their audience’s informational needs over their organization’s sales/promotional message, according to the 2020 B2B Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America (PDF), a new study by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. Yet, 88% of the top performers do.

Here are 9 ways to increase engagement on social media by being an informer, not a meformer:

1. Share helpful information.

Why do people share on email, Twitter and Facebook and other social networks? According to a study by Chadwick Martin Bailey:

• Because I find it interesting/entertaining: 72%
• Because I think it will be helpful to recipients: 58%
• To get a laugh: 58%

Want your status updates to travel the world instead of staying home on the couch? Get people to share your content by making your social media posts helpful to your audience.

2. Write service stories.

What kind of information do people retweet? News and how-tos (PDF), according to research by Dan Zarrella, viral marketing scientist for HubSpot.

Here’s how often six kinds of information get shared on Twitter:

• News: 78%
• How-to information: 58%
• Entertainment: 53%
• Opinion: 50%
• Products: 45%
• Small talk: 12%

Please note: News is what CNN and the BBC report. It’s not your urgent updates about your Widget 2.6.3.1.

That leaves how-to information, or service stories, as our best bet for content, according to Twitter analytics.

Want your content marketing pieces to move more quickly through your social channels? Create content that’s packed with tips and techniques.

3. Cover solutions, not services.

How can business-to-business bloggers build brand awareness by engaging readers?

1. Focus on the customer, not on the company. Don’t let your posts sound like a series of press releases. Instead, ask, “What problems can I solve? What expertise can I share? What issues can I weigh in on?” Answering questions and providing good service are good social media marketing.
2. Think of your company as a publisher. “Blog like you’re the best trade magazine in your industry,” says Kipp Bodnar, inbound marketing manager at Hubspot.
3. Promote resources, not products and services. Share white papers, studies, webinars and conference speeches on your social media platforms.

“They don’t really care about your products,” says Rick Burnes, inbound marketing manager at HubSpot. “What they’re interested in is solutions to their problems.”

Offering tips and techniques that serve your customers also help you position your company as the expert in the field.

4. Tweet like H&R Block.

That’s what H&R Block does. The company’s Twitter feed offers tax tips and help on demand. Sample tweets:

“IRS urges you to perform a Paycheck Checkup today to make sure your tax withholding is right for you. [Link]”

“Have a question or problem while doing your taxes online? We have tax pros standing by to call or chat. If you’re really stuck, they can even share your screen to help you through it. Expert help, if and when you need it with H&R Block online. [Link]”

“More people file free with H&R Block Online. Find out if you’re one of them: [Link]”

This how-to approach earned H&R Block a place on Time magazine’s list of top 10 corporate Twitter feeds.

5. Share tips & techniques.

Take a tip from Whole Foods Market: Give your social media network news they can use. The all-organic market tweets recipes and how-to stories about cooking:

“Check out our foolproof three-step method to cutting a mango. Plus, get tropical ideas for ceviche, grilling and desserts. [Link]”

“We got an all-access pass to @Joan_Nathan’s kitchen while she helped us create our Passover dinner menu. Check it out: [Link]”

“This melon guide is big summer vibes. Check it out: [Link]”

“Our wine experts pair the top 12 wines with summer. Reds, whites and bubbles for all occasions. Read their suggestions now. [Link]”

Whole Foods’ recipes and service stories have made it one of the most followed brands on Twitter, with 1.9 million followers. No wonder Whole Foods landed on Time magazine’s list of top 10 corporate Twitter feeds.

What tips and techniques can you share on your Instagram account?

6. Quantify value with numerals in headlines.

Coverlines with numbers sell publications at the checkout counter. That’s because those numbers promise quantity and value. (Oddly, odd numbers sell better than even ones.)

The same thing’s true in social media. Add a numeral to your blog post headline, and it will make the rounds more widely on Facebook pages.

“In a wide range of marketing arenas, digits have been shown to perform very well,” Zarrella writes. “They tend to help conversion rates in the form of prices. And on social news sites like Digg, ‘Top 10’ style posts have always done well.”

In Zarrella’s research, blog post headlines:

• Including the numerals 1 through 9 got passed along more often than average on Facebook
• Without digits got shared less often than average on Facebook

7. Deliver more value through links.

The more links you share, the more followers you’ll get, according to research by viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella. For his study, Zarrella analyzed a random selection of more than 130,000 Twitter users.

He found that Twitter accounts with more than 1,000 followers tend to tweet many more links than those with fewer than 1,000 followers.

And the more links you share, the more retweets you’ll get, according to Zarrella. For this study, Zarrella looked at nearly 10 million random tweets and 10 million retweets.

He found that nearly 60% of retweets include links; fewer than 20% of non-retweeted tweets do.

8. Post novel ideas.

Stop posting the same old thing. Fresh ideas — even fresh words — move further and faster on social media.

For this study, Zarrella counted how many times each word appeared in his sample set of 10 million tweets:

• Each word in a regular tweet was found 89.19 other times in the sample.
• Each word in a retweet was found only 16.37 other times.

Want to get retweeted? Share something different. You might even coin your own word.

9. Transform news and events into insights.

Alan Weiss is the consultant’s consultant. His social media status updates rock.

Instead of blah-blahing about what he ate for dinner or bragging that he’s tweeting from the Imperial Suite at the Park Hyatt-Vendôme, he spins news items and everyday events into insights and ideas:

“If you want a referral, don’t ask someone to ‘represent’ you and never send materials. Here’s the line to request: ‘Joan, I’d like to introduce Tom who’s done outstanding work and I think the two of you would benefit significantly from knowing each other.’”

“Use observed behavior and evidence, not ad hominem attack and assumption. ‘You’re late by 15 minutes each time we schedule critical calls on which you’re needed,’ is better than ‘You’re clearly not a team player.’”

“If you don’t know the size of your prospect’s business, or their major competition, or if they’re independent or a subsidiary, don’t show up. Or did you pass all your tests in school without studying? If so, I guess you’re just gifted….”

How can you take a tip from Weiss and transform news and everyday events into insights and ideas?

Learn more ways to engage your audience on social media.

Are you an informer? Or a meformer?

The post How to engage an audience on social media appeared first on Wylie Communications, Inc..

Which of these Facebook posts is most likely to increase engagement?

“We’re pleased to introduce our latest WhatzIts.”

“Try these three ways to build your business using WhatzIts.”

“How ’bout dem Bears?”

If you guessed the second one, you’re right, according to Facebook’s own research.

For the study, Facebook researchers looked at more than 1,200 posts from 23 brands. Then they ran the posts through a quantitative model that predicts which posts will generate more engagement — aka likes, comments and shares.

Brand-related posts perform best, the researchers found. But not all brand-related posts: Product and service promotions didn’t fare well in the study.

So:

Don’t go off brand.

Non-brand-related posts — “Hang in there everybody. Monday will be over before we know it!” — don’t engage fans very well, either.

“Data from Facebook itself tell us that what looks good on the social-media guru’s presentation deck isn’t the best approach for making Facebook work for the brand.”

— Matt Creamer, in AdAge

“Among the weirdness Facebook’s existence has loosed upon the world is the idea that it’s OK, and perhaps even good business, for brands to sidle up and give you verbal balm for your case of the Mondays, ask for predictions on the big game and offer random thoughts on things that have not a whit to do with their product or service,” writes Matt Creamer in AdAge.

“The touchy-feely strategy is meant to be conversational — human, even. But new data from Facebook itself tell us that what looks good on the social-media guru’s presentation deck isn’t the best approach for making Facebook work for the brand.”

2. Avoid small talk.

Small talk performs poorly on Twitter, too.

Small talk is the type of content least likely to be retweeted (PDF), according to research by viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella.

Here’s how often six key kinds of content get shared on Twitter:

1. News: 78% (FYI: This is for CNN and the BBC. They’re not looking for urgent updates about your Widget 6.3.7.)
2. How-to information: 58%
3. Entertainment: 53%
4. Opinion: 50%
5. Products: 45%
6. Small talk: 12%

Want more retweets? Pack blog posts and status updates with tips and techniques.

3. Avoid too much chatting.

Tweeters who send a lot of @ replies are less likely to get retweeted than those who chit-chat less, according to another study by Zarrella. For this study, he analyzed the percentage of “@” replies to find the effect of conversing on Twitter results.

How much conversation is enough? Aim for about 10% “@” replies among your tweets.

“It makes sense when you think about it,” Zarrella writes. “I’m much more likely to retweet an interesting piece of content that you’ve posted than a bit of Twitter chit-chat, especially when that chit-chat is part of an ongoing conversation of which I’m not a part.”

4. Don’t answer ‘What are you doing?’

What are you doing? That question has launched a gazillion tweets. Turns out your Twitter followers don’t really want to know.

In another study, Zarella analyzed his database of more than 30 million retweets, comparing them to a sample of more than 2 million random tweets.

The result: His list of the 20 least retweetable words:

1. Game
2. Going
3. Haha
4. Lol
5. But
6. Watching
7. Work
8. Home
9. Night
10. Bed
11. Well
12. Sleep
13. Gonna
14. Hey
15. Tired
16. Tomorrow
17. Some
18. Back
19. Bored
20. Listening

What do you notice about these words?

Hey! I’m watching the webinar while listening to the game. Haha!

I’m bored at work, so I’m going home. Lol. I’ll be back tomorrow.

I’m tired. Gonna go to bed and get some sleep. Night! Sleep well!

Nobody wants to know what you’re doing! So stop me-forming!

Instead of telling your followers what you’re eating for breakfast, recommend a great blog post or article.

___

Sources: Matt Creamer, “Facebook to Brands: You’re Posting Stuff Wrong,” AdAge, May 7, 2012

Dan Zarrella, “The Science of ReTweets,” HubSpot

Dan Zarrella, “What percentage of your tweets should be links or replies,” January 11, 2012

Dan Zarrella, “The 20 least retweetable words,” August 25, 2009

The post How to engage with your audience on social media: Avoid small talk appeared first on Wylie Communications, Inc..

Not everyone wants to play, “What’s the last word in the headline?” says Andy Bechtel, associate professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill.

So write web heads that don’t get truncated by Google, social media channels, mobile apps — or your reader’s attention.

How short? Make sure your web heads are short enough to:

1. Get seen on Google.

Google’s search results display only the first 63 characters of your headline. To avoid getting your head cut off on Google, keep headlines to 55 characters or fewer.

Remember: Google never bought a product, voted in an election or supported a cause. So write headlines for humans; optimize them for Google.

2. Get shared on social media.

How will your headline look when it shows up on Facebook, Twitter and other social sharing sites?

To avoid getting your head cut off on social media, aim for 55 characters or less.

3. Get seen on mobile devices.

Mobile apps and websites often truncate long headlines. To avoid getting your head cut off on mobile apps, follow the Associated Press’s guideline and limit headlines to fewer than 40 characters.

4. Reach readers on the go.

You have only a few seconds to reach mobile audiences before they swipe left or leave for another site. They want to scan at a glance, not study for a minute.

Plus, long headlines get lost below the fold or take up too much valuable real estate on mobile screens.

To avoid getting your head cut off, keep your web head to 8 words or fewer, or about 40 characters. That’s the length readers can understand at a glance, according to research by The American Press Institute.

But online, shorter’s better. My personal preference is web heads of 6 words or less, or about 30 characters.

Off with your head

Hey, all those extra words aren’t worth losing your head over. So when writing for mobile audiences, write headlines to go. Keep your head short.

___

Sources: Andy Bechtel, “Writing Headlines for Digital and Mobile Media,” Poynter News University, Dec. 5, 2013

Eric Ulken, “Writing Online Headlines: SEO and Beyond,” Poynter News University

Eric Ulken, “Writing Headlines for the web 2010,” Poynter News University, July 29, 2010

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“How do you find time for social media?” my speakers’ network e-zine asked subscribers.

“I don’t have time to not use social media,” I wrote back.

That’s because the people I follow on social media (heart emojis to @ShelHoltz, @BillSpaniel, @mar_de_palabras and others who surprise and delight me every day) serve as sort of a virtual research team. They scour the web, finding valuable information — new studies, quotes, resources and insights — so I don’t have to.

That is, they’re “informers” — the 20% of Twitter users who tweet information, ideas and insights — not “meformers.”

Not surprisingly, informers have nearly three times as many followers as meformers, according to a study by Rutgers University professors Mor Naaman and Jeffrey Boase.

Here’s how to be an informer, not a meformer:

1. Share helpful information.

Why do people share? According to a study by Chadwick Martin Bailey:

1. Because I find it interesting/entertaining: 72%
2. Because I think it will be helpful to recipients: 58%
3. To get a laugh: 58%

Want your status updates to travel the world instead of staying home on the couch? Make them helpful to your social media network.

2. Write service stories.

What kind of information do people retweet? News and how-tos (PDF), according to research by Dan Zarrella, viral marketing scientist for HubSpot.

Here’s how often six kinds of information get shared on Twitter:

1. News: about 78%
2. How-to information: about 58%
3. Entertainment: about 53%
4. Opinion: 50%
5. Products: about 45%
6. Small talk: about 12%

Please note: News is what CNN and the BBC report. It’s not your urgent updates about your Widget 2.6.3.1.

That leaves how-to information, or service stories, as our best bet for content.

Want more retweets? Pack blog posts and status updates with tips and techniques.

3. Tweet like H&R Block.

That’s what H&R Block does. The company’s Twitter feed offers tax tips and help on demand. Sample tweets:

“IRS urges you to perform a Paycheck Checkup today to make sure your tax withholding is right for you.  http://thndr.me/87pU7v”

“Have a question or problem while doing your taxes online? We have tax pros standing by to call or chat. If you’re really stuck, they can even share your screen to help you through it. Expert help, if and when you need it with H&R Block online. http://bit.ly/2AprdFm”

“More people file free with H&R Block Online. Find out if you’re one of them: http://bit.ly/OnlineTaxFilingHRB”

This how-to approach earned H&R Block a place on Time magazine’s list of top 10 corporate Twitter feeds.

4. Post novel ideas.

Stop posting the same old thing. Fresh ideas — even fresh words — move further and faster on social media.

For this study, Zarrella counted how many times each word appeared in his sample set of 10 million tweets:

• Each word in a regular tweet was found 89.19 other times in the sample.
• Each word in a retweet was found only 16.37 other times.

Want to get retweeted? Share something different. You might even coin your own word.

5. Share tips & techniques.

Take a tip from Whole Foods Market: Give your social media network news they can use. The all-organic market tweets recipes and how-to stories about cooking:

“Check out our foolproof three-step method to cutting a mango. Plus, get tropical ideas for ceviche, grilling and desserts. http://bit.ly/2VE1m5f  #Mangoes #MakesMeWhole”

“We got an all-access pass to @Joan_Nathan’s kitchen while she helped us create our Passover dinner menu. Check it out: http://bit.ly/2UQItiW  #Passover #MakesMeWhole”

“This melon guide is big summer vibes. Check it out: http://bit.ly/2vxeEF8  #Melons #MakesMeWhole”

“Our wine experts pair the top 12 wines with summer. Reds, whites and bubbles for all occasions. Read their suggestions now. http://bit.ly/2YTbg47”

Whole Foods’ recipes and service stories have made it one of the most followed brands on Twitter, with 1.9 million followers. No wonder Whole Foods landed on Time magazine’s list of top 10 corporate Twitter feeds.

6. Transform news and events into insights.

Alan Weiss is the consultant’s consultant. His social media status updates rock.

Instead of blah-blahing about what he ate for dinner or bragging that he’s tweeting from the Imperial Suite at the Park Hyatt-Vendôme, he spins news items and everyday events into insights and ideas:

“If you want a referral, don’t ask someone to ‘represent’ you and never send materials. Here’s the line to request: ‘Joan, I’d like to introduce Tom who’s done outstanding work and I think the two of you would benefit significantly from knowing each other.’”

“Use observed behavior and evidence, not ad hominem attack and assumption. ‘You’re late by 15 minutes each time we schedule critical calls on which you’re needed,’ is better than ‘You’re clearly not a team player.’”

“If you don’t know the size of your prospect’s business, or their major competition, or if they’re independent or a subsidiary, don’t show up. Or did you pass all your tests in school without studying? If so, I guess you’re just gifted….”

How can you take a tip from Weiss and transform news and everyday events into insights and ideas?

Are you an informer? Or a meformer?

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