I recently read this super blog post from Dominic Jackson at Sprout Social '26 Twitter Tips for Beginners You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner'. These tips aren't just for beginners, sometimes we all need a refresher. We all get stuck in our ways, for example, I thought I was master of the downward dog in yoga, only to go to a class and realise the 'correct' way to do it.
So here I have condensed the list down to 5 top twitter tips to get you started, or if you're already a Twitter pro think of it as a little refresher course...
1. Engage More Than You broadcast
"Somewhere along the line, brands appear to have forgotten that Twitter is a social network."
Businesses often bamboozle their followers by broadcasting their products/ideas and forget about interaction on Twitter. We are all guilty of this, but remember that Twitter is actually fun.
On my personal account I often tweet authors about the books I have been reading with my kids, and I just love it when they respond. This is what makes Twitter so brilliant!
On Equinet Media's account, we interact with other users on relevant topics to our business. It makes it interesting and it makes it personal.
So don't forget to interact with what you see on your timeline. If you are following hundreds of people, make Twitter lists - making interaction with specific groups even simpler.
2. Jump on Relevant Trending Topics
"…join in on trending topics."
In the office we have a 'Days Of' calendar from mylegoman.com, this has the whole 352 days of the year covered with what 'day' it is...there is Roald Dahl Day, Pepperoni Pizza Day, Martini Day...the list goes on. It's a bit of fun, but also a great way to interact on social.
You can also look at what trends are peaking on twitter. Use these trending topics to post relevant posts and interact with others.
3. Take Advantage of 280 Characters
"In 2017, Twitter made the decision expand its character limit from 140 to 280. And while people may have their opinions on whether it was a good or bad idea, the reality is it lets you fit more in each tweet. Don’t take it for granted."
You can do great things like this... what's not to love!
4. Automate When It Makes Sense
"There’s a good and bad side to social media automation. It can be an extremely helpful way to be more productive, or turn your Twitter account into a complete chatbot that nobody wants to deal with."
Take heed from Sprout Social, don't go and bombard your followers. Use scheduling to your advantage but in a measured way. We use HubSpot to schedule our social media, and it is a great tool. Allowing us to schedule posts well into the future and at times of day when you probably aren't going to be sitting at your desk to tweet, but when people are still scrolling Twitter.
5. Optimize Your Blog Post Titles in Tweets
"...when you’re tweeting an article, you don’t have to just use the blog post’s title for your tweet."
I cannot stress this enough. You or your content team have spent time writing a great blog post, don’t just dump it on Twitter with the same title and expect it to gain momentum and interest. When scheduling your blog post, use at least three different titles to link to the same blog post, vary the length of the title too and measure what gains more traction within your Twitter analytics.
Also, make sure to tag people who might have been mentioned in the post.
So there you have it, 5 quick twitter tips!
Whether you’re just starting out with a fresh Twitter account or have been tasked with growing an account for an established brand, it’s never a bad idea to learn some new tips and tactics to set yourself up for success. That’s why we decided to compile a list of some of our favorite Twitter tips for beginners. From avoiding embarrassing Twitter fails to getting engagement or just figuring out what to tweet, we’ve got you covered.
