Twitter Tricks for Your Target Audience
How to get the most out of your post.
By Jenna Kantor, PT, DPT
Before using any social media platform, you need to ask yourself, “Who is my target audience?”
If it is 21-year-olds, you’ll put your energy into YouTube. If it is teens, you’ll target Snapchat. If it is the American Physical Therapy Association, you’ll use Twitter. You get the idea. Assuming your target audience is on Twitter, let’s dive into some tricks to bring more attention to your posts.
Post video content. In a 2016 study, researchers found that video garnered the most attention on social media. These videos must be related to the audience you are addressing. It has to be in line with their work, hobbies, and overall passions. Otherwise, they will not care.
Make sure that the video addresses your main priority within the first three to seven seconds. Most people do not watch longer than that amount of time. For example, I always make sure I say my name and what I do first, so my target audience knows I’m the physical therapist for them. Also, videos with text tend to perform better. Even though it may take a little bit more time with editing, it is in your best interest to add this to your footage as well.
An image or GIF is a strong second to video, but your content won’t attract as much attention. The image must be of interest to your audience. An 80-year-old will not be as drawn to a picture of Beyoncé compared to a 21-year-old. A ballerina will like pictures of Margot Fonteyn, while a competitive lifter will be inspired by images of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
For every post, you must have the following text: audience, problem, and solution. There is a 280-character limit on Twitter. It is recommended to have your first three sentences address your main message.
Hashtags are key to keeping your post high on other people’s Twitter feeds. You can look up strong hashtags by typing them in the search bar and seeing how many use that hashtag compared to others. You can also look at frequent Twitter posters who are your target audience and see what hashtags they use. Keep lists of these popular hashtags to save yourself time in the future.
Retweeting content can help you build relationships as well as bring attention to your own brand. It’s a simple click of the button. Once again, make sure that what you are retweeting applies to your specific audience. Otherwise, you could gradually and subconsciously convince your target audience to pay more attention to tweets that are focused on them always.
No matter what you choose to do on Twitter, make sure that you are consistent. Consistency is the key to success. You can send a tweet once a month, once a week, or every day. Whatever you choose to do, commit to it.
I recognize that kind of commitment may be overwhelming, but you must choose your posting schedule with that in mind. It will significantly help your business for the long term.
Jenna Kantor, PT, DPT, is a PPS member, owner of Jenna Kantor Physical Therapy, PLLC, and co-founder of Fairytale Physical Therapy. She can be reached at jennafkantor@yahoo.com and @jennakantor.