How to Make Your Twitter Feed Not Shit

Hello! We’re David Schneider and David Levin, and together (with another David) we founded a social creative agency called That Lot.

We now have some people who aren’t called David working there too. Here are our top five Twitter tips for brands. Some will work for actual people too.

1. Be (a) human

When you’re tweeting as a brand, TV show or anything other than yourself, it’s important to have a voice or character in mind.

When David L tweets as @the_dolphin_pub, for example, he’s a 1990s R&B-loving, drunk, sweary idiot. People don’t want their tweets delivered stiffly by the butler from Downton Abbey.

The more you can humanise your tweets, the more likely other (real) humans are to enjoy them.

2. Ride the wave of topicality

Dipping your toe into topical events can be a great way to lure more eyeballs to your account. As a brand, it’s about entering a conversation that lots of people are having and putting your own spin on it. That’s not to say you have to talk about anything which trends and then crowbar your brand in. (And talking of #crowbars, there’s now 10 per cent off all Black & Decker tools...) Done in the right way, it can be hugely effective.

3. Try out some new tricks (even if you’re an old dog)

Twitter, like all the other social platforms we work with, is constantly evolving, so it’s worth thinking about how the new bells and whistles can serve your brand. Especially if you sell bells and whistles.

Right now, for instance, video and ‘social broadcasting’ are big, so maybe you can beam film live to all your followers via Periscope* (*other streaming services are available).

Whilst you’re unlikely to fill a virtual Wembley with your broadcast of someone assembling a flat-pack bunk-bed, if you have something worth transmitting directly into people’s eyes, this is certainly a way to make it more exciting.

4. If it ain’t broke…

In the same way Novak Djokovic didn’t switch to lawn bowls after his first tennis Grand Slam win, don’t be afraid to repeat your successes. If a Twitter poll has worked well, perhaps make it a regular thing. Similarly, if your Photoshop of your product, perched on a Kardashian posterior has ‘re-broken the internet’, maybe try something similar in the future.

Twitter’s collective memory span is definitely more goldfish than elephant.

5. We just got engaged!

There’s a lot of differing opinions about engaging with other accounts. Some brands use their feed for customer service, and whilst that’s fine, if you’re responding to hundreds of people a day, it can make the timeline a little messy.

However, responding in the right way to the right person at the right time can get you more social traction than an outbound tweet to all your followers.