Getting your message through on Twitter

Recently, my fiancé asked me how to reach people with his message on Twitter. He tried by using the same message over and over, and just adding other people or hashtags to it – something which only made him get a few retweets, but not really as he hoped.
As I thought my ideas could be valuable for other people as well, here’s a recap of what I advised him to do:

1. Identify the right hashtag

Define where people are chatting about your topic of interest. Some hashtags are just more “alive” than others. Some seem to spark great discussion and sharing of content, and those are the ones you might like to get involved with (for PhD students – if you haven’t checked out #phdchat, you surely should).

2. Interact

Share your ideas by reacting to what others say, and interacting in discussions. In the end, Twitter is a platform of social media, and its strength seems to lie in sharing and interacting – and its sense of being a “social” yet virtual platform.

3. Share content 

140 characters cannot always convey your message to the fullest, so don’t hesitate to send interesting blog posts, news articles or reviews along with your message. By sharing content, you can provide further support for your idea. 

4. Give arguments for your idea

Just spitting out your message is one thing, but by showing the arguments for your message, you give a deeper layer to the contents of your message. You can interact with others and provide polite and funded feedback on why you agree or disagree with their point of view.

What do you do to spread your idea/message on Twitter?