WB Leadership Trust

10 ways businesses can turbocharge their Xperience

Arguably, social media is one of the most powerful marketing and branding tools today. These platforms have revolutionized how businesses and organizations of all sizes reach, engage and increase their potential audiences.

And, contrary to what you may have heard lately, I think the undisputed king of social media platforms in terms of overall effectiveness and sheer broadcast power is still X (f.k.a. Twitter).

The question is, how can your organization gain the most from it?

Here are ten tips from an active X user on how organizations can ramp up their efforts on this unique engagement platform to the maX.

  1. Tune in to everyone’s favorite radio station, WIIFM.

Also known as, “What’s in it for me?” The best way to engage a follower around what you’re all about as an organization and what you offer is to make sure whatever content you post is relevant to the people who follow you. When you post things that affect and resonate with an individual’s thinking, you effectively bring them on board.

  1. “Just the facts, ma’am.”

That’s the line from the classic TV show, Dragnet. Simply put, facts, stats and exhibits matter. When you use undisputed, verifiable facts to bolster any claim, you collect loyal followers. After all, if you post truths that are easily verifiable and corroborated you become a trusted source on social media.

  1. One jpeg is worth 1,000 retweets.

Here’s the scoop: we’re not just a verbal culture, we’re a visual one as well. Today, powerful, vivid images add significant wallop to any point you’re trying to make. Use your smartphone to collect images that illustrate a point you want to make and store them on the photos app that came with your smartphone. Once you’ve amassed a library of iconic images, it’ll be like pulling choice words from a dictionary or thesaurus.

  1. Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Want to entice people to what’s important to you? Make it a habit to repost videos posted by others and share them with a headline that grabs. It doesn’t have to be long — just a few words that get to the heart of the video. Even headlines like, “Can you believe this?” or “This should not be happening.” Accompanying a video with a snappy headline will wrap everything up in a powerful bow for followers.

  1. When an influencer you follow posts, pounce!

Human Behavior 101: People follow influencers. And more people follow people who post to influencers, especially if your post is smart and, again, is relevant (see tip no. 1). But here’s the key: You’ve got to strike while the electrons are still fresh. The sooner you reply to an influencer’s post, the more people will discover who you are, what you’re all about and hop aboard your X bandwagon.

So, follow influencers you admire, and regularly “pounce” and tweet back within an hour of their posting. That’s how you amass followers on X. The more followers you have on X, the more visibility you get and, of course, the more influential you become.

  1. X is 24/7 so check in regularly.

X afficionados tell me that in order to get the most out of X, you need to spend about an hour a day perusing the parade of posts from the folks you follow. This effort shouldn’t be done in one hour-long slog. There are 24 hours in the day and there’s a constant stream of posts at any given moment based on what’s on people’s minds.

So, break up your day into three 20-minute chunks. Target 20 minutes around breakfast, lunch and right after work. This allows you to catch what’s trending so you can increase your presence to potential followers.

  1. Spaces: The first frontier.

According to X, “Spaces” are a way to have live audio conversations with your followers or people you want your followers to hear on X. Anyone can join, listen and speak in a Space on X for iOS and Android. Currently, you can listen in a Space on the web, so try listening while posting, which can lead to higher visibility. Check out X’s Help center for more information and tips on getting the most out of Spaces.

  1. Pinning isn’t just a Pinterest thing.

Here’s a tip from the X-man himself, Elon Musk. If you “pin” your top post every couple of days, all of your followers will see your most recent successful tweets. This way, you’ll maintain a more continual presence on the site. And on X, having a continual presence is key for the success of an organization’s social media strategy.

  1. The most powerful word in the English language is “new.”

Whenever you can, use the word “new” to increase the visibility and attention of your tweets. In fact, this time-honored callout that advertisers have effectively used for eons get people to notice and (more importantly) read your tweet. For example, any press release your organization puts out should be tweeted by the whole team.

  1. Have fun!

X should not be drudgery, or you aren’t doing it right. Be authentic. Be playful. Be engaging. Most importantly, make the tweets you post your own. The more genuine your tweets are, the more appealing and memorable (and worth following) you are.

How to get started tweeting

Once again, retweet established influencers often. Don’t worry about being redundant — according to those in the know, X likes repetition.

Find influencers you feel are worth engaging with and who would be beneficial to the people you want to reach, and start following them. Then, retweet their tweets and respond to them using the magical “@” symbol. The more you get an influencer’s attention through following, engaging and interacting, the more influential you become to those who follow your organization.

Now that you’re armed and ready to re-shape the world of X, to quote the late great Jimi Hendrix, it’s time to “get Xperienced.”