₦airaland Forum

Public communication is one of the most
delicate challenges that people in public life face,
either in the corporate or the public sector. Many
people suddenly find themselves in high places,
and they become a source of news, a potential
interview subject, and they get chased around by
journalists and other media figures who want a
story, in fact, not just a story, but a scoop. I
used to explain in communication coaching
classes and to the bosses whose media I
managed, at one point or the other that they
should never feel obliged to say things they do
not want to say. No matter how aggressive the
journalist may be, they should be careful what
they say.
A journalist would make you feel at home, he or
she may even reassure you that whatever you
don’t want published could be edited out, and
that if you don’t feel comfortable with a
question, you should feel free to keep quiet. But
a good journalist knows how to push you into a
corner and get you, through follow up questions,
to say things you may not ordinarily want to say.
By the time the tape starts rolling, and you are
encouraged to feel like a star, and your own
tongue starts rolling, you’d be surprised the kind
of emphasis, what you consider an innocent
remark, would receive when it is published. Point
is: journalists, while on duty, are not working for
politicians or big men and women; they are
working for organizations that need stories that
can sell. They want scoops that can make the
headlines. That is what makes them journalists:
getting the good story, the good comments, the
good shots.
After reading the interview granted by First Lady
Aisha Buhari on BBC Hausa Service, I was
tempted to conclude that this is what may have
happened. She could have said the same things
in a more delicately phrased manner. I have
always held the view that anybody at all in a
public position should be sent for media training
(including how to deliver speeches, poise,
pronunciation skills, even basic grammar lessons)
before they are unleashed on a Nigerian public
that has learnt to subject the lives of public
officials to utmost scrutiny. The Aisha Buhari
interview also fell short in this regard. She just
gave the BBC Hausa service a scoop, which in
my view has done more damage to her
husband’s politics than good.
Given the enormous effect that the interview has
had on the public, I would have expected that by
now, she would perhaps have tactically disowned
it, put a spin on it somehow, and make it clear
that it is not intended in any way to discredit, or
criticize her husband’s administration. But
nothing of such has happened. And what does
that mean? That the interview was deliberate
and that she is standing by every word she said.
She has been called the “good lady in the Villa.”
She has been praised for being a modern wife
who can speak up, and exercise her right to free
speech. She has been called fearless and
assertive. The only thing I have not heard from
some of the hypocritical commentators is that
she would be a good Presidential candidate for
2019.
I have also been told that she must have spoken
out of frustration and that her public outburst
about the existence of a cabal in the Villa, which
determines who gets what appointment, to the
disadvantage of members of the All Progressives
Congress is making APC members who feel left
out of the power-sharing process, very unhappy.
But her outburst is nothing but a poor
understanding of power politics. There will
always be cabals around the seat of power.
Power is so potent the people around the
corridor will never leave it alone to the President.
And if it is true that this cabal or the President
has recruited non-APC members into the
government, then that is a positive thing, it is
also a positive thing that the President does not
know many of the people he has appointed. He
doesn’t need to know them personally as long as
they come from all parts of Nigeria and they are
competent men who can get the job done. The
First Lady seems to assume that only card-
carrying members of the APC should work for
the Buhari administration. On a positive note,
however, she doesn’t want anybody to hijack her
husband’s Presidency and she believes those
who are trying to do so do not mean well. But
what does that say about her husband?
The First Lady is also of the view that if the
present trend continues, she cannot campaign for
her husband in 2019 should he decide to seek re-
election. She sounded pleased with what is being
done to ensure security in the North East, but
she gave the impression that she doesn’t think
her husband has done enough to merit a second
term in 2019. Hear her: “What I fear is the
uprising of 15.4 million people”. And consider
this: “…Nobody thought it is going to be like this.
But now that it is so…Sometimes when one is
doing something wrong without him knowing, but
when people talk to them, they should listen”.
Who is that person doing something wrong and
who does not listen?
Altogether, Mrs Aisha Buhari has passed the
equivalent of a vote of no confidence in her
husband, and the people around him. This is a
kind of “home trouble” brought to the public. The
biggest challenge a man can face is to have his
own wife “fight” him in public. And what has
happened is both unprecedented and significant
considering that a Hausa-Fulani couple is
involved. It is probably the first time a lady in
this position would publicly upbraid her husband
and his team. Is she furious because she has
been scorned, ignored, rendered powerless?
Well, even if we were not privy to other details,
she was publicly scorned when her husband sent
a volcanic message from Germany that she
should go back to her place in the “kitchen, the
living room and the other room.” Feminists and
critics of misogyny have protested over this,
quite rightly too, at a time when women are
leading countries and corporations, it is incorrect
and insensitive to say that the best place for a
First Lady is to be a cook, a living-room-soap
opera-watching detainee and a bedroom object.
But given the cultural circumstances involved,
this may well be the future Aso Villa fate of First
Lady Aisha Buhari. She could be marked out as
an ambitious woman who wants to share power
with her husband, and as a threat to her
husband’s politics.
See how much damage has been caused already
by the President’s counter-response: The
German Chancellor glared at our President when
she heard that comment about “the kitchen, the
living room and the other room.” She quickly
ended their press conference. Angela Merkel is
married, and she is Chancellor, but I don’t think
her husband would dare tell her she is best fit
for the kitchen and the other room. And imagine
if Theresa May, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby
Ezekwesili, Grace Alele-Williams, Omobola
Johnson, Chimamanda Adichie, Joke Jacobs…
had all been chained down in the “other room”.
No wonder, President Buhari’s local opponents
are already making big political capital out of his
un-Presidential comments, and the German
public is shocked that any world leader could be
so politically incorrect. The number of jokes and
memes that have been designed around this
husband-wife exchange are thoroughly amusing.
Mrs Buhari has also handed over to critics of
this administration, speaking points that would be
exploited all the way till 2019, and she may well
end up not as a powerful force in the Villa but as
a strong voice for women’s rights.
It is possible she may be advised soon to recruit
spin-doctors to do damage control, but she may
have left that rather late already. On the other
hand, there is no amount of damage control that
the President’s spin-doctors can sell to anyone.
Whatever happens, she is cultivating a reputation
as a different kind of First Lady. Since
independence, every Nigerian Head of State or
President has enjoyed the support of his wife
while in office: strong, fanatical support. Mrs
Maryam Abacha was so supportive of her
husband, while everybody condemned him, and
long after his death, she has continued to
celebrate his memory. Before her, Mrs Maryam
Babangida brought greater colour and celebrity
status to the Office of the First Lady and added
much value to her husband’s tenure.
Mrs Fati Abubakar was a dignified presence
behind her husband, the same with Mrs Margaret
Shonekan. President Olusegun Obasanjo had as
First Lady, the very elegant and beautiful Stella
Obasanjo who mobilized support and goodwill for
her husband. Turai Yar’Adua, wife of the late
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was also so
devoted to her husband’s cause, she was
declared the head of the Aso Rock cabal. No
one doubted her determination to protect her
husband’s interest during those critical moments.
You all know Mrs Patience Jonathan. She was
as First Lady, her husband’s most vocal
supporter. This brought her at loggerheads with
some sections of the public who objected to her
prominence and controversial statements, but
not once did she or the other First Ladies before
her, criticize their husbands in public.
Elsewhere, First Ladies also support their
husbands. With all the reported cases of
dalliance and cuckoldry during the Bill Clinton
Presidency, Hillary Clinton stood by her husband.
Michelle Obama has also proven to be a very
good role model in this regard. Certain positions
require careful grooming. Any form of tension in
the home could distract a political leader and
make him seem vulnerable in the eyes of the
public. Mrs Aisha Buhari may have spoken her
mind, but she should not make a habit of
assuming the role of a radical, in-house critic,
throwing her husband under the wheels. She
ought to be thoroughly embarrassed by all the
fun being poked at her husband because of that
BBC Hausa interview she granted. How this
matter is resolved between their kitchen and
“the other room” is a family affair into which we
cannot dabble.
Source : www.thebreakingtimes.com/aisha-buhari-and-that-bbc-interview-by-reuben-abati/

HornyTiwa:
Do Allah kayisuru mallam

Stop this fallacy,Minna is one of the backward capital cities in Nigeria.
No light despite being the capital of the power state,no good infrastructure or nice houses....,bad roads even within the town.

Please dont mislead people.
Finer ko

Them dey pay u to lie like this?
Backward capital cities ké?
No good roads?
No nice houses?
Minna pass all those things you condemned....The level of peace in minna aka mx can be matched by a very few capital cities in Nigeria.
Am not a North but am certain minna would beat some southern capitals.. Am from the south west if you must know

I noticed something sha... They said not until those duped started calling wizkid for not turning up after being supposedly paid but if they had d 'original' wizkid's contact, how did they get involved with the impersonator?
Just wondering.... Happy new month

Make some of una dey lie on top pikin o.... There 'eleda' is watching u. Lol

In as much I don't like how the some northerners don't respect humanity n are hateful towards those who are not of their beliefs I think we polish evil done by 'terrorists' from other zones shamefully.
If it's from the north it's 'new terrorist' so y are using 'new group' for the South? They are all terrorists.

What she is following the topic? What if?


Mr komodragon abi what is your pathetic name even if it's not my sister you are dating, and I come across you i will still mk u hate your ideology.

komododragons:
but your wife or FIANCEE can display her madness and it is socially acceptable for a woman to be cold and behave STVPID on her husband?

you WOMEN are just always in a favour of ya fellow WOMEN without considering what the man is going through in his life.

do you know the reason why many men turn cold to a woman? because this world is not a place for the meek and gentle! if you are a gentle guy and easy going, ya WOMEN will state misbehaving and thinking ya are under a shield because he can easily overlook everything and start putting ya poo on him.

the moment the guy beat that WOMAN up even if it is once her head will come back to it senses and that is when the love will even flow because she now understand her boundary and not to cross over it again.

quote me anywhere! I recommend beating her up and that's just my ideology on this.

If na my sister you dey date, a swear I will make you HATE your ideology. Believe me

komododragons:
but your wife or FIANCEE can display her madness and it is socially acceptable for a woman to be cold and behave STVPID on her husband?

you WOMEN are just always in a favour of ya fellow WOMEN without considering what the man is going through in his life.

do you know the reason why many men turn cold to a woman? because this world is not a place for the meek and gentle! if you are a gentle guy and easy going, ya WOMEN will state misbehaving and thinking ya are under a shield because he can easily overlook everything and start putting ya poo on him.

the moment the guy beat that WOMAN up even if it is once her head will come back to it senses and that is when the love will even flow because she now understand her boundary and not to cross over it again.

quote me anywhere! I recommend beating her up and that's just my ideology on this.

If na my sister you dey date, a swear I will make you HATE your ideology.

Montaque:
Op. You have got to know that nobody is perfect before marriage. And if 'the two shall become one'. It means u have got to mold each other to suit urself. Do u know it's on u too to work on urself to suit/accomodate/contain the anger fit, that's what marriage does.
So the ability to work on containing this issue, determines if you can agree as a couple. She is still young and impulsive. Show her direction. Every attitude has an underlying cause, find it and give her better and civil ways to express her emotion.
Read making marriage work by Joyce Meyer.

You are not a good advisor.... Accommodate hot temper?
She has years b4 marriage to mold herself and if he is really gentle and not hot tempered I think it's d lady who is supposed to work on herself or he should flee.... Bro flee

Guyman02:
The attributes above apply. She is easily angered, dissatisfied, irritated, negative, or resentful. She can find something negative about any event, and she frets and talks most about that. She is not satisfied. She is hardly ever content, seldom your sweet lover, but always irritated and stressed out.

My wife has anger problem too, it has really taken a toll on me physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, I have spent years agonizingly trying to work around it and many times wonder why I had to go into the union. Instead of living home with a kiss and wish for a wonderful day at work, you receive abuse and a frown because she is still resentful of yesterdays argument and this can affect the rest of your day and perhaps your output at work or business.
If you think marrying her will change her will be your worst mistake in life. If she doesn't change totally before marriage, then she will not change in marriage except by divine intervention.

I just dey imagine Wat u r going through....... It's a big big temptation.
I can't tk much from a disgusting attitude bride o.... I pray for the best bride.

Left to me I can never roll with hot tempered ladies... They will cut my life short.
Even if you told her u want to marry but not until she changes she would chill till you get married and she'll retain her anger..... Madness doesn't leave totally.

Love doesn't make me stupid.


She doesn't need a gentleman believe me.

I just pity the unborn children becuz with the way parents are over protective, we might over give our unborn children over freedom to counter our parents approach which might be dangerous.
Honestly, these parents are wrong by over protecting. My late mom used to be over protective but I started putting up this quite attitude dat makes me unpredictable and she started getting scared of me cuz she doesn't know what am going to do if she wants to start are helicopter watch.it worked for me sha and as for my papa, he doesn't even care. Now I miss the protection of my mom and as for my dad, I don't like him for bn too carefree. Such an irony ryt?
Am trying to say protection is good but over protection and freedom is cool but nt over freedom.
Be careful wat u wishing for?

holyboss:
hun
are you kidding?

how Wil you rate America and d likes?

developing?

You seriously need to have your brain checked

No Country is developed.....
How can America claim to be developed when blacks are been murdered by white policemen unlawfully?
How can America claim to be developed when dey engage in importation?
How can America claim to have attain 'developed" when they try to introduce westernization as d only means of attaining development?
Just see what ur "developed" America is all about, asked u define what a developed country is dats all

Adebayocollins6:
Clean bold 5 for just 5,000 naira. Seller contact 08114067791

Packaging... Na today#

holyboss:
iranu.


Jamb should b scraped.

Before any eediot quote me, I passed my Jamb at first trial.. but the poo is scam. Developed countries don't even do entrance exam.

Have quoted you mumu...
No Country has achieved development..
Prove me wrong and define Developed?

Tundenoni:
I love the part "takomeme, she say make we sail o, make I eat her snail o......
Who take that verse? He killed it

Olamide took that verse

Hmmmm.... I think it's just anger.
When it's two fighting, I just don't draw conclusions because fighting is not a reasonable way to do exercise... R I P to the dead
God help u madam.. Hope she and we all learns

The rationale behind this article is
basically to find out who you thought
‘killed’ the track best down to the least 'killer'.
It's cast on the popular street jam “ Ladi“ off
Olamide and Phyno’s collaborative rap
album, 2 Kings which featured Lil Kesh.
We’d like you to tell us who slayed…down to the less convincing singer/rapper
(who served the best and worst verse) on the
track. Olamide, Phyno or Lil Kesh?
Let's know your
thoughts.
1 2 3
It's Lil Kesh for me...Phyno.....Olamide in that order

suwailad:
Ifeduba or what you call yourself, you still have a lot to learn being a political scientist. I think you have no qualification for that, just that you have access to the internet so you can make noise like everyone else. That does not make you a political analyst, political analysts is an actual profession and not an hubby.

Political analysts take their time to access information in depth before making their analysis and not beer parlor suggestions. By the way, did you even give a solution on how to combat boko haram once and for all? But noise makers like you, the ever annoying arm chair critics are quick to judge any postulations put forth that will defeat these fools once and for all, but you guys don't have the brilliancy to come up with your solution to counter the President's own. We have had enough of this folly, and thank God it died with jonathan. So its time to shut up and start making sense not showing your worthless hobby and what it means not to be a political analyst. And your picture is eating people's bandwidth, it is not necessary, if you want to be in the limelight, start trekking for whatever hideous reasons there is.

Your thinking needs some fixing.... What exactly are you saying? Is using the internet a crime?

SirShymexx:
Lmao.

Who wouldn't snatch those chics with humongous badonkadonk from midgets?

I love South Africans, but I will confess, I'd snatch a few as well lol. However, don't kill me with Zulu spears like you are killing 'em foreigners. Shiit, I understand but when it comes to chics, it is fair game. A couple of muthaphuckas done snatch my chics as well - win some, lose some - that is the way life goes.

On a serious note, women have caused so much problems on this planet. Dammit! The world would've been a tad bit better without women.

So who we for dey fvck?

Sexy fake or original pose pictures too

aderonila18:
You don't get it, it's not that the man doesn't want to apologize, he is forbidden to do so. Doing so will endanger his people as it can anger the land.

Am a Yoruba though i have never heard of it that obas can't apologize?
You might be right because I got no facts to prove you wrong but am sure an Oba can step down for embarrasing the throne and his people... I think that is a bigger form of apology

SuperSuave:
You no get work I swear! But I know you didn't compose this so i'll say Oyinbo no get work. I'll give you some tips that will make you enjoy twitter in Nigeria.
-You have to be very sarcastic
-your tweets must be funny or have atom of jokes
-you should learn to tweet serious things in a comedic manner
-get along with new hashtags immediately it hits the ground.
-Follow a few number of questionnaires
-follow people of good humour, you'll find them better searching hashtags

U r also right but which be say i no get work?
Yours ain't as wide as the one i posted

Balkan:
Abode and Yorubas can do without the Igbos

Oloshi speak for yourself... We Yorubas are not troublesome.
We need everyone and they need us.

koxi:
Ok

This man "agbaya" (big for nothing)....
See how e look like mumu
Yorubas must condemn dis idiot because we Yorubas r not hypocrite

Missy89:
You really need me to explain to you what is being done to mugabe's government and the country's economy? Nigeria is not Russia. Your obasanjo's example does not make sense. You cant refer to a situation that never happened

Why do u think a statement was released by the US/UK during the vote count?

He contested, He lost and he has to go. There is nothing heroic about obeying the law. You might as well call me a hero for not over-speeding then.Advise him to stay there for one more and you will know that you country is not so sovereign

There is nothing the international community would have done apart from calling us under developed.... Mugabe is still ruling forget thier bad economy .
Some of you think the USA can just interfer anyhow? Na wa o give credits wen due

EggovinMma:
You are a bastard!

Father forgive me for calling this bastard, bastard today, but I can't help it.HE REMAINS A BASTARD THOUGH!

Trying to fool God?
You are worst than a bastard for involving God

usmanniya:
He is my uncle, he was just recently transferred from Kebbi state to Kano state.

Why are you telling us.?

OneNaira6:
This is why I despise everything to do with Yoruba. What a despicable, disgust of a tribe

See as they are trying to cause commotion between SS and SE. Doing what they know how to do best!!!

One is pretending to be from SE while the others are shouting igbos remember the war.

I fucking hate that tribe and pray the nation gets rid of them and the north. Let them go rule themselves.

If the country is not going to divide, resource control should be the next time. I hope all this leaders in SS and SE are using their f2king brains rather than remain bunch of mumu, watching others milk am dry. We all know why the SW aligned with North and we all know why North wanted GEJ out. This Yoloba people proved without a doubt they don't have your back and never will, una better fight for your resources or it's going to end up back in their hands again. Sound fucking warning!!! Na my own. I'm done!!

Walahi,u are right when you said you're DONE..... In fact ur life is really done.
Aye re ti baje taan..

My own is that please don't join Yorubas and hausas.... We no relate at all.
Forget that Osibanjo wey look like joke

Do your tweets get noticed?

Are you getting enough engagement on Twitter?
Twitter’s true value is in its engagement. Unless
people are engaging with you on Twitter, you’re
wasting your time.
In this article I’ll share 10 tweeting techniques
that lead to better engagement.

#1: Keep Tweets Under 110 Characters
Twitter’s legendary character restriction seems
short, but if you’re maxing out your character
count, your tweets are too long.
Shorter tweets with around 110 characters get
17% higher engagement, and there’s a reason for
that. When you leave room in a tweet, it makes it
easier for people to retweet you and add their
own commentary.
Learn 10 tips for increasing engagement on
Twitter.
Jerry Low says:
If you are using all 140 characters in your tweet,
your followers will need to edit your tweets before
they can add in theirs and retweet. And, that’s not
cool. People are lazy. Tweets that need extensive
editing work simply get fewer retweets. Ideally, you
should limit your tweets to between 80–110
characters.

#2: Tweet During Daytime Hours
The Twittersphere is active during the 11-12
hours of daytime in your audience’s time zone.
Between 8am and 7pm, your tweets will have
30% higher interaction . (To find out exactly
when your audience is most active , you can use
the free tool from Tweriod .)
Be mindful of where your audience lives. Image:
Shutterstock.
That means you must keep your target audience
in mind and adjust your timing as needed . If
your company’s social media person is in
Bangalore catering to a West Coast USA
audience, she will need to adjust or schedule her
tweets accordingly.

#3: Tweet on Saturday and Sunday
Weekends are not the time to take a break from
Twitter. If you want engagement, schedule
tweets for Saturday and Sunday. According to
the data, engagement is 17% higher on the
weekends than it is on weekdays.
Salesforce’s research determined that there is an
inverse relationship between brands that tweet
on the weekend and the engagement rates on
the weekend.
Weekends aren’t the time to take a Twitter break.
Image Shutterstock.
But doesn’t this data conflict with the point
above, regarding tweeting during working hours?
Not exactly. As the data crunchers observed, the
daytime tweet engagement is high even during
weekends. Salesforce reported ,
When brands tweet during “busy hours” (8am–
7pm), they receive 30% higher engagement than
tweets that fall during “non-busy hours” (8pm–
7am). This even includes tweets published on
Saturday and Sunday.

#4: Share Images
Twitter’s rich Tweets give you higher levels of
engagement for images and videos (e.g., Vine
videos ). You can get a 150% increase in
retweets just by including images .
Buffer conducted an A/B test of tweets with
pictures (A) and tweets without pictures (B). In
each test, tweets with pictures won by a huge
margin.
The Buffer Guide to A/B Testing: http:///
Yo52ZBpmNs pic.twitter.com/lK5ubCNecO
— Buffer (@buffer) April 11, 2014
Now sold on the idea of using images, Buffer is
toying with the ratio of image to non-image
tweets
. They’ve settled on a ratio of 70/30 (pictures/
text).
In-stream images aren’t anything new, but few
users are making the most of the feature. It’s a
lot easier to pop a few words into a tweet than
to use images. However, if it’s engagement you
want, you can’t afford to ignore the data.

#5: Ask for Retweets
People are understandably shy about asking for
retweets. In fact, less than 1% of brands have
asked for a retweet. This is a huge missed
opportunity.
When you clearly ask your followers for a
retweet, you have a good chance of getting one .
Salesforce reports that asking results in 12 times
more retweets.
Follow @LFCUSA today & you could win this
signed Brendan Rodgers home shirt! Please
Retweet pic.twitter.com/GFKobEVx9y
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 27, 2014
Here’s a tip: Make sure to spell out the word
retweet in its entirety , rather than using the
abbreviation RT . The retweet rate for “retweet”
requests is 23 times higher than the engagement
rate for “RT” requests.
I would encourage caution, though. Don’t
bombard your audience with constant requests to
spread your message .

#6: Use Hashtags
Hashtags double your engagement rate —they are
their own implicit call to action. Plus, they create
higher visibility on Twitter.
What surprises me is that only 24% of tweets
contain hashtags. I would caution you to limit
yourself to two hashtags per tweet .
5 Ways to Improve Social Sharing on Your
Blog http:///N7XoC0SVfa by @
MelACulbertson #SocialMedia #Sharing
— SocialMediaExaminer (@smexaminer) July
26, 2014
Tweets that use more than two hashtags have a
17% drop in engagement. You don’t want that to
happen.
Stay in tune with trending or industry-specific
hashtags to make sure you’re cashing in on a
valuable source of engagement.

#7: Include Links
Using metrics from Buddy Media, Salesforce
reports that 92% of all Twitter interaction
(retweeting, replying, etc.) happens when readers
click links. In fact, tweets with links get way
more retweets—86% more, according to
research!
Links and hashtags make it easy for others to
interact with your tweets.
Since tweets with links have higher engagement
metrics, you’d think sophisticated marketers
would be using links a lot more. Surprisingly, the
percentage of tweets with links is around 36%
(compared with 25% in 2010 ). Clearly we need to
tweet links more often.
How often? Twitter whiz Dan Zarrella’s analysis
suggests you include links in 60-80% of your
tweets as the “sweet spot for retweets.”

#8: Stay Away From Lifestyle Tweets
While celebrities can get away with tweeting
about their personal life, brands cannot. Twitter
is less of a personal-life journal and more of a
professional marketing platform. Be real, but
don’t be banal .
Dan Zarrella compiled a list of the top 20 least
engaging words on Twitter. These words—such
as work, home, watching, tired and tomorrow —are
nauseatingly narcissistic.
Your followers aren’t interested in your personal
actions. Few people are going to engage with a
tweet that declares that you’re bored or are
going to bed.

#9: Use Strong Calls to Action
Zarrella also listed the most retweeted words,
which have a high innate sense of engagement
and most are calls to action. Words like please
retweet, help, follow and how to are focused on
the reader of the tweet rather than on the
sender of the tweet.
Your followers are much more likely to interact if
they are the focus on your tweet and you’re
clearly asking for an action.

#10: Send One to Four Tweets a Day
There is a mistaken belief that the more you
tweet, the more ROI you’ll get from Twitter.
Salesforce data shows you can get more
engagement by tweeting less.
Actually, tweeting too often can result in very
poor engagement. This is particularly true for
brands, which need to be careful about coming
on too strong with their marketing.
To up your engagement, constrain your tweeting .
While you should actively respond to DMs and @
s , you don’t need to spew forth multiple tweets
all day long.

Conclusion
These 10 powerful Twitter tactics will help you
regain momentum on Twitter. By implementing
these data-backed actionable tips, you’ll be able
to create a compelling presence on Twitter in a
very short amount of time . www.socialmediaexaminer.com/twitter-tactics-to-increase-engagement/

Do your tweets get noticed?

Are you getting enough engagement on Twitter?
Twitter’s true value is in its engagement. Unless
people are engaging with you on Twitter, you’re
wasting your time.
In this article I’ll share 10 tweeting techniques
that lead to better engagement.

#1: Keep Tweets Under 110 Characters
Twitter’s legendary character restriction seems
short, but if you’re maxing out your character
count, your tweets are too long.
Shorter tweets with around 110 characters get
17% higher engagement, and there’s a reason for
that. When you leave room in a tweet, it makes it
easier for people to retweet you and add their
own commentary.
Learn 10 tips for increasing engagement on
Twitter.
Jerry Low says:
If you are using all 140 characters in your tweet,
your followers will need to edit your tweets before
they can add in theirs and retweet. And, that’s not
cool. People are lazy. Tweets that need extensive
editing work simply get fewer retweets. Ideally, you
should limit your tweets to between 80–110
characters.

#2: Tweet During Daytime Hours
The Twittersphere is active during the 11-12
hours of daytime in your audience’s time zone.
Between 8am and 7pm, your tweets will have
30% higher interaction . (To find out exactly
when your audience is most active , you can use
the free tool from Tweriod .)
Be mindful of where your audience lives. Image:
Shutterstock.
That means you must keep your target audience
in mind and adjust your timing as needed . If
your company’s social media person is in
Bangalore catering to a West Coast USA
audience, she will need to adjust or schedule her
tweets accordingly.

#3: Tweet on Saturday and Sunday
Weekends are not the time to take a break from
Twitter. If you want engagement, schedule
tweets for Saturday and Sunday. According to
the data, engagement is 17% higher on the
weekends than it is on weekdays.
Salesforce’s research determined that there is an
inverse relationship between brands that tweet
on the weekend and the engagement rates on
the weekend.
Weekends aren’t the time to take a Twitter break.
Image Shutterstock.
But doesn’t this data conflict with the point
above, regarding tweeting during working hours?
Not exactly. As the data crunchers observed, the
daytime tweet engagement is high even during
weekends. Salesforce reported ,
When brands tweet during “busy hours” (8am–
7pm), they receive 30% higher engagement than
tweets that fall during “non-busy hours” (8pm–
7am). This even includes tweets published on
Saturday and Sunday.

#4: Share Images
Twitter’s rich Tweets give you higher levels of
engagement for images and videos (e.g., Vine
videos ). You can get a 150% increase in
retweets just by including images .
Buffer conducted an A/B test of tweets with
pictures (A) and tweets without pictures (B). In
each test, tweets with pictures won by a huge
margin.
The Buffer Guide to A/B Testing: http:///
Yo52ZBpmNs pic.twitter.com/lK5ubCNecO
— Buffer (@buffer) April 11, 2014
Now sold on the idea of using images, Buffer is
toying with the ratio of image to non-image
tweets
. They’ve settled on a ratio of 70/30 (pictures/
text).
In-stream images aren’t anything new, but few
users are making the most of the feature. It’s a
lot easier to pop a few words into a tweet than
to use images. However, if it’s engagement you
want, you can’t afford to ignore the data.

#5: Ask for Retweets
People are understandably shy about asking for
retweets. In fact, less than 1% of brands have
asked for a retweet. This is a huge missed
opportunity.
When you clearly ask your followers for a
retweet, you have a good chance of getting one .
Salesforce reports that asking results in 12 times
more retweets.
Follow @LFCUSA today & you could win this
signed Brendan Rodgers home shirt! Please
Retweet pic.twitter.com/GFKobEVx9y
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 27, 2014
Here’s a tip: Make sure to spell out the word
retweet in its entirety , rather than using the
abbreviation RT . The retweet rate for “retweet”
requests is 23 times higher than the engagement
rate for “RT” requests.
I would encourage caution, though. Don’t
bombard your audience with constant requests to
spread your message .

#6: Use Hashtags
Hashtags double your engagement rate —they are
their own implicit call to action. Plus, they create
higher visibility on Twitter.
What surprises me is that only 24% of tweets
contain hashtags. I would caution you to limit
yourself to two hashtags per tweet .
5 Ways to Improve Social Sharing on Your
Blog http:///N7XoC0SVfa by @
MelACulbertson #SocialMedia #Sharing
— SocialMediaExaminer (@smexaminer) July
26, 2014
Tweets that use more than two hashtags have a
17% drop in engagement. You don’t want that to
happen.
Stay in tune with trending or industry-specific
hashtags to make sure you’re cashing in on a
valuable source of engagement.

#7: Include Links
Using metrics from Buddy Media, Salesforce
reports that 92% of all Twitter interaction
(retweeting, replying, etc.) happens when readers
click links. In fact, tweets with links get way
more retweets—86% more, according to
research!
Links and hashtags make it easy for others to
interact with your tweets.
Since tweets with links have higher engagement
metrics, you’d think sophisticated marketers
would be using links a lot more. Surprisingly, the
percentage of tweets with links is around 36%
(compared with 25% in 2010 ). Clearly we need to
tweet links more often.
How often? Twitter whiz Dan Zarrella’s analysis
suggests you include links in 60-80% of your
tweets as the “sweet spot for retweets.”

#8: Stay Away From Lifestyle Tweets
While celebrities can get away with tweeting
about their personal life, brands cannot. Twitter
is less of a personal-life journal and more of a
professional marketing platform. Be real, but
don’t be banal .
Dan Zarrella compiled a list of the top 20 least
engaging words on Twitter. These words—such
as work, home, watching, tired and tomorrow —are
nauseatingly narcissistic.
Your followers aren’t interested in your personal
actions. Few people are going to engage with a
tweet that declares that you’re bored or are
going to bed.

#9: Use Strong Calls to Action
Zarrella also listed the most retweeted words,
which have a high innate sense of engagement
and most are calls to action. Words like please
retweet, help, follow and how to are focused on
the reader of the tweet rather than on the
sender of the tweet.
Your followers are much more likely to interact if
they are the focus on your tweet and you’re
clearly asking for an action.

#10: Send One to Four Tweets a Day
There is a mistaken belief that the more you
tweet, the more ROI you’ll get from Twitter.
Salesforce data shows you can get more
engagement by tweeting less.
Actually, tweeting too often can result in very
poor engagement. This is particularly true for
brands, which need to be careful about coming
on too strong with their marketing.
To up your engagement, constrain your tweeting .
While you should actively respond to DMs and @
s , you don’t need to spew forth multiple tweets
all day long.

Conclusion
These 10 powerful Twitter tactics will help you
regain momentum on Twitter. By implementing
these data-backed actionable tips, you’ll be able
to create a compelling presence on Twitter in a
very short amount of time . www.socialmediaexaminer.com/twitter-tactics-to-increase-engagement/