logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Are you “Unretweetable?” Five Tips for Changing all That

Aine Creedon
September 18, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Tweeting

September 16, 2012; Source: Nonprofit Tech 2.0

Are you capturing the attention of your Twitter audience? The Nonprofit Tech 2.0 blog has shared key tips on what makes nonprofit tweets on Twitter go viral. From the 120,000 nonprofit’s tweets studied, the blog categorized the majority of tweets “unretweetable,” due to overusing hashtags, messy jargon, or avoidable grammar errors.

The blog also stresses how nonprofits need to reduce the number of “Thanks for the mentions and RTs,” explaining it only clutters twitter feeds and wastes your time.

Here are five tips nonprofits should test out on Twitter. You just may begin to see a surge in retweets:

Statistics: “Powerful stats that speak to your mission and programs.”

As Jon Stewart giddily exclaimed while covering Bill Clinton’s speech during the Democratic National Convention, “Math! Numbers! Facts!” We all love a good report complete with hard hitting statistics that affect your organization’s mission and programs, be it a negative or positive impact.

Inspiration: “Quotes that inspire social good.”

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Although most nonprofit organizations strive to channel Twitter traffic to their websites, sharing quotes on social good or giving can increase your organization’s following and retweets. Inspiring words of wisdom are increasing in popularity on image-sharing sites such as Pinterest, so test it out on Twitter too!

Straight-forward facts: “Well-formatted, easy to read factual tweets.”

Teach your Twitter followers something new, these tweets will have a similar impact on your followers as statistics. Pell Grants tweeted an article on Huffington Post about how their grants now only cover a third of public four-year college costs, engaging their Twitter audience and resulting in 17 retweets.

Simplicity and motivation: “Position statements spoken with clarity and conviction.”

Motivate your audience with powerful statements, such as @MobileCause:  “Technology does not raise money. Technology helps fundraisers raise money easier.” When sharing an article from another news source or nonprofit, don’t be afraid to voice your own opinion as long as it aligns with the beliefs of your nonprofit. Anyone could just tweet the same source, but if you are emphasizing something fresh and new your followers will be much more likely to retweet.

Up-to-date News: “Tweets that tap into the #BreakingNews cycle.”

Twitter’s fast paced environment leaves users always wanting to be the first in the know. If you can provide your followers with breaking news you will be guaranteed a multitude of retweets and new followers. Has a well-known foundation appointed a new CEO? Be the first to share the news, and maybe the foundation will also retweet it to their large Twitter audience.

Nonprofit Tech 2.0 also glosses over marketing on Twitter, making a notable point that subtlety is the best policy. Overloading your followers with the same marketing deals daily, including donations pitches, will only make Twitter users tune you out.  Has your organization tested out these Twitter tactics with successful outcomes? –Aine Creedon

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aine Creedon

Aine Creedon is Nonprofit Quarterly's Digital Publishing Coordinator and has worn many hats at NPQ over the past five years. She has extensive experience with social media, communications and outreach in the nonprofit sector, and spent two years in Americorps programs serving with a handful of organizations across the nation. Aine currently resides in Denver, Colorado where she enjoys hiking with her pups Frida and Tucker. She enjoys volunteering in her free time and also serves on the advisory board for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Denver and is the Marketing Liaison for YNPN Denver's Professional Development Committee.

More about: Nonprofit NewsPolicySocial Media

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb

Upcoming Webinars

Remaking the Economy

Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.