Top Twitter Tactics for Tourism

When asking about our clients’ least favorite social media tool, Twitter is often at the top of the most-hated list. We understand some of the frustration – engagement rates are dropping, and Twitter has recently undergone criticism for “toxicity”. However, with 330 million monthly active users, Twitter is not going anywhere anytime soon. So before you throw in the towel on tweeting, try these top twitter tactics for tourism marketers!

Tweet frequently

Twitter moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and tweet once in a while, you could miss out on engagement! The average shelf life of a tweet is 18 minutes long – so actually, you should tweet more than once in a while. TwoSix Digital recommends a frequency of three to seven tweets per day. Some of those tweets could include retweets and @replies, but you should aim to create three original tweets per day. The best way to achieve this is by recycling content. Learn more about this tactic by reading our blog about The Five Rule.

Be visual

Visuals are important on social media, and Twitter is no exception. Before you share your tweet, ask yourself – “Does my tweet include a visual?” This could be a photo, video, gif, link preview, etc. Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images. Therefore, it’s important to take the time to add imagery of some sorts to your tweets!

Use gifs/emojis

You need to speak the language of Twitter to be successful. For this reason, it’s time to start sprinkling some gifs and emojis into your Twitter content. Here are some ways you can make that happen:

Create Twitter Moments

Twitter Moments allow users to stitch together multiple tweets in a visually pleasing collection. First of all, Twitter Moments are insanely easy to make. Additionally – they are a great way to repurpose content, and/or highlight something specific in your destination. Here are some ways your DMO can use them:

  • Highlight a major event happening in your area (i.e. summer festivals, restaurant week, etc.).
  • Feature a noteworthy partner with a Twitter moment.
  • Recap partner workshops, annual meetings, rebranding efforts, and other local initiatives

TwoSix Digital has made a couple Twitter Moments! Check them out for some inspiration.

Upload video

Many content marketers forget about video on Twitter. If you are paying for video content, and not sharing it on Twitter – you are missing a major opportunity! TwoSix Digital consistently finds DMOs only sharing their videos on YouTube and Facebook. Dust off those old videos, and upload the file directly to Twitter – this allows the video to autoplay in your followers’ feeds!

Use Twitter as a traffic driver

A lot of our clients tell us they just don’t know what to post on Twitter. We recommend using Twitter to drive traffic to other DMO resources. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

    • Tweet a link to a valuable landing page on your website that does not get shared often.
    • Reshare previously written “evergreen” blogs.
    • Do you have a YouTube video that could use some extra views? Share a link on Twitter.
    • Tell your followers to check out one of your Pinterest boards.
    • Remind your audience that you are also on Instagram, and encourage them to follow you.
    • Tweet a link to your visitor guide request form, or e-news signup.

Run an ad

“Twitter video advertising and promotional options allow us to complement Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube ads.

Although we are not seeing growth in overall organic engagement on Twitter as we once did, we have had great success on paid promotion – especially with short-run videos.

Twitter also has an incredible targeting platform – similar to Facebook – and we have had success with using tailored audiences based on specific account and interest targeting along with DMAs.  Engagement has been strong, and the cost per engagement has recently been very cost effective.

We will continue to use Twitter for our clients in future campaigns.”

– Dave Serino, Founder & Chief Strategist of TwoSix Digital

Promote your hashtag

Hashtags are a no-brainer on Twitter. The purpose of a hashtag is elusive on networks such as Facebook and Pinterest. However, hashtags were invented for Twitter. They are still used regularly on the network – allowing DMOs to do some serious awareness building for their official hashtag! Here’s what we recommend:

    • Make sure your official hashtag is in your bio.
    • Use your hashtag in your tweets at least once a day.
    • Respond to tweets, and when you do, include your hashtag!
    • Learn more about hashtag strategies here.

Embed tweets

This small tactic is consistently overlooked by marketers. We often embed Instagram photos, but don’t forget about Tweets. You could even do a cross-promotional blog called “10 Tweets that Perfectly Sum Up Our Destination”. Not sure how to embed tweets? Here’s a how-to guide!

@reply and retweet each day

Here’s a revolutionary idea…be SOCIAL on Twitter! Marketers are not engaging with other users. Simply checking your notifications is not enough. Scroll through your feed to find users and start a conversation. Don’t wait for engagement to happen, MAKE it happen!

All this talk about Twitter is really making us hope you follow us! Stay tuned for updates that will make you a lean, mean, tourism marketing machine!