RT: How International Programs Should Shape Their 2018 & 2019 Twitter Strategy

While Twitter has been around for a while now, its popularity has started to grow even more. With an increase in the amount of changes coming to social media giants like Snapchat, Instagram, and even Facebook—more people are turning to Twitter for a sense of familiarity and comfort.

Today, Twitter has over 330 million active users and approximately 37% are between the ages of 18-29. As it’s empire continues to grow, using Twitter can be a key stepping stone in your organization’s overall success—especially when it comes to connecting to future participants and keeping in touch with your fave alumni. Want to make your company fly high (#TweetTweet)?

Read a few reasons on why you should get in on the action and how you can improve your marketing prowess on Twitter. Here’s what international program providers need to know to shape their Twitter strategy in 2018-2019.

Why Twitter matters for your bottom line

Not only will Twitter help you spread valuable information, but it will also allow you to get to know your audience better and support your bottom line. Approximately 80% of Twitter users have mentioned a brand in a Tweet and 54% have either visited a website or searched for a brand. From there, the most active users are millennials, who make about 61% of the total average (while generation Y makes up 22%). Also known as the digital generation, millennials are fast in utilizing convenient and interesting tech platforms. As a community who is open-minded and are early-adopters of technology, millenials have embraced Twitter for many reasons, but here are a couple:  

To keep up with current trends

FOMO (fear of missing out) is a real thing and something that millenials definitely don’t want to experience. Users like to know what’s going on about anything and everything. Topics can range from politics, world events, celebrity news, to even the latest meme! Users can learn about the latest fashions and technology too. The discover page allows users to track popular hashtags for the day. This allows users to stay connected and find updates from others talking about the same topic!

Entertainment

Many users enjoy the platform because of viral entertainment and good laughs. With feeds that are constantly refreshing themselves— there is never a dull moment on Twitter. GIFs, memes, and video clips are often attached to Tweets, thus allowing for a never-ending cure to boredom. This form of micro-leisure allows many to enjoy short bursts of entertainment throughout various times of the day.

By marketing your organizations Twitter as a source of information (while including some forms of entertainment), you’re bound to feel the wealth and prosperity in no time!

The inside scoop marketing youth travel programs on Twitter in 2018-2019

This ain’t your predecessors collection of Twitter advice. What worked in 2012 (or even 2016!) won’t work for this new generation of Tweeps. Here’s everything you need for international program providers to ensure their Twitter strategy isn’t a bust:

1. Twitter: A reigning promotional palace

Twitter is currently gaining strength as a powerhouse since it serves as a media outlet for individuals and organizations. As a program provider, you can post any news or updates about your company along with promotional offers. Driving engagement for promo activities, networking, and reputation management are all perks of using Twitter as a marketing strategy. Use Twitter to inform others of your awesome programs! Maybe even throw in some specials or discount codes? Any promotions your organization has should be marketed to your Twitter followers since information can spread in the blink of an eye!

The important thing is that you’re sharing information & content in a personable way. Crafting Tweets can make or break your following. Users don’t go on Twitter to see ads, so by styling Tweets in the form of a conversation—your organization will seem more authentic! The amount of impressions your Tweets receive will show you more of what your followers actually want to see (and more of what you should post).

Inside tip: Make sure your contact email address and web address are displayed—and displayed correctly.

2. Your brand’s got character—so build it!

Crafting your profile to tailor your brand is a major bonus on Twitter. Does your cover photo, bio, and avi reflect what your organization is all about? More importantly, are your Tweets and retweets strengthening your brand? Keeping your feed casual, yet informative is a great way to capture the attention of your audience (along with potential followers). Twitter will serve as an amazing tool that can give your brand a voice and personality.

By creating a unique style, you can differentiate yourself from competition. If you’re not sure on how to craft your Tweets yet, what you Retweet (repost) can dramatically influence your brand. Make sure to choose the right companies to follow and retweet from since relaying information should be one of your top priorities. It’s important to stay up to date and constantly retweet so that your profile is kept alive and fresh.

Pro tip: The right accounts to retweet are the ones your target market are already following.

3. Get to know your followers

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that most people loooooveee attention. Shoutouts, acknowledgments, and mentions can go a long way. Scroll through your feeds, engage with your followers (i.e. respond to their tweets, 💙 them, give ‘em a RT), and your impressions will soon start to rise! The majority of your Tweets should be replies to other people—whether it be about questions regarding your program or general travel inquiries. The more you engage, the more times you will show up in newsfeeds. Data from Sproutsocial shows that 48% of consumers engage more with organizations who are responsive. That means having a dedicated person on your team who checks Twitter regularly, if not gets notifications straight to their inbox.

It might seem like a lot of tedious work, but it will pay off. Just check out these stats:

A1 customer service comes from being responsive. Using Twitter to weed out organizations’ angry users and acknowledge the happy ones will help customer service levels improve! If you have no plans of interacting with your followers (or don’t have time), than maybe skip out on Twitter for now until you have the labor to keep up with it.

Sidenote: Trust your interns! They can prove to be strong resource and will devote the time that you don’t have!

4. Think before you tweet!

At the end of the day, Twitter will help you increase your audience and get to know your followers. However, be careful what you post. One little screw up in a Tweet and your post can go viral—and not in a good way. Twitter users can be savages and will take anyone down! Double check the content that you’re posting to avoid any mishaps. On another hand, a (good) post going viral overnight will do wonders for your organization!

5. More tips for creating your empire on twitter

We can keep explaining why you should use Twitter, but how exactly will you build this empire? Use these few tips to get the magic started!

Open the door for communication

• Don’t let your Tweets be one dimensional. Use these 280 characters to open the door for communication and conversation. Don’t just post links or inspiring quotes—ask questions, give compliments, and engage!
• Make about 30-40% of your Tweets be comprised of replies to other people. Like we mentioned, people love attention! By mentioning them (using their @name) they’ll receive a notification and you can establish new connections during these chats
• Add some spark to your conversation whenever you Tweet links to your posts/advertisements. A simple “What do YOU think of this new video?” can do some wonders.

Set objectives, reach goals, and build your media presence

• Setting objectives will help you define clear goals and timelines. Examples are as follows:
  • Increase @mentions & Retweets by 20%
  • Decrease response time under 20 minutes
  • Get 30 leads from Twitter
  • Keep response rate above 80%

Plan future posts

• Don’t merely wait a few days beforehand, instead you should start creating campaigns a few weeks before. Use Sproutsocial’s Hashtag Holiday Calendar to see all of the upcoming holidays you can Tweet about.

Youth travel programs + Twitter = a match made in #heaven

That’s how international program providers should shape their Twitter strategy in 2018-2019. Improving your Twitter marketing strategy will allow you to get connected with your target market on several levels! By providing promotions, information, customer service, and entertainment—your organizations branding will reach a top tier level.

So take time to prepare and get your best content creators on the job so you can bless your Twitter feeds worldwide!

Just don’t forget about us here at GoAbroad when your posts reach 200K+ retweets. 😉