If you’re active in the Twitter World, you’ve probably seen a lot of “@Mention Thanks for the RT!” or any variation of that. You might have even done that once or twice. This begs the question: is it correct etiquette or is it just a form of backhand bragging that someone has shared your message? What is the right way to humbly thank someone for a retweet.
Ways You Can Show Twitter Gratitude to a User Who Has Retweeted Your Content
1. Follow the Person
Don’t assume you already follow the user. You can take a little time to search them out. They spent the time reading and sharing your content! It’s only polite.
2. Retweet Something of Theirs
Go to the user’s profile and see if they have any fun and recent tweets that you can post. Spread the love a little bit.
3. Retweet the Retweet
Twitter not longer allows you to post the exact same tweet more than once, so your retweet of the user’s retweet is a great way to get around that and to add more content to your stream!
4. Start a Conversation
Reply to a retweet with a conversation started. Using the “reply” tools allows followers to better understand the conversation.
5. Group Mention
List the users in one tweet that retweeted the content and include a quick thank you or comment.
6. Direct Message (DM)
Send a quick private thank you message with any more notes to the discussion. This way, you won’t drown your Twitter in basic @mentions and thanks.
Things to Avoid with the Thank You Tweet
1. Do Not Post a Million Thank You Tweets Back-to-Back
This just does not look good on your profile timeline. When most people who don’t follow you go to your profile, they will see your most recent posts. Include quality content to ensure maximum Twitter follower growth!
2. Do Not Post during Peak Posting Hours
Try doing this after 6PM once most Twitter users are slowing activity for the day. This way, you won’t bore your following.
3. Do Not Send a Direct Message that just says, “Thanks for the RT!!”
This is basically SPAM. You should always try and add value to something you send to someone privately. Another tip: always personalize direct messages.
4. Don’t Selectively Thank Particular People
You will probably offend someone (probably a lot of people). Consistency is very important when it comes to social media.
So, Should You Retweet?
This is up to you. The most important factor in your decision should be: how many retweets do you get per day? If it’s 1,000, maybe you shouldn’t thank each individual. However, if you get about 10 per week then it is a wise investment of your resources.
Retweet thanks can help your Twitter following in one key way. It builds a sense of loyalty and community between your brand and your followers. This seems pretty important when you remember why you’re there in the first place. How do you recognize your Retweeters? Share with us in the comments below!
