The Art of ReTweet

“Retweets are the new currency on the Web” – Michael Arrington, Techcrunch.com

The spreading of ideas is what Twitter, social media, and the Internet is all about.

With so many people posting tweets with links to interesting content, blog entries, and news updates, retweeting these posts can be beneficial to you.

Retweeting can be a great source of content

One of the biggest challenges that comes maintaining a relevant Twitter feed is developing content to post. Retweeting takes the work out of content development. All you have to do is find interesting tweets to repost.

Retweeting others gives your followers incentive to retweet you

Seeing the "RT" on your feed makes your followers take notice. It tells them this content was so interesting, you want to share it. It also encourages them to share it with their followers, since you took the time to do so.

How to properly retweet

1. Always give credit to the source by including their twitter username
   (e.g. @author)
2. Shorten URLs in your tweets
   (URL shortening website bit.ly is excellent; We like using Hootsuite.)
3. If there are remaining characters at the end of a retweet, consider adding your own point of view.
4. Think twice before retweeting sensitive material or something that might be untrue.
5. Only retweet stuff that you think will be relevant to your followers.

MORE RESOURCES ON RETWEETING

Science of Retweets (PDF) - DanZarella.com
Twitter Survey Results - A Closer Look at the Retweet Button - SimplyZesty.com
Retweeting: 'Followers' look to 'leaders' as social networks grow - CNN.com
13 Ways to Get Your Blog Posts Retweeted - Twitip.com