Updated May 23, 2022
This article will cover a suggested framework for effective Tweets called the “Hook, Handle, and Hashtag” method.
- Hook the listener with a great pitch
- Include the handle of thought leaders in your area
- Research #hashtags and use the popular ones
- Always use an image to tell the story
We have all seen the Tweet, “Check out my podcast.” After a few of those, many podcasters say Twitter does not work for promotion. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Twitter is an underrated way to promote a podcast, and it doesn’t cost a penny.
Twitter is a platform that includes high net worth people. Because of that, if leveraged correctly, Twitter can be a terrific place to get the right people to hear your message.
Twitter is free, you can target your message, and there are 229 million daily users. Twitter should be part of the marketing matrix for promoting your company podcast.
Start by getting out a spreadsheet and divide it in four columns labeled: hook, handle, hashtag, and Tweet.
HOOK
First, you need a catchy short description of what the episode is about. Some call this the “hook.” You do not have much space and you will need to grab the attention of the person reading their Twitter feed.
Here are a couple of samples
- In 2016, 320,000 people died of drowning
- In 2019 the usage of the Internet increased by 1,157%
- There are 34,000 objects bigger than a pinball floating in space.
Use terms your audience will understand. You can get an idea of what phrases are used in your world by interviewing customers and sending out surveys.
If you are a novice at writing headlines, you may want to use free services that look at headlines.
Please vary the hook to Include keywords that you know resonate with your respective audience. Each company you have on your podcast will have different hot buttons, vary the hook based on these keywords.
HANDLE @
Second, when tweeting about the podcast episode, invoke the name of the person in the podcast, their @handle. Normally, Twitter will send a person an email when their handle gets mentioned. This will catch the attention of the person mentioned, as well as the people who follow them on Twitter.
When someone sees a Tweet with their name, there is a greater chance at retweeting to their audience, which will expose your podcast to a new group of potential listeners.
This can be tricky, so do not assume it will be the first initial and last name of your guest. Confirm every handle you use because they may have unexpected variations. Take care, you may go down a road you don’t choose. Here are three examples — @scoureme, @datadoghq, and @cynjaChaseC
Include correct handles in your Tweets and you will improve the chances of getting Retweeted.
Place your handles in the second column in the Twitter distribution grid.
#HASHTAG
Third, Include at least one or two #hashtags in a successful Tweet. Going overboard will cause people to think you are not serious. Dan Zarella has studied thousands of tweets and has noticed that the number of Retweets goes down if you include over four.
People like to search under hashtags because it is a shorthand to discover what is current on that topic. If a person is walking and scrolling through their Twitter account, then use the correct hashtag to grab their attention.
Do not arbitrarily select a hashtag. Correct hashtag usage is especially important if you want to attract the attention of journalists.
Go to services like Hashtagify.me and RiteTag to see what the trending hashtags are for your topic. Use popular ones so your message can get out.
The third column is where you can place your hashtags in a Twitter distribution grid.
Image
Finally, select an image that reinforces the message of the Tweet. These can be stored in a separate bin where you can grab them when you Tweet. In a perfect world, you hire a professional photographer and get a shot of your guest in front of a microphone flag that identifies your podcast.
With a remote interview, ask for a publicity photo from your guest if you cannot get an in-person interview.
There are over three billion results when you ask Google what size of an image to use on a Tweet. I prefer images around 1024 x 512. You can resize images easily with free services like Pixlr.
OK. It is time to assemble all the components. Cut and paste your Tweets by selecting from hook, handle, hashtag it will look like this:
OK, it’s show time . . .
Hook
“monitoring overall and making security inherent in your daily operations and understanding the vulnerabilities in real time”
Handle
@datadoghq
Hashtag
#cloud
Image
25 Tweets
Conclusion
Twitter is just part of a marketing strategy to promote your podcast.
The classic marketing formula of Attention, Interest, Desire and Action can applied to creating a Tweet to promote a podcast.
- Attention: create a hook to generate interest in text
- Interest: this is commonly done with an image
- Desire: this can include topics of interest with a hashtag #satellites #datacenters
- Action: always include a link to the show note page of the podcast.
Effective Tweeting starts with the basic formula of Hook, Handle, and Hashtag. Don’t forget an image and a link to the podcast.
If you liked this article, you may want to read “10 Simple Ways to Promote Your Podcast on LinkedIn”
John Gilroy
Has been in front of a microphone since 1991. He can help you structure, launch, and promote your company podcast. johngilroy@theoakmontgroupllc.com
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