Twitter allows you to pin a single Tweet to the top of your timeline, so that when people go to your profile, that tweet is presented in the most prominent position.
Many people ignore it, probably because they don’t have an idea of what to do with it.
Here’s how I utilize pinned tweets….
I have a rule of thumb that I follow.
Pinned Tweet Rule of Thumb #1:
- Always pin your MVT or your “Most Valuable Tweet”.
Usually, your MVT is going to be a Twitter lead generation card.
I utilize Twitter Analytics to determine which tweet including a tweet has generated the greatest number of leads organically.
My usual MVT in this case would be:
Subscribe and get 1) my new link building tool 2) exclusive content discussed nowhere else! https://t.co/GREx7mUQsL
— Paul Shapiro (@fighto) August 25, 2014
If you aren’t into generating leads or collecting email addresses, then your usual MVT should probably a tweet linking to your own content that has received the greatest number of clicks or has sent the greatest amount of traffic to your website.
You can find this information from URL shortener data or your web analytics account.
If you aren’t a blogger or website owner, then jump into Twitter Analytics and pin the Tweet with the highest engagement rate.
The above rule of thumb works well for general situations, but it’s also important to utilize pinned tweets for specific scenarios, where they can be most powerful.
Pinned Tweet Rule of Thumb #2:
- If there is a specific scenario in which you would benefit from a pinned tweet, that should become your MVT.
Here’s an example…
My original LinkedIn Publishing post was guest post on OkDork, and if people didn’t read carefully, they may not have realized I was the one who wrote it.
In fact, based on the social media interactions, this happened quite a bit.
Many people thought that Noah Kagan wrote it.
So…
I pinned this tweet:
My latest post -> We Analyzed the 3,000 Most Successful LinkedIn Publishing Posts. http://t.co/vENFuPADme Here's How to Crush it!
— Paul Shapiro (@fighto) September 10, 2014
The tweet clearly indicates that I am the author of the guest post.
Then what I would do is run a twitter search ever now and then for the post and then favorite whoever shared it as a way of quickly saying, “thank you”.
These people may just think that I liked their Tweet not realizing I was the author, but if they click through to my Twitter profile, they saw my pinned Tweet front and center, indicating that I was the author.
Sometime subtle clues and good timing make all the difference in marketing š
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I originally shared this tip in my newsletter, which Iād like to encourage people to sign-up for. You can sign-up here (you’ll also get my free link building tool).
Hi, Paul, good suggestions for a little-used feature. A little extra thing you can do to add variety, pin a Tweet for your latest post.
Absolutely man.
I do this a bunch, especially in the respect of when I’m thanking people for sharing it.
The main point I’m conveying is that you should have a plan for what to do with it, and a set of rules helps–personally, I like to use it to help conversions and those are usually my “MVTs”.
I have to say – it’s a real shame that pinned tweets don’t appear on mobile.
Would be massively useful.
Yet another great hack Paul. It is wise to have a pinned tweet for specific scenarios or events when one has to promote those events. It is also beneficial to write a good Tweet with a call to action to convert visitors into customers.
Needs more tips!