Having a Twitter account with a limited number of followers is not enough to effectively market a business. It is essential to increase the number of people and businesses following your account. Each new user has the capability of bringing in more followers and prospective customers.

There are a number of useful tools available that will allow the user to yield better results. The Retweet button is one such tool. It enables your Twitter followers to share your posts, links and photos to their followers. This drives more traffic to your page and expands the reach of your business. It gives you the opportunity to connect with new people who might be interested in your product. It also allows friends and colleagues the opportunity to endorse your site with minimal effort.

Retweeting somebody else’s status message will effectively add that message to your own timeline. This will compete with personal posts, and can result to timeline flooding or ignored and blocked accounts. As such, it is not an easy task to have people use this button. Here are some suggestions on how you can convince Twitter users to repost your messages:

1. Great content – Make sure that your posts are interesting enough for users to repost. Grammar is essential and there should be no spelling errors. The message needs to be short and concise but bursting with information. Include a link to your site, but use link-shortening services to leave you more space for essential information. The content should also appeal to your target market. Make sure to provide enough reason for them to click on your link or retweet your post.
2. Ask your friends – For most people, a simple request is enough to retweet a post. Ask your friends for this simple favor by asking them personally, sending them a direct message, or calling them. It is a quick task that will only take them a few seconds to do. Your friends are likely to be excited about your new business venture and will be happy to endorse your site to their contacts.
3. Timing – People check on their Twitter accounts during office breaks, lean hours of the day, and before going to bed at night. They typically read through the first few items and browse through or ignore the rest. Timing your posts perfectly would increase the probability of your contacts reading and sharing them. Avoid posting items during peak hours of the day or during mealtime.
4. “Please retweet” – Adding this simple request to your post can generate a positive response from some of your followers. If you check on your own timeline, you will notice that most of the messages retweeted by people have this simple phrase included in the text. It signifies the importance of reaching a bigger audience and appeals to the emotion of people who may want to help you out.
5. Don’t be self-centered – Avoid talking about yourself. Instead, post about interesting topics that are happening around you. Find a connection between a recent event and your product, and capitalize on that idea. You can, for instance, post a link about Halloween parties and add a short notation about having costumes available for sale.
6. Be Active – You need to be an active user to make your presence felt by your followers. Avoid posting the same messages repeatedly. Instead, post fresh ideas and information. Interesting posts are more likely to be shared and retweeted.
7. Acknowledge – Make sure to appreciate followers who retweet your post. This encourages them to become more engaged with your page.

Your Twitter status has a higher chance of being spread around every time it is retweeted. Potentially, your audience could grow exponentially. The trick lies in knowing how maximize this potential and convert it to revenue.