One of the toughest things about running a great Twitter feed is consistently coming up with things to post. Unlike blogging or social media, on Twitter you might want to come up with something new several times a day. It’s not unusual for Twitter users to post as many as 10 to 20 times a day or more.

Fortunately, there’s a wide variety of things you can post on Twitter. Even Fortune 500 CEOs post everything from useful content to whimsical musings to moderately funny jokes.

Here are ten ideas you can use to come up with things to share on Twitter.

#1 – Recommend a Resource

 

Is there a particular article, book, workshop, DVD, YouTube video, magazine or other resource that you’d recommend? Post a link to that resource, along with a description of what you liked about it.

#2 – Post Valuable Content

 

Posting valuable original content should be the cornerstone of your Twitter feed. You can post all kinds of other content, but at the very basic level your Twitter feed should be all about enhancing your followers’ lives. Here’s an example from the Wall Street Journal.

#3 – Write a Review

 

If you read a book, attended a workshop or purchased a product, write a review of it on Twitter. You can write a very brief review on Twitter, or you can post a much longer review on your website and simply link to it from Twitter.

It shows your readers you’re in tune with the latest information, can think critically and are willing to share what you’ve learned.

#4 – Make an Announcement

 

Are you launching a new product? Starting a new initiative? Beginning a forum? If there’s something new coming up, announce it to your list.

You can also use announcements to build excitement. Instead of just announcing something all at once, use teasers to lead up to the actual announcement event. Drop hints about new things coming up to get people excited, without actually revealing what it is until the time comes.

#5 – Trivia

 

Asking trivia is a quick and easy way to increase engagement. This works particularly well for people who are rabidly passionate about a subject.

Use varying degrees of trivia to keep different kinds of people engaged. Easy questions can help newcomers feel a sense of pride for getting it right, while extremely tough questions will challenge hardcore fans.

Getting people involved always builds excitement for the big day.

#6 – Retweet

 

Find a valuable piece of content on someone else’s feed and retweet it on your feed. This has the added benefit of building trust and reciprocity with the person whom you retweeted.

You can use retweets to supplement what you don’t naturally produce in your Twitter stream. For example, if you have great text content but lack video content, you can instead make it a habit to retweet high quality video content tweets.

#7 – Post Something Shocking, Controversial or Unexpected

 

News about shocking events, controversial opinions or unexpected announcements always gets a lot of traction.

Look for unusual things and see how you can put your own spin on it. Alternatively, look for commonly held beliefs that you disagree with and make your disagreement public.

#8 – Ask a Question

 

Ask an insightful question. Your followers will often vie to be the first to answer the question. If your question is thought provoking, people will often go out of their way to write great answers.

This can help spark very interesting discussions about your question, your products, your brand or your hashtags.

#9 – Say Hello (Every Day)

 

It may be contrary to what a lot of people say, but if you’re an active Twitter user, get in the habit of saying “hello” or “good morning” each day when you log in.

This tells Twitter users who interact with you regularly that you’re open to interaction. People love interacting with other users who’re actually there interacting with them. By saying “hello” at the beginning of every day, you let people know you’re in front of your computer and open to messages and tweets. Add a little something extra to make people think or bring a smile to their day.

Note: Don’t use this tactic unless you tweet at least 10 times a day. Otherwise when someone views your stream, all they will see is a series of “Hello.”

#10 – Post Something Funny

 

Post something off the cuff or humorous. Don’t post humorous content too often if you run a business Twitter feed. However, posting something funny every once in a while can be a great way to keep your stream lively.

Sometimes the best way to post something funny is to just post something off the cuff. If you have a smartphone, post the funny idea you have right away rather than waiting. And note, this is NOT really a tweet from Barack Obama, but is quite funny.

These ten ideas, along with any variations you come up with, will help you keep your Twitter stream flowing with all kinds of different tweets. Develop your own style, blend it with your brand and post consistently to build a strong following.

What have you found is a strong strategy for how you share on Twitter? Please share in the comments.

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