Want the links in your tweets to get more clicks? A new study suggests you should avoid using hashtags or mentions.
After missing Wall Street revenue estimates, Twitter released a study advising people on how to use one of its new ad units — direct response ads. While this study is geared towards advertisers, it may also prove to be good practical advice when posting any kind of tweet that’s designed to drive a specific result, such as clicking on a link to your website or sales page.
Twitter’s study found that direct response ads with either a hashtag or an @-mention performed the worst. According to the study, a tweet that doesn’t include a # or @ mention will generate 23% more clicks.
Anne Mercogliano, head of SMB marketing at Twitter, suggests that other clickable parts of a tweet are distracting users from what you’re really trying to get them to do. Mercogliano goes on to explain that, despite the results of the study, marketers should not try to avoid using hashtags altogether:
“If you’re trying to join a conversation, you should absolutely use a hashtag… But for driving for a specific click that you’re looking for off Twitter, the less noise that you put in between [the better].”
This latest study continues the trend of Twitter guiding people on how to best use its service. This began last summer when Twitter released data-backed tips on how to engage with millennials. Last fall the company provided data-driven best practices on how to engage with users of any demographic.
Using a combination of tips found in all of these studies certainly has the potential to help improve your Twitter marketing campaigns.
