This is part two of a three-part series on Twitter for B2B. See part one, Twitter for B2B, and part three, How to Use Twitter Analytics.

If you’re not sure what else to tweet, try these 20 ideas.

Twitter is an excellent platform for sharing news and reaching your customers, but it sure can be a lot of work. Our recent social experiment showed us that engagement is highest for Fronetics when we tweet around 40 times a day. That takes a lot of time and energy — not to mention, a lot of content.

You, too, may find yourself frequently strapped for quality tweeting material. We’ve got some ideas to not only fill your feed but to keep your followers interested and engaged.

A few things to remember

Keep in mind the 4-1-1 rule, an idea popularized by Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi and Tippingpoint Labs: “For every one self-serving tweet, you should re-tweet one relevant tweet and, most importantly, share four pieces of relevant content written by others.” This prevents your Twitter account from seeming too self-promoting, which quickly will turn off followers, and it reinforces your business’ position as a helpful source of information and knowledge.

Remember, also, that you don’t have to tweet just text. You can also share photos, videos, Slideshares, and links. Mix it up to keep things interesting.

With that said, here are 20 ideas to get you tweeting.

Tweet this

1) Release news.

Twitter has become the new newswire, where stories break and people turn for to-the-minute information. It’s a great place to offer updates about product releases, changes in service, or other company announcements. But also you can share news that might affect your followers or your supply chain: severe weather, acts of terror, or economic or political events.

2) Share company or industry data.

We’ve written before about the potential for data-as-content. Tweeting stats, data, and other numbers relevant to your audience is a great way to get started. You can type out the information in less than 140 characters or create a quick infographic or image.

3) Mine Reddit.

Reddit is an endless source for content of any kind. Create a multireddit with industry-specific subreddits so you can quickly browse what’s trending to share with your audience.

4) Recycle an old blog post.

Be it a week or a few years later, there’s no shame in reposting content after some time has gone by. Maybe it’s relevant to current events. Maybe it got overshadowed by another breaking story or event when it was originally posted. Maybe it did really well the first time, and it’s still relevant. Regardless, tweeting about an old post can drive new traffic to some of your best content. You can always frame it as “ICYMI” (in case you missed it) or a “Best of” post.

5) Praise your suppliers.

Sharing a positive experience with a business partner is great exposure for the partner and good karma for you. It also shows your audience that your behind-the-scenes operations are running smoothly, which reinforces confidence in your products or services.

6) Share a meme.

An internet meme is a humorous piece of media (most often a photo) shared online from user to user. Show your brand’s personality by posting one that will make your followers smile.

7) Thank inspiring speakers from an industry conference.

Did someone give a particularly interesting presentation? Tag them and thank them. Maybe they’ll follow you or retweet you, giving you lots of exposure.

8) Throw it back.

Post an old photo or an old tweet on a Thursday to participate in Throwback Thursday (#TBT). “Old” doesn’t have to mean decades ago, by the way. People frequently use content from earlier in the year — even earlier in the week.

9) Reveal your favorite follow.

Do you really enjoy news or content from another user? Share that person’s Twitter handle with a quick explanation of the kind of tweets followers can expect. You’re offering valuable information to your audience — and you’ll get excellent exposure for your business if the user has a large following and engages with your tweet by liking or retweeting it.

10) Celebrate holidays.

Wish your followers happy and safe holidays, and show photos of your employees celebrating special events. Remember holidays aren’t limited to major religious or patriotic days of observance. International Women’s Day, Bring Your Child to Work Day, and National Ice Cream Month can inspire content. Days of the Year is a great resource for little-known holidays. Did you know that July 11 is International Town Criers Day?

11) Comment on trending topics.

See what people in your network are talking about. The Trends column on the left of the homepage shows popular topics of conversation tailored to you based on your followers and accounts you follow. If a trending topic involves something you have experience with, offer insight and information to help position your company as a thought leader in the industry.

12) Retweet your executives.

Get exposure for your management team or other content spokespeople in your company by retweeting them.

13) Quote someone famous.

Everyone can relate to inspirational quotes. Tweet your favorites or create graphics to share. Or, follow leaders and thinkers you admire and retweet particularly poignant thoughts.

14) Praise an industry leader.

Tag someone to tell them that you liked their book, article, or post. Congratulate newly appointed executives of competitors and business partners. Recognize someone for a courageous business decision, successful quarter, or outstanding support of a charitable organization.

15) Hold a contest.

Build excitement about a product by asking followers to post photos of creative alternative uses with the hashtag #HowNotToUse. Have them share their best recipes using your wholesale food products. Or ask for submissions to name your newest cargo ship. (Boaty McBoatface?) Whether you give a prize or not, people are competitive by nature and will enjoy participating.

16) Answer an FAQ.

Ask your customer service team for a list of customers’ most frequently asked questions and regularly tweet out answers.

17) Ask a question.

Whether “What do you think of our new product?” or “Do you have plans for the long weekend?” there’s no better way to get a response than to ask a question.

18) Conduct a poll.

If you’re looking for a specific answer, use the poll button to see what your followers are thinking. It can be related to your business or just for fun. Try both and see where you get the most engagement!

19) Share photos of company events.

Days of service, employee milestone celebrations, executive retreats: photos help followers attach faces to your business name. It also gives them a behind-the-scenes look at company culture and builds a positive image of your employer brand.

20) Retweet what your network is sharing.

Share helpful, informative, or entertaining content from the users you follow. You not only offer value to your followers, you also let the user know you like their content and prompt them to do the same for you.

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Tweet This: Ideas for Twitter Content for the Supply Chain