The 10 Most Clickable Twitter Headlines

Being "good" at Twitter is more of an art than a science. There's no magic formula for social media success, nor hard and fast rules for how to use Twitter well. But there are guidelines, informed by scads of data and legitimized through case studies and success stories, for writing the "best" Twitter headlines as measured by their clickability. Tests have shown that you can increase your conversion rate on a link by 73% when you write a compelling headline. And getting users to click on links in tweets is one of the major goals of brands using Twitter. To that end, here are the 10 most clickable Twitter headlines that will engage your followers, draw traffic to your blog or website, and help differentiate your Twitter among its thousands of competitors vying for attention. 1. A Top 10 list. People love lists, on Twitter just as across the Internets (ahem, did you notice the headline of this blog post?). A Twitter headline that concisely packages the content being linked to by referring to it with a quantity - doesn't have to be 10 - sends the message to the reader that wherever they're led after clicking on your link won't take too long to read and will be digestible. Example 1: https://twitter.com/Inspirationf/status/324266802844667904 Example 2: https://twitter.com/HuffPostImpact/status/318169314328973314 2. The promise of something. The best headlines, in traditional copy and tweets alike, make a promise. Hook people with a promise, and they'll feel that they'll be more entertained, informed, smarter, or better off in some way than before they clicked the link in your tweet. Example 1: https://twitter.com/custom_publish/status/324605923807084546 Example 2: https://twitter.com/wired/status/324601328762494976 3. A poignant question. Ask and you shall receive. Pose a resonant question, and you're more likely to attract engagement. People also want to follow, for the most part, Twitterers that do more than push out 140-character press releases around the clock. Tweeting relevant and pithy questions suggests that you actually care about your followers' input. Example 1: https://twitter.com/Lifedcom/status/324604695689699328 Example 2: https://twitter.com/KeepItCuteBand/status/324628829316448257 4. A call to action. Similarly, tell your followers to click on a link - and as long as your tweet is well-written (grammatically right, concise, engaging), they'll do so. Also, according to Dan Zarella, the most retweeted word is "you." Example 1: https://twitter.com/randizuckerberg/status/324623543650381824 Example 2: https://twitter.com/peoplemag/status/295547072998940672 5. A directed message. When you prefix your tweeted link with a targeted audience, you perk up the ears (er, fingers) of the followers that fall into that category. People are more likely to click on the link in a tweet if they feel that it's super-relevant to them. Example 1: https://twitter.com/MarkRaganCEO/status/324599213071671296 Example 2: https://twitter.com/RealSimple/status/324595803517767680 6. Intrigue. When you catch a reader's eye with stand-out phrasing or buzzy language, they are that much more likely to engage with your content. With this one, you're going for the virtual double-take reaction. Example 1: https://twitter.com/ariannahuff/status/324605918065070080 Example 2: https://twitter.com/copyblogger/status/324596960529117184 7. A newsy nugget. It's nearly impossible these days to pinpoint what outlet broke what news, on what platform, and when. But tweeting something that's ultra-time-sensitive gives tweeps a major incentive to click your tweet. Example 1: https://twitter.com/TheNextWeb/status/324599004031762433 Example 2: https://twitter.com/TechCrunch/status/324596954564804608 8. The word "infographic." Infographics shared on Twitter get 832% more retweets than images and articles. That's a big payoff for one 11-letter word. Throw a hashtag in there (#infographic) for extra shareability. Example 1: https://twitter.com/AllisonStadd/status/324258440669184000 Example 2: https://twitter.com/Visually/status/321728696711012354 9. A celebrity name. Hollywood's got pull, even on Twitter. Tap into existing popularity by linking your Twitter headline to someone high-profile. Example 1: https://twitter.com/KenTremendous/status/324551410005995520 Example 2: https://twitter.com/BET/status/324617089887395842 10. A how-to. Tips, tricks, and how-to's have made sites like Lifehacker formidably popular, so it makes sense that well-worded tweets along those lines get tons of clicks. Example 1: https://twitter.com/FastCompany/status/324628032620986368 Example 2: https://twitter.com/jonathanmead/status/324605417109987328 Anything you'd add to this list? Let me know in the comments! (Image via Shutterstock)

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The 10 Most Clickable Twitter Headlines

Allison Stadd

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Allison Stadd