Guest Post by Aseem Badshah | Founder & CEO of Socedo
Would you believe it if we told you click through rates on Twitter DMs are ten times higher than average email marketing rates? Over the past few months we’ve been collecting some very interesting data here at Socedo that shows how well targeted Twitter Directed Messages can work. For a long time, DMs have had a bad rep in the online marketing game. People often viewed them as an ineffective and “spammy” method of marketing online content. But with the click through rates we’ve observed in the neighborhood of 30%, it’s time to start asking if DM marketing could possibly be the new form of email marketing? Read on to learn more about this promising new player in social media marketing.
What We’ve Found
Upon looking at the response data our users have been experiencing from their DM marketing campaigns we noticed some pretty interesting trends. Taking into account all of the Socedo users who have sent out at least 10 automated DMs containing links, the average click-through rate on the links was 29%. That figure jumps to 31% for users who sent over 50 links via DMs. This rate is good by normal marketing standards, but when compared to average email marketing click-through rates, which hover around 3%, it’s downright impressive. Even the average rate of users who sent even one message was able to easily surpass the email marketing benchmark at a solid 27%.
How to Make It Work For You
So we know that sending Twitter DMs to potential clients can be effective. But it’s not necessarily guaranteed to work unless you’re sending the right type of DM. Time and effort should be put into crafting the proper way to reach out to your audience in order to make the most of these promising response rates. When sending a DM be sure to make it as personal and specific as possible by including the recipients first name. Stay away from cliché responses to activity such as “Thanks for following!” It is these phrases that give DMs the spam qualities that people hate. Instead opt for a compliment, let them know that you enjoy the content they are posting on Twitter. This at least gives them a basis for why you wished to connect with them in the first place. Then you can prompt them to take a look at the link you are sharing with them. Try mentioning that you think they would be interested in this link based on what they’ve tweeted. The goal is to be friendly and engaging, not aggressive or pushy. 
We’ve also got a helpful tip for linking your material within the Twitter DM. The straightforward option is to provide a direct link to the content you are promoting. But as an alternative, consider first tweeting the link to your content on your own Twitter page. You can then provide the link to this tweet in your DM. This allows your recipients to access your content by following both links, as well as giving all of your followers a chance to check out the content and Retweet it across the Twitterverse. This can give your campaign much more exposure while maintaining the friendly a personal feel within your DMs.
It’s obvious that Twitter DMs are proving to be very effective for social marketing engagement. If these rates continue to improve, DMs may just be future powerhouse method of reaching out to prospects online. Just remember, if you’re going to take advantage of this power for your business then be sure you’re doing it right. Sending the right message can make or break your campaign.
