Hundreds of millions of people use Twitter, the short messaging service that allows you to share updates of 140 characters or less. Twitter has more than 140 million active users, well below the 1 billion plus people who use Facebook.

Along with Facebook and YouTube, Twitter is considered a priority social media platform, one that its users make use of several times each day. Not just once per day, but several times and in some cases scores of tweets are sent out by users each day.

Dissecting Twitter

Twitter analysts love to dissect this platform to determine the “best use” for this dynamic social shirring tool. Buddy Media, a social enterprise software management company has recently published a white paper titled, “Strategies for Effective Tweeting: A Statistical Review,” that offers solid tips on tweeting with Twitter, strategies that are effective today.

I advise you to download it, read it and immediately apply these strategies to begin rocking your Twitter world. Let’s take a look at some of the key points that Buddy Media has made in its report:

Keep it simple — Don’t attempt to use every character available when tweeting. Buddy Media states “that tweets containing less than 100 characters receive 17 percent higher engagement than longer tweets.” If you’re a habitual tweeter, you’ll be more effective if you tweet four times or less each day. Yes, I know some of us tweet several times that amount, but conserving your tweets can increase your effectiveness.

Daytime tweeting — You may make use of automatic tweeting platforms such as TweetDeck, but know this: your tweets should appear during the “busy hours” of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Those busy hours are seven days per week and typically yield a 30 percent boost in engagement. Night time tweets do pack a punch, but if your audience isn’t on Twitter when you’re serving up tweets, well….

Hashtags help, but can hurt — Twitter users understand the importance of hashtags, as using these can yield two times more engagement than those without according to Buddy Media. But, if you use more than that, you can expect your engagement to drop off. Carefully use one or two hashtags to enjoy maximum visibility.

Images are cool — You’ve seen other users make use of photos and you should too. Include photos with your tweets and you’ll maximize engagement with your followers. My experience with photos is this: only include those that have maximum buzz appeal. You’ll know what that is when you do it.

About your links — Links are important to the Twitter experience and should be included when seeking higher retweet rates. However, Buddy Media warns users to test each link to ensure that they work. Placing a space before the URL helps clickability.

Show some retweet love — Your tweets are fine, but retweets rock and provide the highest engagement. Use “RT” or spell out “retweet” when you want others to help you out. Typically, I’ll toss in “Pls RT” to get some retweet love. Do likewise with your audience.

Upcoming Webinar

There is so much more meat in this report that I’ve only touched on the tip of the iceberg. When you download the report, take note of an offer by Buddy Media to participate in a webinar with Tami Dailey, the company’s VP of Analytics and Insights. On July 17 at 2 p.m. ET, Tami will go over the report and dig a bit deeper by sharing tips you can apply today.

Many of you make use of third-party platforms to enhance your Twitter experience. Some of the platforms can help your Twitter experience while others may harm it. Be careful not to spam your users or to retweet stuff that is not related to what you’re about. There is a lot of junk on Twitter, but if you can parse through it all, you’ll find and make tweets that can increase your social engagement.