November 14th, 2013 
Dawn Lanier
Click to Tweet is a Twitter marketing tool that lets people tweet the exact text you want them to share on Twitter. A number of bloggers, including myself, use it on a regular basis, and find it very handy. The problem is that not everyone uses it the right way, so they’re not getting the maximum bang for their effort.
Click to Tweet Directions: Good News, Bad News
On the Click to Tweet website, it tells you ‘here’s how it works’:
- Write the message you want to share in the box
- Click the ‘generate’ button to create a custom link
- Share the link
Sounds easy enough right? And it is. If you follow those directions, you certainly will get a custom link that others can share on Twitter, just like they said. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that unless you specifically include both a link back to your blog and your @twittername, no one will know that the tweet originated with you.
Same Tweet, Different Impact
Let’s suppose I want to promote this post. I go to Click to Tweet and type in the title ‘How to use Click to Tweet to promote your blog’ and then hit ‘generate link’, like this.
After I generate the link and preview it, the resulting tweet will look like this:
Whoever follows my suggestion to ‘Tweet This’ will be tweeting ‘How to use Click to Tweet to promote your blog’ and nothing else. The tweet won’t make any sense because it doesn’t link to anything, and I won’t get the credit for blogging about it. Not good.
OK, Let’s Try This Again
My goal as a blogger is to provide valuable content to my audience. For obvious reasons, I also want them to know where it’s coming from. So the best way for me to do that with Click to Tweet is to brand my content and make sure it leads right back to this post.
Two more steps will complete the job.
First I’ll need the short URL to my published blog post. Note I said published. This part is really important, otherwise my link will point to the draft version, which will result in a ‘page not found’ after it’s published. The WordPress short URL can be found at the end of the permalink where it says ‘get shortlink’.
Second, I need to include my Twitter name @bizcoachdawn in the copy. You can add a few hashtags too for good measure.
Now when I go to Click to Tweet, I’ll enter this information:
And the tweet others will share will look like this:
That’s it! Now can you do me a favor? Tweet This OK? Thanks!
Have you used Click to Tweet? What do you think of it? I’d love to hear about your experience.
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I’ve not heard of this before. Thanks for sharing, Dawn. One more thing to add to my “to do” list.
Alexandra McAllister recently posted..Free Webinar – Twitter Pay Per Click Advertising….
I’m glad to share it with you then Alexandra. I’m sure you’ll enjoy using it since you spend a lot of time on Twitter 🙂
We tweet our blog everyday, and make sure everyone in the dojo does also, so that we reach a larger audience.
That’s certainly proven to be a great strategy for you Robert – there’s nothing like having a large tribe to get your message out. Keep up the good work!
This is interesting and something I must learn. Thanks for reminding us of the other social medias.
Tina Ashburn recently posted..A Little Different
You’re welcome Tina. Glad you found it interesting. Thanks for your comment.
This is all so confusing to me! I just need to sit down and read about it more.
It’s not hard Kelly – it’s just new to you. After you try it a few times, you’ll get the hang of it. If you have questions, I’m glad to help. Send me a private message on my Facebook Page and I’ll make sure you understand it 🙂
Terrific information Dawn. I’m going to have to return to this post when I complete my blog.
Thanks Meli! Looking forward to seeing it on your blog 🙂
You got me- I tweeted and shared to google+. I’m not really into sm marketing and I don’t think Ill need this bUT I recognize how valuable it can be for tweeters and bloggers.
Roz recently posted..Appreciation
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Roz – and the shares!
Oh boy Dawn another great article. Now you’ve got me wondering if I have been using ClicktoTweet tool the right way either. Hopping over to my blog to find articles I used it on to see if my tweets are formatted properly. Thank you for the heads up tutorial about how to use ClicktoTweet properly for maximum bang for my time.
Carla J Gardiner recently posted..Got Time To Be Stuck In A Rut? 3 Tips To Live Spontaneously
Thank you Carla for your kind words. You are most welcome for the tutorial. FYI – I had to teach myself how to use ClicktoTweet the right way because when I first started using it, I was doing it the wrong way 🙂 Guess that’s why they say mistakes are often our best teachers!
Great tutorial! I bookmarked it!
You rock Simona! Thanks.
Excellent post on using click to tweet, Dawn! Love that you included the visuals because that makes it so much easier to do!
Sherie recently posted..If You Can Do This Like A Navy Seal, Then You Can Knock Out Stress
I’m glad to hear you say that Sherie – I’m a visual learner too. I understand things better when I can see them, and I think most people are the same way. Thanks for the encouragement – I’ll keep using them 🙂
Thanks for this great info Dawn! I definitely need to try this out on my next blog! What I have been doing does not seem to be working. Thank You!
Terri Lind Davis recently posted..Focal Point: Window Treatments Complete a Room
I’m sure you’ll be happy with it Terri – it does come in handy! Thanks for your comment.
Dawn, I’ve been looking for a tool that supports in-text “tweetables” on my blog. From what I can tell, I can use this for that purpose, right? That is, I can indicate a tweetable on my blog and follow that with a “Click this” link that has an embedded link generated with this tool … and by clicking the link they’ll tweet the tweetable text, however I format it with the URL and my @name?
Sharon O’Day recently posted..Personal Responsibility: Real Women Make Real Money
Yes Sharon, you certainly can. Click to Tweet is actually perfect for sharing blog posts. You’ll want to use Tweet This (or something similar that references Twitter) instead of ‘Click this’ though. That way people understand you specifically want them to share it on Twitter. Also, make sure you’re using your WordPress short URL when you format your text with Click to Tweet so you stay within the 140 character limit. Think you just found the tool you were looking for 🙂 Thanks for your question!
Interesting post! Click to Tweet is definitely easy to use. How do you benefit the most from using it?
Lorii Abela recently posted..Love, Dating and Relationships Global Teleconference Starts at November 18
Thanks Lorii – it is pretty easy to use. The most obvious benefit I’ve seen is that the number of blog visitors who use the ‘Tweet This’ link seem to be higher than the number of people who will tweet the same content using the share icon below the post. In other words, I get more tweets! That works for me 🙂
Now it seems CTT wants people to sign in first. Awful now. Unless they go back to the old way, I will no longer use CTT.
Alex – thanks for calling my attention to the new changes with ClickToTweet. If you’re interested in tracking responses to your ClickTtoTweet link, then yes, they do make you sign in now. However, there’s also a place where you can get a simple link like before without signing in. You can find it here.