5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Posting on Twitter

posting on Twitter

When posting on Twitter or any social media platform, you always want to be cautious and think twice before sharing something. Because guess what? Once it’s out there for the world to see, there’s no taking it back. It doesn’t matter if you quickly delete the post, sometimes the damage has already been done.

That’s why you want to take a moment and question everything before you actually hit send. And to help you out, there are a few questions you should mentally run through before sharing that next piece of content.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Posting on Twitter

These are the five questions to keep in mind as you create your social media content. Bookmark this post so you can easily refer to it later!

1. What’s my reasoning behind posting this?

To really grab attention on Twitter, you want to be strategic about the kind of content you’re posting. That’s going to be key in helping you build your audience, boost engagement, and generate conversions in the long run. As you’re thinking about the current state of your Twitter account, do you feel like things are a bit all over the place? Or do you feel your content is truly serving you and helping you reach your social media goals? Think about these things!

Before you hit that “tweet” button, is what you’re about to share serving a genuine purpose? Is it helping to build your brand in some way by being educational, entertaining, etc.? There’s no shame in sharing a mix of content. You can post something that helps people get to know you better, content that shows your authority, or even something that’ll get people laughing.

If you need some help coming up with content ideas, this post has some suggestions on what to post when the creative juices aren’t flowing.

2. Will this add value to my audience?

When you’re building a brand online, social media plays a huge role in generating brand awareness and for serving your community. That’s why you want to make sure you’re adding value with the content you’re sharing. By consistently showing up and posting high-quality, valuable content, you’re communicating that you’re an authority in your field. You’re delivering content that solves your audience’s pain points and you’re ultimately building trust.

So, ask yourself… Is this content adding value to my audience? Is it something they’re actually going to be interested in? In order to attract the right people to your Twitter account and get them to follow and engage with you, you need your content to resonate with them. Think about the topics they’d like to learn more about and how you can help them. That’s what you should be posting on Twitter.

One of the ways I add value is by frequently sharing links to my latest content. I know they’re helpful for my audience, so by promoting my content I know it’s allowing them to become better at Twitter.

3. Is this content truthful?

In this age of “fake news,” you definitely don’t want to be someone who is spreading misinformation across your social media platforms. Before you’re so quick to share something, take a moment and do some investigative work of your own. Is what you’re about to share accurate? Or is there actually more to the story?

Unfortunately, many people get caught up in this because they don’t consider the source that’s sharing the information and whether or not they’re reliable. And far too often people share an article without actually reading it, going just by the headline instead. Not good! This is actually something I talked about in my article on the three things to ask yourself before retweeting a post.

4. Could this post hurt other people or myself?

There is far too much negativity and bullying online these days. Before posting on Twitter, ask yourself if the content you’re about to share could hurt someone else. It’s always better to be kind, so no bashing others or trash talking. It only reflects poorly on you in the end.

You’ll also want to ask whether or not the post could hurt you and your brand. There are so many people watching what you post and the last thing you want is to share something that could damage your personal reputation or your brand’s reputation. Just think how many times a celebrity has slipped up and posted something bad over the years!

Not only that, but you also want to be careful about posting things that share your location. Twitter allows you to tag a specific location with your posts or you may share a photo that identifies where you are. Be careful doing this so you don’t put yourself at risk.

5. Is this something I’d want my employer seeing?

When you’re working for another company, there’s a good chance they might be checking in on what you’re posting on Twitter and other social media platforms. After all, they want to be sure their employees aren’t negatively impacting their reputation. And even if they aren’t watching what you post, what if you had something go viral unexpectedly? How would they respond?

That’s why it’s smart to put yourself in your employer’s shoes and think how they would feel if they saw your post. Would they be okay with it or could it cause you to lose your job? Always take a moment to think before you post and weigh any consequences beforehand. You don’t want to wind up paying for it later. So, if they have a social media policy in place, familiarize yourself with it ASAP.