You may have seen Twitter Moments appear in Twitter’s ‘Explore’ section under topics such as ‘news’ or ‘sport’. The social media platform is constantly updating the Moments they feature, so there is tough competition to get your Moment featured and bring more attention to your work or brand.
As a result, Twitter Moments also become an important tool for journalists’ and publications’ audience strategy. Here’s how to make the most out of them.
Moments are similar to threads – but better. In a Moment you can include tweets from both your own account and others’. You can also give it a title and a description longer than a standard 240 character tweet (up to 600 characters!)
So, how do you create the most effective Twitter Moment?
Finding the right subject
Well-performing Twitter Moments are often related to trending topics, so choose your subject wisely! Usually, Moments primarily feature your own/your publication’s tweets, including most commonly (but not always) a thread.
For example, this recent Interhacktives thread was made to mark International Women’s Day and featured a string of different related articles in each tweet.
Usually, the first tweet in a thread will open your Moment – so it’s important to make it eye-catching. Beginning with a question or an arresting headline is useful.
Also, it is a good idea to indicate that it is a thread using the word ‘thread’, or the now universal ‘Twitter thread’ symbol (🧵) so people know there is more to read.
Curating your Moment
If you’ve found your topic and created your tweets, you can then make them into a Moment. To do this, go to the ‘More’ button and click ‘Moments’. To begin making your Moment, click the lightning bolt at the top center of your screen – you should come to a page looking like this…
The easiest way to add your own tweets is to go to ‘Tweets by account’ and search for your own handle. Then, add your tweets by clicking each in turn.
(Tip: add your tweets in the order you want them to appear in the Moment – this will save you time rearranging them!)
If you want to add tweets from other accounts, you can search for them via the ‘Tweets by account’ or ‘Tweet search option’. When selected they’ll appear at the end of your Moment, but you can drag them up where you want using the bar at the right-hand side.
Images, headlines and descriptions
Here you can make your really Moment shine. You can add images featured in the tweets added to the Moment, or alternatively, you can add an image from another tweet using its URL.
Put simply, your Moment headline should describe what it’s about. Make sure to include keywords relating to the topic. One way to grab attention with your headline is to make it into a question or prompt – Make them want to click it!
Make use of the ability to create a longer description for your Moment too. After the headline, it will likely be the next thing people read, so make sure you entice them to keep reading. Again, include prompts and calls to action, even a hashtag or emoji or two.
And that’s it. Be sure to share your wonderful Twitter Moment with your followers by tweeting its URL!
Are you trying to improve your Twitter strategy? Check out our explainers ⤵️
🤳 What is Twitter for Professionals?
🔎 New Twitter features in 2022
🕺 Follow the Interhacktives on Twitter
Interactive Journalism MA at City, University of London.
Dublin-born, London-living.
Interested in sport, film/tv & social media's role in modern journalism.