How to use psychology to write engaging tweets

"AHHHHHH." I got T-minus 20 minutes to write this email...

My roommates want to go to the movies tonight and I poorly planned my time, so here we are.

But am I gonna let that get in the way of me providing you with buckets and buckets of value? (Ew, that's an awful analogy).

No sir (or ma'am, whatever tickles your fancy.)

In today's rushed email, I'm going to break down some tweets and the psychology of why they did well so you can replicate the concepts in your own tweets.

Let's jump in.

Superiority

The above tweet has a few things going for it.

First off, it gives a sense of superiority to the reader. My audience is filled with a bunch of people who read books and lift weights. Therefore, they identify as the type of person who are ahead of 90% of people in life.

It also plays on the concept of contrast. Nerds and muscular people are usually thought of as polar opposites. The same applies to the passive activity of reading and the active act of lifting weights. So combining them together creates a unique idea. 

Unique ideas = Dopamine.

Dopamine = Retweets.

Notice how the same concepts apply to the above tweet?

Pattern Disrupt

Everyone is used to the same old stuff. This includes people posting about routines. And although tweets about routines do well, disrupting the status quo with something new will make you stand out.

Right away with the above tweet, I create curiosity in the first line. Morning routine is in quotes and I tell the reader nobody told them about it.

They can't help but read the list to find out what it is.

The list goes on to talk about activities I do that aren't in the morning (except 11am), but will affect me the next morning.

This creates an "Aha!" moment for the reader and hits the dopamine receptors in their brain.

Novelty = Dopamine.

Dopamine = Retweets.

Emotion

This tweet did well because it's applicable to everybody.

We all want happiness. We all want purpose.

This tweet is a way to show people how to get closer to that. It gives them a feeling of hope. 

The picture is also great at capturing attention. It's high quality, clean, and eye catching colours. It also adds to the idea in the tweet.

Combine the writing and picture together and you have the recipe for a solid tweet.

Feel good emotions = Dopamine.

Dopamine = Retweets.

See the pattern?

Spark dopamine in the reader and you'll get your tweets popping off. There's a variety of ways to do so, but these are just a few.

Wow...

This email is a record for me. It was swift, but I hope you got some value from it regardless. Apply different approaches to your writing and don't be afraid to experiment. Over time, you'll notice patterns in your own tweets and how to replicate the result.

Preciatchya reading and hope you have a day filled with viral tweets. 

Your Canadian friend,

Dakota Robertson