Twitter for Beginners: The Basics

One of the best ways you can promote your brand today is through social media, and one of the most popular social media tools is Twitter. You can use Twitter to engage your customers and potential customers to build community, to create a buzz around your brand, and to direct traffic to your blog or website. In this article, I'm going to focus on the mechanics of using Twitter for beginners. Twitter (and its cousins) is a new communication form. It's not like any other communication method. What is Twitter Twitter is a message service that allows you to send and receive short messages within your Twitter community. You define your personal community by following other Twitter users. You see the messages created by everyone you follow. Other people decide to follow you, and those people see the messages you send out. Messages (called tweets) are short, only 140 characters long, so they are easy to skim. Each message answers the question "What are you doing?" You may think that it would be boring to read what people have for lunch or about their commute in traffic. Fortunately, most tweets are not about those things. Instead, you learn small details about the lives of the people you follow. In fact, you may be surprised to learn the small details about some of your best and closest friends. What Do People Tweet? People tweet about the things they think about. Some of the more interesting people that I follow post tweets about the following types of things: <ul> <li>Observations about life. ("<a href="http://twitter.com/austinmiles/status/888832641">I imagine that the street signs in heaven will be printed in helvetica.</a>")</li> <li>Interesting things to read. ("<a href="http://twitter.com/jaybaer/status/977769575">Today's Bacon Salt case study on Adweek underscores the 100% targeted nature of social media.</a> <a href="http://is.gd/4WdR">http://is.gd/4WdR</a>")</li> <li>New blog posts. ('<a href="http://twitter.com/Wedge/status/952539832">Annoyed by out dated websites and abandoned blogs? Join the conversation:</a> <a href="http://kilobox.net/504/">http://kilobox.net/504/</a>.")</li> <li>A humorous take on life events. ("<a href="http://twitter.com/pamslim/status/952860689">Who would have thought this granola-eating hippie with a liberal arts education would write a biz book? Life really is amazing.</a>") </li> <li>Personal news. </li> <li>Inspiring thoughts. ("<a href="http://twitter.com/Hildebrant/status/909801006">I'm living proof that dreams can come true. I love my work/company/partner/employees. Its great to make a living doing what you love.</a>")</li> <li>Professional news. ("<a href="http://twitter.com/GrammarGirl/status/916642127">The NYT included my website in a list of just FIVE recommended grammar blogs! Wow!</a> <a href="http://is.gd/2rSl">http://is.gd/2rSl</a>")</li> <li>Work-a-day life details. ("<a href="http://twitter.com/jamesarcher/status/994100899">It's so hard to entrust work to others, and yet so rewarding when they come back with great results. I need to delegate more!</a>")</li> <li>Business issues and challenges. (" <a href="http://twitter.com/jmoriarty/status/952896908">What if a fraction of the time spent talking about why social media is so spiffy and how to do it the bestest went into writing new content?</a>")</li> <li>Family life details. ("<a href="http://twitter.com/dneighbors/status/995643813">Excited for my daughter who made the varsity soccer team as a freshman.</a>")</li> </ul> I've discovered that the quality of my Twitter experience depends on whom I follow. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/kinchie">I follow people for different reasons</a>. Some are friends, some are part of my local community, and some are people whose work inspires me to be better. If you don't like your Twitter experience, follow different people! Twitter Timeline Your Twitter timeline is the list of tweets that you can see because of the people you follow. Your timeline shows up on your Twitter home page (http://twitter.com/home). There is also a public timeline that contains tweets from everyone on Twitter. You can review the public timeline using the Everyone option under your profile. How Do I Find People? When I first started on Twitter, none of my friends were using it. I did <a href="https://twitter.com/invitations/find_on_twitter">name searches</a>, and I let Twitter go through my email addresses to find people I knew. No luck. I began looking for people in technical jobs located in my town. I used the <a href="https://twitter.com/invitations">Twitter search feature</a>, searching for the names of each local Phoenix suburb. The search results included people who listed their town in their biography. I hoped to find people I knew, but instead, I found total strangers. I reviewed each person's profile, and looked at the website link they provided to get a feel for them as people. I also reviewed their Twitter archive. Some of them didn't click with me, but I found a lot of people saying interesting things from the start. After collecting a group of people to follow, I started paying attention to whom they followed. This expanded my circle even further, and soon I was following 30+ people. Another way to find interesting people is to <a href="http://search.twitter.com/">search for specific words in the tweet stream</a> (all tweets posted by all Twitter users). This works really well if you are looking for something specific. I searched for people who mentioned specific software I use. You could search for your brand. Leverage Your Twitter Profile Your Twitter profile explains who you are to the world. Each component is optional, but they allow other users to discover you and to see what you are about. <ul> <li>Your name is your real name, not your Twitter username. Use your real name if you want people to find you using the <a href="https://twitter.com/invitations/find_on_twitter">Twitter search feature</a>.</li> <li>Your location is your geography. Most people put a city name and a two letter state abbreviation, but there are no rules.</li> <li>Your website lets you link to one webpage. You can link to your website, your blog, or you can develop a special <a href="http://tinyurl.com/kinchie">Twitter landing page</a> that tells people more about you and how you use Twitter.</li> <li>Your bio gives you 160 characters to give people a flavor of your personality.</li> </ul> You created these items when you opened your Twitter account. You can edit them at any time under the Settings option. Others view your Twitter profile when they click on your Twitter username in a tweet, or when they visit your home page (http://twitter.com/yourusername). Tweet Types There are three types of tweets you can send out. <ul> <li>General tweets go out to all of your followers. They also appear in the Twitter public timeline.</li> <li>@Replies go to a specific person and start with @username. They also appear to other users and appear in the Twitter public timeline.</li> <li>Direct messages are private messages sent to only one person.</li> </ul> @Replies You send an @reply to a specific person, but a reply is not a private message. @Replies show up in the your timeline and the public timeline. They also show up in the timeline of every person who follows both you and the person identified in your @reply (the @username person). Note: This is the default setting. You can also view all @replies made by the people you follow by changing your @replies setting under Notices in your settings. Most likely, you see a tweet in your timeline and you want to reply. Move your mouse over the tweet and a back arrow appears on the right. Click this, and Twitter starts creating your @reply to that person. However, you can send an @reply to any Twitter user by typing @username at the start of a tweet. You can view all @replies sent to you under the @Replies tab on the right of your home page. Direct Messages You can send a direct message to any user who follows you. You don't use the Twitter message box on your home page to send a direct message. Instead, you send it from the Direct Messages page. Use the drop-down list to select the person to receive your direct message, and type the message below. When you click Send, the message appears in the Direct Messages page for that Twitter user. Or, someone sends you a direct message, you can reply to a direct message with a direct message. Display your Direct Messages page, located the direct message, and click on the envelope with the left arrow. Twitter starts creating the direct message at the top of the page. Note: The only way to know you have a direct message is to check your Direct Message page. Keep track of the number of direct messages and you can tell when you receive a new one. Additional Brand Opportunites There are a few setup options you should complete before diving into the Twitterverse. <ul> <li>Your picture (or avatar). Only Twitter newbies use the default user picture. For the most impact, upload a recent picture that focuses on your face. Square pictures are best if you can crop the picture before you upload. Twitter accepts all pictures up to 700k and reduces large files so you don't have to do this. You can change your picture using the Picture tab in the Settings.</li> <li>Twitter background. Use one of Twitter's themes or upload your own background image. Here is where you can get creative and establish your personal or company brand within Twitter. Use the Design tab in the Settings. This is a great way to introduce your visual brand components.</li> <li>Twitter colors. Based on the background or theme you use, you may want to adjust the Twitter colors to make it easier to read.</li> </ul> Last word: You now have everything you need to being tweeting away. Find your customers, find your peers, and start sending tweets. It is a fun way to engage your audience and promote your brand. If you like this, <a href="http://twitter.com/CrowInfoDesign">follow me on Twitter. I'm CrowInfoDesign</a>. 2008-12-05T10:17:26Z

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twitter-for-beginners-the-basics

2008-12-05T20:40:06Z

Have you been wanting to check out Twitter, or have you attempted to use Twitter but were frustrated by your first efforts? Learn the basic mechanics of the Twitter communication tool and start promoting your business and brand online.

Twitter for Beginners: The Basics

2009-03-11T00:05:15Z