Everything I wish I’d known when I first started using twitter.
When I read last month’s statistics, showing that 60% percent of twitter users stop using service within a month I wasn’t surprised. When I first signed up to twitter I didn’t get it either.
Four days lapsed between my first and second confused tweets. What benefit could I possibly gain from shouting random 140 character statements out into cyberspace? (A notion brilliantly visualised in this hilarious college humour video ‘Twitter in real life’).
The thing is Twitter isn’t ‘I’ll hold your hand and talk you through it’ social media, like Facebook or My Space.
You get out of twitter what you put in. I believe that’s the key to ‘getting’ it, and I think that’s what twitter –quitters miss.
There are millions of ‘how-to’ twitter guides out there - I’ve read loads. But I still seem to find a little something new in each of them so I’ve decided to compile a ‘how to tweet’ guide of my own aimed at all new, or just still-confused, twitterers.
1. Open an account.
The easy bit - just go here.
TIP: Notice the invitation ‘join the conversation’.
2. Pick your user name.
Would you walk into a party/networking do and introduce yourself as ‘SusieSugarflump1982’? No? Then don’t do it here. Using your real name makes you more believable and easier to search for.
Company names are ok but if you leave the company, you’ll have to change your twitter handle and start all over again. Also who would you rather follow @virginmedia or @richardbrason?
My bet is the latter. Most people would rather listen to what @richardbranson is up to then read loads of tweets about new products and services.
Twitter is about the people and the conversation, not about the hard sell and push marketing.
TIP: If @yourname is taken try @your_name or other variations.
3. Complete your profile.
The more information you include, the better. Profiles with no bio, picture, location or web address look suspicious and many will assume they are spam accounts.
A short bio about who you are, what you do, what you are interested in will enable people with similar interests to find and follow you.
Try to include a web address even if it’s just your Facebook or flickr page, so people can find out more about you.
Also don't protect your updates, twitter is about open and transparent communication. Protected updates send out all the wrong messages.
TIP: See what kind of information the people you want to follow include in their profiles and follow their lead.
4. Start following people.
But don’t go mad and follow everyone. Mass-following will just mean you get bombarded with a load of noise, most of which will be boring and irrelevant.
Find your ‘real life’ friends
If they’ve been tweeting a while they’ll help you get to grips with twitter. Plus you can always see who they’re following and talking to too, and chances are they’ll interest you too.
Find people who share your interests or work in the same profession.
See what they’re talking about and who they’re following.
Find your favourite newspaper/industry publication/magazine.
Start receiving breaking news and headlines through twitter.
Follow your favourite celebrity/comedian/musician.
There are a lot of ‘twimposters’ (fakes) and some celebs just try to promote their latest project, but sometimes they can be very entertaining and informative.
TIP: Use the ‘find people’ button on the twitter web page or a twitter directory like Twellow, WeFollow or JustTweetIt.
5. Use a twitter client
Once your following a sizable amount of people you’ll find that using twitter through the web page is a bit rubbish and frustrating – no-one wants to sit constantly clicking refresh to keep up with the stream of tweets flowing through.
The best way to resolve this is to use a twitter client that allows you to manage what you see and how.
I use Tweetdeck which shows me everything I need to see at once, in column format. Its default columns are @Replies, DM’s, and AllFriends. You can keep these or delete them and create your own, so it gives you much more control.
TIP: As well as Tweetdeck there is Twhirl, Seesmic and Twitterfox to name a few – try a couple and work out which suits you best and remember you can always change client if your needs change!
6. Don’t be shy – Tweet!
I saw this status update from one of my friend on Facebook this week. ‘I don’t get Twitter. Why would anyone be interested in what I'm doing 24 hours a day?’
Simple answer is they’re not. What they are interested in is talking to you, finding out what you’re reading, what you’re watching, what’s making you cross and what’s cheered you up.
You can do the Facebook thing of ‘Nikki Girvan is ... eating a ham sandwich’. No one will castigate you for it, but they won’t respond. They just won’t care.
The idea is to tweet about stuff that people can respond to.
- Tweet links to interesting articles you have read.
- Share observations.
- Ask questions...
- ...and answer them when others ask.
Providing interesting content and information of value to your follows, as well as entering into debate and reciprocating help is how you build up relationships on twitter.
TIP: When you first start out try to immerse yourself if twitter for a whole week, tweet a 5-6 times a day and see what gets responses.
7. Learn the jargon.
There’s really not that much to learn, here’s the main things you’ll need to understand.
@reply
A way of sending a public message straight to another twitter user, or a public response to someone else’s
tweet by simply prefixing the message you want to send with @username
Direct Message (DM)
This is a private message which can be sent directly to anyone who is following you, all you need to do is prefix the message with DM.
Retweet (RT)
If someone you’re following tweets something interesting that you think your followers would be interested in, then ‘Retweet’ it by adding the prefix ‘RT’ and the originator’s twitter handle like this:
Hashtags (#)
A little more complicated, but basically it is a way to tag and organise tweets of similar content, adding extra context and making them more searchable.
To use hashtags you need to follow @hashtags .
To create a hashtag simply prefix a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag.
I use hashtags to share my thoughts on The Apprentice (‘OMG she just shouted at Nick. She won’t be the new #Apprentice’) on the Formula 1 Gran Prix (‘Watching #Bahrain #F1 GP before heading out to lunch in sunny Southport with t'other half’) or to recommend blogs on #followfriday.
TIP: If you start tweeting about a particular topic, see if there is already a designated hashtag, if there isn't set up a new one.
8. Don’t Spam
Mention your latest work project, alert people that you’ve updated your blog, and yes if you’re promoting something a cheeky mention is ok once in a while, but don't bombard people with it, you have to contibute stuff of interest and engage with people too!
Spamming is the best way to lose followers, annoy people and possibly even get your twitter account suspended.
TIP: Just don’t do it. Ever.
9. Don’t stop at twitter.
There are so many other social networking /media sites to try out. They can enhance your use of twitter and open more avenues to meeting more interesting people and finding more interesting content.
TIP: Want to try blogging? – try Wordpress
Like to review films, music, games and apps? – try Blippr
Into visual arts/broadcasting? - Try Tumblr
Want to create your own social network? – try Ning
Want to create your own photo stream? - Try Flickr
Want to read all your favourite blogs, and be notified of when there’s new content, all in one webpage? – Try Google Reader
Want to bookmark and share your favourite web pages and blogs? – try Delicious
Posted:
5/15/2009 3:16:32 PM by
Nikki Girvan | with
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