07 Oct Quick-start guide to Twitter
I promised on LiVE 88.5 FM this morning a quick-start guide to getting going on Twitter.
I’ve boiled it down to five terms, three key action steps and three strategies you can you to find people to follow on Twitter. As I said on the radio, Twitter is only one little part of what is known as “social media.” If you can update your Facebook status, you can use Twitter.
I’d love to hear your questions, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you. If you are already a Twitter user, I really want to hear from you. What have I missed? Where did you go right/wrong? Tell your Twitter story to the Live 88.5 listeners.
Twitter Primer: 5 key terms
Here are the five Twitter terms you should know:
- Tweet: the 140 character message
- Tweeter: you, once you tweet (see above)
- Twitter Application: a tool (online or off) to manage your tweets and “friends” in some manner
- RT: re-tweet; the act of “re-tweeting” is almost like forwarding an email
- @ reply: like in email, again the “@” tells your tweet where to go (i.e.: typing @iancapstick in your tweet will direct that tweet to me)
For a full glossaries of Twitter terminology:
- Huge list of Twitter terms, hint just add “tw” in front of common terms
- Mashable explains 66 Twitter terms
- Business Week’s take on Twitter words
Three Key Action Items
1) Visit Twitter.com; sign up choosing a user name carefully. I use my real name (@iancapstick) others prefer using a handle, or nickname. Using a real photo of yourself and filling in the profile (including linking to your website, or another online profile like LinkedIn will help people get to know you.)
2) Find an application to help manage your tweets
Think of Twitter applications like your kitchen drawer at home.
Some perform only one function - like a gadget that only peels tomatoes - (Twitterfeed is a good example of this, it takes RSS feeds and turns them into tweets.) Other tools are more like a versatile; like a chefs knife. What you are looking for in an Twitter management application is the ability to sort the people you follow into groups; ease in posting links/pictures/video and a stable and reliable platform. I’ve experimented with five applications recently; in order of my preference.
- TweetDeck; runs on Adobe Air (all platforms)
- Hootsuite; web-based (all platforms)
- Tweetie; stand alone; Mac & iPhone
- Seesmic; runs on Adobe Air (all platforms)
- CoTweet; web based (all platforms)
3) Use it. The more you invest in Twitter the more you get out of it. Conversations are important. In fact, conversations are the backbone.
Three strategies for finding folks to follow
Overview: When following people this is the one time where using the Twitter.com website may be the most efficient method to use the service (just remember to sort the people using a Twitter application you found in step 2); also don’t start following people until you have put out a few good tweets - show people some links you like; a news article of interest - bottom line: rarely will people follow a blank page.
1) Find friends (Yes, I mean your real friends) look at who they are following. Your friends, family or coworkers have chosen to include these people in their network on Twitter; you probably know some of them; and if you don’t review a page or two of their tweets and decide if you want to follow them.
Find friends using Facebook. It’s pretty clear these days who is using Twitter to update their Facebook profiles; start with those folks. Ask them who else they like to follow.
If you use Gmail, AOL or Yahoo mail you can ask Twitter to search you contacts to see if any of them are using Twitter.
2) Find like-minded people: using search.twitter.com; start typing in key words and see who comes up; before long after reviewing people profiles and tweets - you will create your own informal (or more formal) criteria for who/how you follow
- The more specific your key words the better your results will be.
- Use the Advanced search to narrow your searches even more; or by location.
- We Follow also offers a location based tagging, here is the “Ottawa” tag.
3) Find Communities or companies and connect with them via Twitter, chances are your union or an NGO you care about is using the system; again take a look at who they are following to find new people to hear from
- Mashable reviews the top 15 Twitter directories
- Several directories of Canadian political tweeters exist for political minded people: PoliTwitter.ca; Tweetcommons.com
I forget where I heard this from, but the first step for anyone joining Twitter should be to sign up and observe. That way you don’t barge in looking like an idiot, and instead can get accustomed to the behaviours, standards, etc. expected of you on Twitter, and follow suit.
I second Mo’s tip, and would broaden it to count for most online media, such as social networks, blogging, etc.
Building on the previous comments, I’d add “pace yourself” and “seek balance” to the list of strategies. Follow a few people, tweet a bit and see if they follow back. Don’t worry about your numbers; once you get in and get into it a bit, your network will grow organically.
People who follow scores of people without tweeting a few times look spammy.