You’ve probably heard about Twitter and that it’s all the rage. It is, however, as with any social networking tool, it’s only useful if you make it work for you. If you’re a Twitter beginner you may find these 10 tips helpful for getting started. Twitter tips helpful in getting you started.
Get going in the right direction with Twitter and it doesn’t have to waste hours of your workday.
1. First things first – your profile
Create a brief but interesting profile free of a sales pitch. I can’t say enough about how important your profile is. Yet so many take almost no time with their Twitter profile. The goal is to build relationships and network, not sell to your followers.
2. Post a good photo
Upload a real photo to your profile. A real photo is far better than a cartoon or logo. People want to know they’re communicating with a person, not a company (or some fictional character).
3. Add your website or blog to your profile
Don’t make this a sales page. A blog is actually better as it’s updated (or should be) and probably gives more of an idea of “you.” If you’re a company try and link to a place on your site that gives people an idea of what you’re about, perhaps the About page on your site. I have my clickable link going to my blog first and a second one goes to my website. People click on the blog link the most. Letting people know where to find you is fine, but if you over-promote your site you’ll alienate people quickly.
4. Initial Tweets
Yes, you want to market yourself on Twitter. You’re a business after all. But that’s not the way to do it on social networking sites and particularly not on Twitter. Many businesses jump on Twitter and immediately start busily pushing their products. Mistake.
Before you start marketing yourself, write out 10-15 messages or “tweets.” Start by communicating to let people know who you are or by joining in the conversation. Give people a great impression of who you are and why they should follow you.
5. Following people
Follow people who catch your interest and respond to their tweets whenever relevant. You don’t have to follow everyone who follows you. Rather than simply pitch your site, discuss your interests, hobbies and ideas and try to respond to others. Doing so will get your name out there and build your own followers.
6. Promotional Etiquette
For every one “promotional” tweet, you should have several more “conversational” tweets including tweets not necessarily about you. You may think that a series of promotional pitches will drive traffic to you, but you’d be wrong. They’re more likely to turn people right off and get you un-followed. There are already too many constant self-promoters pitching their products on Twitter – don’t be one of them. One thing I do is to look for interesting information that my followers may be interested in and that’s related to my areas of expertise. I tweet all my blog posts and also activities I may be involved in, such as tele-seminars with colleagues in my industry or related industries.
Remember, Twitter isn’t about selling, it’s about building relationships and entering into the conversation that’s already happening and building exposure.
7. Use a desktop or mobile version of Twitter
Once you get comfortable with how Twitter works, use desktop or mobile phone applications to keep up. Take a look at: Twhirl or TweetDeck for your computer, or Tweetie for the iPhone. I personally use TweetDeck and UberTwitter.
8. Keep track of the conversation
Know when people are talking about you. There are a number of tools that will alert you when someone tweets about you, your keywords, your blog post or something you’ve said. Explore tools like TweetLater, TweetBeep, or TweetTree.
9. Start or join the conversation
Just ask questions, answer other people’s questions, or join conversations that are already going on. Soon enough, you’ll build your reputation and following.
10. Limit your Twitter time
You don’t have to sit on Twitter 24 hours. If you have limited time to spend on line, try and log on for a set time each day for a set amount of time. Twitter can be addictive. Don’t let it waste your day.
If you’re a beginner on Twitter, following these simple tips will get you up and running in the right – in next to no time.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
How can I get a photo small enough to put on twitter? Every time I make it smaller I’m still told that it’s too big. Don’t know how else to make it smaller.
Twitter is easy to use as long as you know the rules. I am also into blogging and it’s fun sharing interest and meeting readers. Updating the twitter and blogs regularly is a great start.