09 Jun Getting Started on Twitter
1. Become familiar with your profile
We already have your profile set up and ready to go! You are welcome to change the images around or tweak your description. Your website’s URL should already be included. We suggest keeping this on your profile so that people are able to visit your website easily.
2. Learn the Language: Basic Glossary
Hashtags are like labels – it’s easy to find similar stories by clicking on the hashtag. Before using them, you can search for them on Twitter to see what tweets are being shared with them.
Reply: A response to another user’s tweet that begins with the @username of the person you’re replying to is known as a reply. Reply by clicking the “reply” button next to the tweet you’d like to respond to.
A Retweet is a tweet that you forward to your followers is known as a Retweet. They are usually used to pass along news. Retweet can also be used as a verb, like tweet.
Favorite: Favoriting a tweet is very similar to “liking” a Facebook post. You can find all of your favorite tweets by clicking on the favorites link on your profile page. You can favorite a tweet by tapping the star icon to favorite a tweet and the author will see that you liked it.
3. Listen First
Before you jump in and start tweeting, take some time to observe Twitter and listen to other users. When you first log into your account, use Twitter’s search function to find local and like-minded businesses, and follow them. You can also look at their followers to get an even better idea of who to follow. Unlike Facebook, you won’t need permission to follow someone, unless it is a “protected” account, which is rare for businesses.
Visit search.twitter.com to search for users, trends, and more. To narrow search results down, use the advanced search feature. This is great for searching by location to find local and regional businesses. You can also search for your own business name to see if anyone has mentioned you.
4. Be Yourself and Be Responsive
Keep your Twitter account causal and fun – there is no need to be overly formal. Your tweets should reflect your business’s “personality” and relate to other users. Be sure to respond when people tweet at you. It is also nice to follow someone back if they follow you, as long as it’s a legitimate user that you want to be connected to.