14 Jul Twitter Tips & Tricks
1. Shortening Links on Twitter
With Twitter’s 140 character limit, you may worry about sharing a long link on Twitter. Go ahead and share it – Twitter automatically shortens links for you! You won’t see the shortened link in the “Compose new tweet” box, but it will be shortened once you tweet it. The way you can tell it’s shortened is by looking at the character count. In an empty Compose box, there will be 140 characters remaining. Regardless of how long your link is, your characters will only decrease by 22-23, and you will have at least 117 left.
2. Retweeting the Right Way
Instead of just hitting the “RT” button, add your own comment to retweets. This is a more personal way to use Twitter and the preferred method. In some cases, using the RT button is okay, like sharing news or an announcement. Most times, it is more useful to retweet the information and add your own commentary. People are following YOU for a reason!
To RT with a personal message, copy the entire tweet, including the username, and paste it into your Compose box, deleting unnecessary characters. Usually it will be too long with the full name and time. Then, add “RT” and your own comment before the tweet.
3. Be Aware of Your Presence
Ever wondered if others are tweeting about you? It is important to know when people mention you on Twitter. This way, you are not only aware of your Twitter presence, but you can interact with people that mention you and reply to them. To find your Twitter “mentions,” go to Connect at the top left, and then Mentions.