What Does Twitter Mean – Top 20 Things to Know

Twitter 101 – 20 things to know, do and not do from Amanda Vega

1. What is Twitter – What does Twitter mean? Twitter is a microblogging tool that allows you to keep people updated in real time – much like instant messenger, but with reach to multiple people at one time.
2. How to select a Twitter name?  Choose a brand or real name. Don’t get cute.
3. Set Up: do NOT protect your updates. DO add a picture. DO customize background. DO write a bio. DO link to a website.
4. How to gain users? First, start participating in conversations. Update frequently. Use tools to suggest users like whoshouldifollow.com. The best way to gain followers is by talking to people.
5. Some of the terms:
   1. RT – retweet – means to repost someone else’s message
   2. Direct Message vs. @reply – direct is private, @ is NOT
   3. @reply vs. mention
   4. TinyURL – use tinyurl.com to shorten a URL in a post
   5. Use bit.ly to track clickthrus to a posted link or su.pr
   6. # hashtags – can be created by anyone
   7. OH – overheard when you hear something worth repeating
6. How often to tweet? Try to do it a few times a day.
7. What do I tweet? Stories, links to stories, thoughts, locations, questions…
8. Do NOT push advertising messaging only.
9. Be original. Song lyrics or quotes are boring.
10. You can’t ever listen too much.
11. Don’t have more then 3 back and forth @replies. Annoys everyone.
12. Don’t tweet anything you wouldn’t want the world to read.
13. Do publish links to your blog for new posts, but no more than 2-3 times.
14. Use tools like Ping.fm for greater reach.
15. Have DMs, but not all messages, sent to your cell phone.
16. Use Tweetdeck or Seesmic or Tweetie.
17. Unfollow if you want. Don’t make it personal.
18. Disagree, don’t insult.
19. Be yourself, not who you’d like to be.
20. Text speak is annoying.

While many think of social media as simply having a presence on sites like MySpace.com, we see social media as the integration of a myriad of social media tools.

Contact us today to see how a social media plan and implementation will best serve your company.

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