Have you joined Twitter recently, but can't make heads or tails of it? Don't worry - you are not alone. 60% of Twitter users abandon their account after one month. Twitter is still a growing social media platform and it is possible for the novice to achieve tweeting success; you just need effective techniques to manage your time on Twitter.
Twitter is a very powerful social media platform, but it certainly helps if you understand it, which takes time and practice. It is helpful for the beginner to understand that Twitter means different things to different people: some use it as a media monitoring tool, others use it purely for fun and many use it to connect with friends and/or colleagues.
The first priority should be to ensure you complete your bio, add a photo and have a link back to your website. You are far more likely to attract followers if you complete the profile fully.
Tweets and messages must be a maximum of 140 characters, but it is worth perfecting shorter tweets to make it easier for retweets from other Twitter users.
What's a RT, DM or hashtag? What do trending topics mean? The terminology on Twitter can sound like a foreign language. Make sure you check out the Twitter Glossary so you know the lingo.
It's okay to lurk for a while. Just because you've signed up, doesn't mean you have to tweet 10 times a day. It will take you a while to find your own rhythm and that's fine.
If you want to tweet links, use a URL shortener like bit.ly or tiny.url so that the link is condensed. You can also use Twitter's automated link shortener, but it is helpful to use one that you can track click-through statistics with.
Investigate Twitter clients like Hootsuite or TweetDeck: these will help you manage your time on Twitter much more effectively. Twitter.com can be confusing to a newbie - a dedicated Twitter client like Hootsuite enables you to track your lists, search topics and set up plenty of streams to make monitoring Twitter much easier.
Don't feel obliged to follow people back, you are allowed to be selective.
If you start your tweet with @username, it's a reply. If the @username is anywhere else in the tweet, it's called a mention. What's the difference? The difference lays in who sees the reply - yourself, the recipient and only people that follow both of you. A mention is displayed to all of your followers (regardless of whether they follow the other person), so many more people are likely to see it.
If you constantly use Twitter to broadcast your own agenda and don't listen to anyone else, then Twitter will be a waste of time for you. Engage in conversations, help people and don't be afraid to let your personality shine through.
Twitter can have great benefits for business owners. It is a powerful networking tool and it can also be a bit of fun once you get the hang of it. I hope to tweet with you soon!
You might be interested in this upcoming event...
Online Webinars - Starting 28 May 2013
NEW webinar series: designed to dispel the myths about social media and arm small business owners with skills and know-how to make social media a powerful force for business development and bottom line results.
Experts will present practical ways to use social media to:
Learn more about the Social Media for Small Business webinar series.
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