If you’ve been asking yourself if Twitter is worth your time, well, you are not alone. For a long time I opted not to use Twitter based upon the assumption that it was primarily used for younger adults and teens to follow the latest about musicians, actors, athletes, and other celebrities. Of course I had heard how Twitter was an effective social media tool, and for this reason I did eventually get around to creating an account. I have come to see Twitter as an important social media tool, and while easy to use, it does require a commitment of time (much like a blog or facebook page), and it takes a bit of thought on how to use it effectively.
Following are more observations, and strategies for success with it.
Firstly, you need to create an account at Twitter
https://twitter.com/
Your Twitter name will be what you want it to be, for myself it is @ECurtisDesigns (my business name), but it is important to note that your real name is also displayed with your Tweets.
Once an account is created, you will find an interface that is mostly simple. The navigation at the top reads: “Home”, “@ Connect”, and “# Discover”. Home will show you how many Tweets you have written, how many you are following, and how many followers you have. There is also a stream of incoming tweets by those you are following, and suggestions on “who to follow”, and worldwide Tweet trends.
This brings me to my next point, how do you want to use Twitter?
Twitter for Social Engagement and Entertainment:
For some Twitter is an opportunity to get the latest thoughts about any subject, and links to what’s hip and new, One simply needs to enter a keyword in the search box at the top right of the page, and those tweets which contain this word, or group of words, will be shown. This is great for someone who just wants to explore what people are thinking, and doing, on a given topic. As I had expected, many will use this approach to keep up on the latest trends and news, often in regard to entertainment. From a social media analysis perspective, this is a powerful resource. Much like when utilizing Google AdWords keyword suggestion tool, examining what is trending in a given area will provide you valuable insights that you can use to create your own social media content, be it blog posts, facebook posts, or tweets.
Twitter for Distribution of Personal or Company News:
Many people and businesses use Twitter as a way to convey what’s new in their life or with their business/organization. These Tweets are for a defined purpose of letting their followers know what they are doing. This is effective for a person with a new YouTube video, a business, a band, or brand that wants to tell of their latest promotion, album, event, etc.
Twitter for Knowledge, Partnerships, and SEO:
For some business owners, the Twitter approach is a bit more specific. For example, being that I have a website design business that provides a variety of services, i.e. website development, graphic design for web use, print design, SEO, online marketing, hosting, etc. I can search these areas and find other experts in my field. Why is this important? Well, first and foremost, it provides me resources to latest pages and ideas that I very well may not have found in a typical Google search. The other purpose here is to provide links (in my Tweets) to my own posts and pages that provide information on a given topic. From an SEO standpoint, the more unique traffic you get to your website, the better. This approach helps with the dissemination of knowledge, and will ideally encourage interest in the resources that one offers, and about their business in general. This results in followers, and the more followers one has, the better will be your social media grade at websites such as HubSpots Marketing Grader, which ideally results in a better website ranking.
How to create a Tweet:
When creating a Tweet you need to keep it short since only 140 characters are allowed. Ideally a Tweet should contain an eye-catching yet informative summary of what the link will contain. To write a Tweet, go to the Home page, and you will see the tweet box in the upper left corner. And assuming you Tweet something that you’re not happy with, yes, you can delete it. Click on your name and you will see all of your tweets shown in the right column. When you mouse-over a tweet you have the option to “reply”, “delete”, “favorite”, and “open”.
Other Twitter Options:
Beyond the Home page, there are a “@ Connect” and “# Discover” links. On Connect you will see a “Interactions” and “Mentions” at the top left, this shows who has written you a message and mentioned you in their Tweet. At the bottom of the Connect page is “browse categories” and “Find Friends”. Browse categories is an effective option to get a good overview of Tweets by category. Find Friends will allow you to check your email provider for those in your address book who are using Twitter. Discover works much like connect, yet its focus is to provide you “stories” that may be of interest to you.
A word of advice: If your intention is to get people to follow your tweets, then you need to put the effort to follow others, and engage them from time to time. Many businesses I have worked with do have Twitter accounts, yet few have many followers, and fewer still follow others. Twitter works best as a social engagement platform, which necessitates the need to engage others to build a community. It is important to include a Twitter icon on your website pages, Blog, and Facebook page to ensure that people can find you.
A Side Note:
You may come across #hashtags. The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages. Its use today appears to be as a way to draw attention to an important word, so as to set it apart from the rest of the Tweet. You can learn more about it here: https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-what-are-hashtags-symbols#
Integrating Twitter into a Website or Blog:
From a designer perspective, I have found it very effective to incorporate Tweets into my website pages, and my blog. The advantage here, much like using Facebook’s Like box, is to provide visitors the latest news about your company/organization, and to encourage followers. Remember that having followers provides two services: It keeps your visitors/followers informed about your latest news, and it has SEO benefit by encouraging new and repeat visitors. You can view our Twitter integration on our website at https://www.ecurtisdesigns.com/site-marketing.html and on our blog at https://www.ecurtisdesigns.com/.
Please let us know if you need assistance with Twitter, … I am here to help.
Tweeter has come to understand the potential commercial applications for its technology and now offers professional and commercial Tweeting Accounts. A very smart move indeed, and one which might make sense to an online author, Internet Article Writer or anyone that makes a living disseminating information to niche groups.