While Twitter may not be as big as Facebook in terms of traffic, it has several advantages over Facebook. Not only is it easier to gain followers on Twitter, but you can engage with people before they become your friend on a personal profile or your fan on a business page.
So, what is Twitter?
Quite often, people’s gut reaction to Twitter is, “No one needs to know what I’m doing” or “I don’t care what other people are doing.” While this may be the surface view, Twitter is also a great way to expand your network.
Twitter is also referred to as a “micro-blogging” service, meaning you can post short updates limited to 140 characters or less . Why? Originally, the limitation was created to make Twitter compatible with mobile phones and text messaging. Now , it’s a useful characteristic that allows users to receive rapid – fire, concise information from many, many people!
Basic Twitter Vocabulary
Twitter Handle: Also known as a username . This is the name you select to represent yourself.
To Follow: To subscribe to someone’s updates on Twitter . You do this by clicking the “Follow” button on that specific person’s Twitter page, which can be found at http :// twitter.com/ USERNAME . ( Insert the specific person’s username in to the URL, like (https://twitter.com/twitter ). When you follow someone, their updates will be displayed on your Twitter page so you know what they are doing.
To Follow Back: To subscribe to the updates of someone who has recently started following you. Whenever a new person follows you, you receive an email alert from Twitter. In the email, there will be a link to that person’s profile. By clicking the link, you can check out who they are and decide to follow them back or not . It is not required to follow everyone back , but many people like to.
Follower: A person who has subscribed to receive your updates. You can see your total number of followers on your Twitter profile page.
Update: Also known as a tweet . They can be no longer than 140 – characters.
@Reply: A public message sent from one Twitter user to another by putting @USERNAME at the beginning of the tweet.
Direct Message (or DM): A private message sent from one Twitter user to another by either clicking the “message” link on their profile or typing D USERNAME .
Twitter Stream: A list of a person’s real – time updates. Every time you post an update , it go es into your T witter stream, which is found on your account page also a t http:// twitter.com/USERNAME .
Tweet – up: An event specifically organize d for Twitter – users to meet up and network, usually informal.
Hashtag (#): A tool to aggregate the conversation surrounding an event or theme . Created by combining a # with a word, acronym or phrase ( #WORD ).
Retweet ( or RT): To repeat what someone else has already tweeted. People do this if someone has said something especially valuable and they want their own network to see the information too. (Example: Retweet @USERNAME: Check out this cool resource).
Twitter From a Business Prospective
In short, Twitter is a relationship building and relationship maintenance tool; the most obvious business use of Twitter is to meet potential customers and leads the same way you would at networking event or tradeshow.
However, you can also use it to:
- Develop and promote your brand
- Interact with your customer base
- Track what people are saying about your company and brand
- Create buzz around upcoming events
- Help individual employees act as liaison s to the public
- Promote other content you’ve created, including webinars, blog posts or podcasts
- Develop direct relationships with bloggers and journalists for potential PR placement.
The following is a guide to help you setup your Twitter profile and implement a successful Twitter marketing strategy. It gives suggestions and tips for those who are new to Twitter or are just looking for some new ideas.
Setting Up and Optimizing Your Profile
How to Setup a Twitter Business Account in 3 Easy Steps [Video] – Hubspot
5 Simple Steps to Getting Your Business on Twitter – Social Media Examiner
How to set up a Twitter Account for a Business – Koozai
How to Start a Twitter Account for Your Business – Sprout Social
10 Checks to Ensure Your Twitter Profile is Growing Your Business – Quick Sprout
Using Twitter for Marketing Business
How to Use Twitter for Business – PC Mag
An Introductory Guide: How to Use Twitter for Business – Hubspot
How to Use Twitter for Business and Marketing – Social Media Examiner
37 Ways to Use Twitter for Business - Jeff Bullas
Five Ways to Use Twitter for Marketing That You Might Not Know About – Entrepreneur
How to Use Twitter for Small Business Marketing – Tweaky.com
5 Ways Your Business Should Use Twitter Hashtags – Mashable
How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business – Copy Blogger
50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business – Chris Brogan
62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business – Gigaom.com
3 Ways Your Business Can Use Twitter For Competitive Intelligence – Sprout Social
Sorry, Marketers, You’re Doing Twitter Wrong [REPORT] – Mashable
Use Twitter for Public Relations
How to Use Twitter for Marketing & PR – Hubspot
The PR Pro’s Guide to Twitter – Mashable
Ask An Expert: Pitching on Twitter for SEO and PR – iAcquire.com
13 Twitter PR Secrets to Report News, Gain Publicity, & Build Relationships – Search Engine Watch
PR Pros Use Twitter to Reinvigorate Brands, Engage in Conversation – pbs.org
Use Twitter for Customer Service
4 Ways to Use Twitter for Customer Service and Support – Social Media Examiner
HOW TO: Use Twitter for Customer Service – Mashable
How to Use Twitter for Customer Support – Sprout Social
More Top Brands Are Using Twitter for Customer Service – Sprout Social
HootSuite’s 3 Secrets to Rocking Customer Service via Twitter – Hootsuite.com
Why Use Twitter for Customer Service? - dummies.com
Track and Analyze Twitter Campaigns
How to Track Twitter Clicks and Get Conversion Data – Twitip.com
How to use Google Analytics to measure your Twitter marketing – Tweaky.com
How To Measure Crowd Feedback On Twitter – Hashtags.org
5 Most Important Metrics to Analyze From Your Twitter Campaigns – Optify.net
6 Tools to Learn More About Your Twitter Engagement – Kiss Metrics
6 Twitter Analytics Tools to Improve Your Marketing – Social Media Examiner
Conclusion and Additional Resources
After reading this guides, you should have the baseline knowledge to get your Twitter account started and begin growing your network. Remember that the Twitter community is dynamic and rapidly developing space. Be creative and think of other methods to apply Twitter to your campaigns!
Must Read
14 Twitter Mistakes to Avoid
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Yes, there are endless things to know about Twitter. So if you really want to know almost everything, you may have to practice a lot and also need to discover other outstanding resources on the web.
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Raunaq Rayait
Raunaq Rayait is a chief marketing officer at Blurbpoint.com and co-founder of MarketingFunda. He helps companies to grow online with his out of the box marketing strategies with over decade of experience in the Internet Marketing his result driven strategies get admired world wide. Now with the vast experience and expertise Raunaq and his team has new goals in the mind to educate the website owners how they can make smart money while discovering the new marketing channels and strategies. If you believe that your business in not dominating its industry and you wish it to dominate. So it is the perfect time you should contact him... He can make the difference.
