READY,
SET, TWEET!
5
Basics of Twitter
Social media is certainly her to stay, and including
Twitter into your daily dose can be fun, informative and profitable. The keys
to success are knowledge and participation and the basics of getting started
are really quite simple.
Log
into www.twitter.com
● First you will have to set up an account and choose
a Twitter name (limited to 15 characters). This is much like your user id in
many online applications. This can include your actual name or variations of
it, a business name, or be anonymous.
● Insert a picture of you (called an avatar) and spend
the time to write a brief bio, this lets others know a little bit about
yourself. Unless you are a business, an actual picture that is identifiable is
most appropriate and helpful.
● Choose who to follow. This may sound simple, but
many people in the Twitterverse tweet way too much! I have personally quit
following people who tweet and re-tweet so much that others I’m following are
lost in the list. Friends on Facebook, family and professional people or
businesses are a good place to start. On your home page and under “Who to
Follow” there will always be suggestions but you have the option to search and
follow only those you choose.
● Hashtags (#) You will see many tweets with this
symbol, and a word attached with no spaces. The purpose of the hashtag is to
make finding the same relevant information easy by identifying it using a
keyword. Examples of hashtag keywords include events, news, brands, teams and a
million more. Try searching for your favorite sports team using the hashtag
name entry. (#miamidolphinfootball).
● Tweet! First, your message must only contain 140
characters so keep it simple. Second, grammar and punctuation are out the
window in tweeting. Abbreviate and shorten your words without making your
message totally alien. From your home page click in the area identified with “compose
new tweet”, write your message and click the tweet button. Click on the gear
icon, top left on the home page, to send a direct message to someone following
you. Using the @theirtwittername at the beginning of your tweet directs it only
to them, and visible only to you as a sender and the recipient.
With the basics in hand your new adventure into the online Twitterverse is
awaiting.
READY,
SET, TWEET!
Karen M Bellman
