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twitter guide

contents■ What Is Twitter?■ Effect Of Twitter■ Why Use Twitter?■ Setting Up An Account■ Sending A Tweet■ Searching Twitter■ URL Shortening■ Replying (@) ■ Direct Messages (D) ■ Retweeting (RT or retweet)■ Hashtags (#)■ Trending Topics■ Follow Friday■ Promote Your Page ■ Twitter Etiquette■ Minimise Risks■ Tools■ Useful Links

what is twitter?

■ It’s an instant messaging or micro blogging service■ 140 characters to tell friends or followers what you are doing■ 3 ways to send a tweet

■ Web browser■ Mobile phone■ Twitter application

■ Your tweet is shown ■ On your profile page■ On the homepage of your followers■ On the Twitter public timeline

effect of twitter

■ Twitter has amplified the amount of conversations about brands■ More connections■ More conversation

■ Unlike Facebook, Twitter has also made those conversations publicly accessible

■ Twitter provides powerful insight for brands

why use twitter?

■ Twitter’s own site attracted 73.5 million unique individuals in January 2010■ Twitter is a valuable marketing tool■ You can use it to:

■ Drive traffic to your website ■ Raise awareness of your brand ■ Promote your news and content■ Monitor brand conversations ■ Provide help and feedback to your customers■ And find new customers

■ Amazon, o2 and Lastminute are just some of the major companies using Twitter to build their brand online

setting up an account

■ It’s free to sign up■ Go to http://twitter.com■ Follow instructions on how to set up your profile

■ Use your brand name■ Add a brief bio■ Add a recognisable logo■ Include a link to your website■ Create a customised wallpaper with your website addresses

sending a tweet

■ 140 characters to use■ Type your message■ Click update■ Simple as that!

searching twitter

■ To see what conversations people are having about your brand (and keywords) enter them into http://search.twitter.com

URL shortening

■ As you only have 140 characters to use you may need to shorten the URL you want to share

■ Bit.ly and tr.im are just some of the URL shortening sites available■ Paste in the URL and click shorten■ These tools have the added benefit that they track click numbers

replying (@)

■ Any Twitter update that begins with @username is considered a reply■ Starting your tweet with @username means you’re directing your tweet at a

specific person■ To reply to someone’s tweet click the swoosh button■ Or put the @symbol at the front of their username and start typing■ Even if they are not following you they will still see your message, along with

everybody else ■ Click @username on your homepage to see if someone has directed a

tweet at you

direct message (D)

■ In addition to public updates and @replies, Twitter allows you to send direct messages

■ You can only send private message to a person who is following you■ There are 4 ways you can send a direct message

■ The message link on the profile page■ The reply icon attached to messages in your direct message inbox■ The drop down box on the direct message inbox page■ The status update box by typing D+username+message

retweeting (RT or retweet)■ Retweeting is taking a message someone else has posted and repeating it to your

followers■ Click the Retweet icon to do this (see below)■ Retweets indicate quality■ Retweeting someone can increase their reputation and followship■ If someone retweets you more than once you should thank them

retweeting (RT or retweet)

■ To see if you have been retweeted click the Retweets button on your Twitter homepage

■ See what they are retweeting - is it a funny comment, a link to a serious article?

■ Think about doing more of these popular tweets

hashtags (#)

■ # tags help group and share information around particular conversations people are having

■ Just add the # symbol anywhere in your tweet■ They are used to discuss events, movies, new technologies etc■ People can then search Twitter for tweets related to a particular topic, such

as the G20 (see below)

stay on topic

■ If you abuse hashtags your account could get suspended■ Don’t add lots of hashtags in an attempt to gain attention in search■ Don’t repeatedly tweet the same topic / hashtag without adding value to the

conversation in an attempt to get the topic trending/trending higher

trending topics

■ Trending topics are the most tweeted-about topics on Twitter■ From news stories, to the latest buzz about movies, music, video games

and more■ In addition to trending topics worldwide, Twitter can now display the most

tweeted about topics near you■ To change views, click ‘Set Location’ in the sidebar and choose from the

countries/cities

follow friday

■ Follow Friday is a Twitter tradition carried out on a Friday ■ You recommend people your followers should follow■ You can use Follow Friday to get people to notice what you are saying■ Just include #FollowFriday+username/s to your tweet

promote your page

■ It’s important to promote your Twitter page on your website, blog, mailing list■ Add a ‘Follow us’ badge■ This will get you noticed and increase membership

Website Blog Email

promote your page

■ Add your page to Twitter directories (e.g. Wefollow.com) for everyone to see■ Use a Twitter directory to find new people to follow■ Search by relevant category, e.g. Travel agent, property, environmental■ Search the web for people to follow e.g. ‘Property people on Twitter’■ Follow someone and they are likely to follow you back■ Interact with people to gain new followers

twitter etiquette

■ Post a variety of tweets■ Post links to your site and blog■ If someone is following you follow them back■ Interact with other people ■ Tweet when you have something valuable to contribute■ Don’t use Twitter only for self promotion - it’s a conversation!■ If you’re going to criticise make it constructive■ Remember tweets cannot be deleted from the timeline and could come back

to haunt you

minimise risks

■ Keep tweets clean and professional■ Be careful about making negative comments about anything■ Restrict the amount of people who tweet to a few■ Avoid tweeting from multiple Twitter clients■ Check which Twitter account you’re in (work / personal)■ Double or triple check your updates ■ Be professional with personal Twitter account at all times

tools

■ Desktop Application■ Twhirl http://www.twhirl.org

■ Firefox Plugins■ Twitbin http://www.twitbin.com ■ Twitterfox http://twitterfox.net

■ Mobile■ Tiny Twitter http://tinytwitter.com ■ TwitterBerry (Blackberry) http://www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry ■ Twitterific (iPhone and iPod Touch) http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific

■ Powerful Twitter Organisation Application■ Tweet Deck http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta

tools

■ Monitor Twitter Keywords And What’s Hot■ Twitter Search http://search.twitter.com ■ Monitter http://monitter.com ■ Tweetscan http://www.tweetscan.com ■ Twitscoop (What’s hot) http://www.twitscoop.com

■ Monitor Trends■ Twist http://twist.flaptor.com

■ Share Pictures & Video■ Twitpic http://twitpic.com■ Twitvid http://www.twitvid.com ■ yfrog http://www.yfrog.com

useful links

■ http://help.twitter.com■ http://mashable.com/2009/01/21/best-twitter-brands ■ http://www.webanalyticsworld.net/2009/02/ultimate-guide-to-twitter-marketin

g.html

■ http://caffeinatedmarketing.com/2008/12/01/be-true-to-your-twitter-the-auto-dm-question

■ http://shankman.com/be-careful-what-you-post ■ http://econsultancy.com/blog/3417-list-of-uk-retailers-on-twitter ■ http://mashable.com/2009/12/08/dell-twitter-sales ■ http://mashable.com/2009/03/30/twitter-badges ■ http://mashable.com/2009/03/09/twitter-brand-voice ■ http://mashable.com/2009/10/06/retweetable-tweets

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