Get Started With Twitter Today
If you’re reading this site, you probably already know what Twitter is, and you’re probably familiar with the fact that it can be used as a powerful marketing tool. A lot of people get overwhelmed by Twitter, and they just don’t know how to get started. It’s really not so hard if you keep a few simple things in mind.
Set Some Goals
Before you set up your Twitter account, take a minute and think about how you want to use it. Do you want to make friends with influential people in your niche? Do you plan to promote your website with it? Do you plan to use it for market research? If you have multiple goals for a single Twitter account, make sure those goals don’t interfere with one another. If, for example, you want to promote two different websites with two completely different audiences, you’re probably going to want to set up two different accounts rather than trying to do both on the same account.
Just 140 Characters
Twitter has just one limitation, but it’s a big one. You can post no more than 140 characters at a time. That means you have to find ways to deliver your message using a limited number of characters. There are a few ways that you can bring your character count down. First, find a link shortener that works for you. A link shortener is a site that provides short URL’s that lead to any link you want. All you do is go to their site, past your URL into the site, and it will generate a shorter link for you. It’s also a good idea to learn some of the shorthand, and abbreviations people use on Twitter. For example, AFAIK means “as far as I know”. Using these abbreviations can save you a lot of characters in each tweet.
Be Social
Twitter is a social network. You’re going to have to spend some time talking to other users in a genuine, friendly way if you hope to get anything out of your Twitter account. Share useful information with other users. Answer any questions they might have, and help them with any problems you might have a solution for. Don’t just post link after link to your own site. You need to build a relationship with other Twitter users in order to use Twitter effectively. It takes some effort, but it’s worth it.
Follow these tips, and you’ll be tweeting like a pro in no time. Twitter is a great business tool, but only if you know how to get your account off to a good start.
