What can you do with Twitter? A lot! While it’s true that tweeting has become one of the most popular ways to procrastinate at work, there are actually many uses for this social media platform.
If you want to be more than just another person who stares at their phone while they wait in line at the coffee shop, make sure you know how to use Twitter properly! In this guide, you’ll learn how to create your account, use hashtags, Tweet from a mobile device, create lists and follow people on Twitter.
Choosing an Account Name
When you first sign up for a Twitter account, you’ll be asked to choose a username. This is one of your first opportunities to introduce yourself and connect with others. Try to choose something short (around 10 characters), easy to remember, and unique. Make sure it’s consistent with your brand’s identity so people can find you.
If you have trouble coming up with an idea, try using your name or that of your business. If that’s already taken, try variations on those names or use words related to what you do or sell. Avoid using numbers and special characters as they may cause problems when trying to follow someone else or include someone in a tweet (i.e., @).
Also, avoid usernames like @yournamehere because they are too general—and if someone else has that name, there will be confusion about who you are!
Write a Bio That Resonates
Your Twitter bio is your first point of contact with your followers. Even if they don’t read it, they’ll still see it. So make sure you put time and energy into crafting a professional, insightful description that resonates with potential clients or colleagues. It only takes a few minutes, but it will pay off later when someone clicks through your profile to learn more about you.
To get started, ask yourself these questions: What do I want my audience to know about me? What are my specialties? How can I show people what I can do for them? Take some time to really think about who you are and what makes you unique.
Then write a bio that reflects those qualities. Here are some examples of good bios: @chriscolfer – Chris Colfer (@chriscolfer) Twitter
Create Tweets That Grab Attention
There are three types of tweets that are great for grabbing attention and getting more clicks, retweets, and replies. The first type is known as a question tweet; these tweets often come in two varieties.
The first asks an open-ended question (i.e., What’s your favorite film genre?); replies make users look like thought leaders in their area of expertise and encourage others to follow them. The second variety poses a question that can be answered with one word or short phrase (i.e., How do you get started with #socialmedia?).
How to Use Twitter: A Beginner’s Guide
These questions don’t require much effort on part of those who reply, but they can lead to interesting conversations. The second type of tweet is what we call a link-in tweet—it links out to another piece of content on your website or another website entirely.
Tweeting at the Right Time
The perfect time to tweet is when people are awake and, you know, using their phones. That said, we all lead busy lives. You may not be able to set your tweets for early in the morning or late at night every day of the week. For those days that you can’t, don’t worry! You don’t have to tweet at noon on Sunday every week if that doesn’t fit into your schedule.
Just make sure you tweet during times when your audience is most likely to see it. If you’re a business tweeting about new products, it makes sense to post around lunchtime so people who aren’t home during breakfast hours can see it.
But if you run a media company tweeting about breaking news stories, posting at 3 am might work better for your audience. If you want more tips on how to get more retweets and followers, check out our guide here.
Leave Room for Followers to Interact
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you have no say in a conversation. If you want people to follow your Twitter account, it’s a good idea to interact with your followers; retweet their posts, respond when they ask questions, and provide general encouragement for those who may be interested in following your account.
How to Use Twitter: A Beginner’s Guide
Remember that social media is all about building relationships, so make sure to give back as much as you take.
Post Regularly and Consistently
The key to getting followers is posting on a regular basis and being consistent. If you only tweet every once in a while, your tweets will likely get lost in the shuffle of millions of other tweets. Only 1% of all tweets are replies, so people are not going to see your message unless they’re looking for it.
And if they do see it, they’ll have no reason to follow you if there aren’t more regular posts coming from you afterward. Posting too often can also be annoying, so aim for at least one post per day.
Posting multiple times per day is acceptable as long as each post has value and doesn’t just say hey! I posted something new! Check it out! Don’t fall into that trap—people won’t check out your latest post if you keep spamming them with messages like that.
Instead, try tweeting links to articles or information that might be interesting to your audience.
