Thursday 19 November 2009

Beginners Guide to Twitter and Tweetdeck


When I first started to use Twitter for my company I was posting discount vouchers constantly, adding random people I didn't know and repeat postings from a Word document I had created, allowing me to copy and paste previous tweets without getting RSI.

Then I downloaded Tweetdeck - I really recommend this free software (it will auto shorten URLs and you can add photos and pitures with a drag & drop). After then I realised, how uninteresting I must be, who wants to be bombarded with repetitious discount codes for a product you don't specifically need at that time.

I learned the basics of Twitter:

  • Names are preceeded with '@'
  • E.g. - senting out a tweet to Thefunkypigeon will not show up on their page, it needs to be @Thefunkypigeon
  • RT = Re-Tweet, repeating some else's post and crediting them by mentioning their name
  • # the hash symbol represents a group, e.g. I am interested in any local tweets, so I have #bristol and #somerset saved on tweetdeck
  • # groups that are being tweeted about (by mentioning this in your post) that are the most popular are called "Trending Topics"

Trending Topic

A regular trending topic is #FF or #FollowFriday where tweeps looking to increase their followers will RT their follower's names in their posts and the circle goes on - here's an example:
Here's some great tweeps for #FF @somerset1 @bristol2 @personalised
This really helps increase your followers, because they join in with the #FollowFriday they WANT to follow and be followed.

Another tip is to follow a tweeter called 'goodbyebuddy' which will notify you daily when anyone chooses to 'unfollow' you, this will help you understand how to make your audience stay with your tweets

I faded out the promo tweets and started to interact directly with local tweeters, and tweeters who have similar business, by re-tweeting their promotional tweets, effectively helping out their reach, and with good success. In the first 2 weeks of using Twitter, I had appeared on local radio and booked an advertisement in an eshot who I would have otherwise never come across before. You can also tweet to advertise #jobs or #vacancies online, real time, for free.

I hope this you have found this useful as I should have researched Twitter before I went barging in full steam ahead. One twitterer said there are 3 golden rules on Twitter which I adapted slightly:

30% Personal tweets and observations

30% links to interesting, pertinant articles and webpages

30% Promoting aspects about your own business / services

That leaves 10% to do what you like - for me it's following celebrities and replying to their tweets, and tweeting about trending topics...

Hope this was good reading, please feel free to leave a comment.
You can follow me on Twitter @SEOukSomerset

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nina_Greaves

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