Getting Started with Twitter

So...you'd like to get started on Twitter, and if you're new to the Social Media world and Twitter also, you may feel overwhelmed. Well, after about a month on Twitter http://twitter.com/Thea_RG , I am not so knowledgable about Twitter as to forget that you are still learning and leave you in the dust of my Twitter language somewhere, but I have also played around with it and learned enough now to have about 2,000 followers, and have some nice info to share with you about Twitter and it's options, so here I'll share with you how to get started with it.

First of all, signing into Twitter is easy, simply go to http://twitter.com/ . It's very basic, and will ask some general information like your name and a username and password. From there, you are creating your Twitter profile, first by choosing topics that interest you, if you so choose (or you can skip this step). When you click on a topic, users will be displayed in this topic, and you can choose to follow them. "Following" someone on Twitter means that their Tweets will be displayed in your "Home" page for you to read and "Retweet" if you so choose. ("Tweets" are the messages you send each other to keep in touch.) If you are trying to start a business, this is a good first step, choosing to follow other Twitter users under these topics that pertain to your business.

Next, you can choose to sync in any contacts from your email accounts, if you'd like. If this is to be a business Twitter account, I personally would advise you to keep it for that purpose and not bring your email buddies into it. On the other hand, if you are just connecting with friends, than this is a good option for you to choose.

Lastly, you can choose to search for people, either by their name or you can type in topics you're interested in and users in that topic will pull up for you to follow.

There you have it. Your Twitter page is now created, and you could run the page without doing anything else to it, but I would advise you to go further (see my next blog: "Twitting your Best Face Forward"), especially if you're trying to promote a business, and it will not cost you a cent to personalize your page and make it attractive. But for now, I'll walk you through some basic steps with Twitter so you can get the feel of it...

Once you're to this point, you're on your "Home" page, where you can send Tweets to others. Twitter will ask you, "What's happening?" It then gives you a space to type in. If you're keeping in touch with friends, type in simple messages about what you're doing during the day. Treat these like text messages. They can only be 140 characters long, so using typical text language is how most send Tweets to shorten the messages.

If you're using this for business, it's best to post about 4-8 Tweets daily and be sure they are not personal messages, but rather interesting messages you pull off the internet, such as current news from Google or other sources posted within the past few hours, or inspiring quotes or quotes about success or pertaining to your business, post info about your business and include links to more info for other Twitters to look up. If you're promoting a business, you want to provide content for other Twitters that is useful to them, so they keep wanting to read your Tweets, eager for your next Tweets to arrive to see what you offer them next. This will take time and consistency to reach this point, but once you do, it will pay off for you with other Twitterers eager to read all about your business eventually. However, do not Tweet about your business in the beginning. Give it a few weeks with you simply providing good content for other Twitter members first, and then begin adding promotional Tweets. But promotional Tweets should be kept to no more than 25% of your Tweets. All other Tweets must keep your Twitter readers engaged and informed. More details on different Tweet language, etc., in future postings.

Now, you see the white bar at the top right of your Home page with some options in it? This is your bar to get around your Twitter site. It's links to your pages on your site. Click on them to get a view of the other pages on your Twitter site. Clicking on "Profile" will give you the view others have when they look at your site. Clicking on "Find People" will take you back to the pages you had in the beginning where you can search for others to follow. Clicking on "Settings" will take you to a page with your basic info on it for your profile, and more options you can use to customize your page that I will get into in future blogs. Clicking on "Help" is a great way for you to get around your site - this page will give you a list of help topics you can click on for information that will teach you even more about Twitter.

Now that you know some basics, you're ready for future blogs with more detailed info on Twitter. If you think you're up to taking your new Twitter skills even further right now to promote your product or find some great products to promote online, go to http://1-year-plan.com/