Getting started on Twitter Pt1

PART 1 of 2:


Twitter is another in the arsenal of social media tools that are a essential part of a creative person's online "tool box". 


It is probably the  easiest social media tool to use, and one that many are afraid to use, simply because they don't know how it works. 


 I am going to help remove the fear barrier and present  a two part posting to help you understand and USE twitter. 


Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.  Twitter is also a awesome way to connect with new potential fans, while building a relationship with your current fans.
You can use it from a mobile device and can also synch it to your Facebook profile and update both sites at once!  Twitter  updates are all about the things that happen between email and blog posts- these "little things" are what connect you to the other people around the world that love the same things you do.


TWITTER FACTS:

1. It's free
2. w/ over 18 million users It's the 3rd fastest growing online social media site.
3. Your connected to your fan base and interact w/ Tweets, direct message & replies however you DO NOT have to follow everyone that is following you!
4. Build brand recognition- A great tool to build your brand presence, you can connect to thousands. and there is NO limit to the number of people who can follow you (ie: Lady Gaga @ladygaga has 7,955,672 followers and is following 144,989)!
5. You can synch Twitter with Facebook to link your status updates, keeping your fans (regardless of which is their favorite platform) up to date AND saving you time by not updating multiple platforms!

With all these great benefits how do you get started?

1. Select your User Name (Remember to keep your branding consistent, so use a name that matches your website or myspace for consistency)  The name you use is picked up in google searches.
2. Get a quick overview:  quick video http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter 
3. Sign up @ http://www.twitter.com 

• Follow the few sign-in steps entering user name, password & your email
• Twitter helps you by searching your address book to see if anyone else you know is already using twitter. You also have the option to send a email to your friends.
• Make sure you take the time to set up your profile, include a picture (it shows up w/ your tweets) your bio and a link back to your web site.

      4.  Link to your Mobile  If you have a good text-messaging plan and a high tolerance for receiving loads of text on your mobile.  You can also simply opt into receiving text from a few select people.  

BONUS FEATURES:

 To text from your phone- send messages to 40404 and they are sent directly to your twitter feed.

To direct message (DM)  friends who are following you using your cell type "d" followed by their user name.

If you want to get started, follow me @guitartam and tune in to my Pt 2 of this blog post for more tips and Twix using twitter! ;-)

If you are interested in organizing and prioritizing your brand and social media then click here

and let's getting started!

Have a Twit-wific day!

=Tamra=

www.tamraengle.com

References:

http://www.twitter.com

http://wwwfacebook.com

http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter 

Photo credits:  http://aboutonlinetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/twitter-SEO.jpg

What have you done in your life:  http://bit.ly/hCRazr