A Get Started Tweeting Guide

This guide is useful for you IF you:

Are thinking about starting a Twitter profile
Have a Twitter profile but didn’t yet get going
Have a Twitter profile which doesn’t inspire people to follow you

WRITING

Length

Maximum 140 characters. Optimal is to leave 15 characters space, if people want to retweet or quote your tweet.

Hashtags

Use hashtags (#) when possible. But use sparingly. Hashtags are good for either creating a conversation or participating in one. However, we are still humans and humans do not enjoy reading hashtags. Humans look for humans. We simply want the story – not the robot.

Mentions

Use @ThePerson when possible. If you “mention” someone in your tweet, it will appear in their notifications. It is even better than using hashtags because you are sure that they will not miss the notification. But (!) Be relevant.

You can address a person directly in your tweet by putting the name in the beginning of the tweet. However it is then not shown to others in their news-feed. Therefore it is always better to start with a clean word before adding the name. (Unless you really just want this specific person to see your tweet)

To mention people in your tweet you can do it in 3 main ways:

@ThePerson (the simplest way)
cc @ThePerson (if you want to make a point that this person should see this tweet or this person is specifically concerned)
via @ThePerson (if the person has written the content you refer to)

When to tweet

Late morning and early afternoon is best to tweet. However it depends a lot on the demographics of your followers. For example, do they read Twitter at work or at home? Spend some time to understand your followers by manually checking and even better: use a tool like SocialBro[1].

COMMUNITY

Followers & Following

The first objective on twitter is of course to get followers. Otherwise you throw a party without any people. Not so fun. So, how do you get followers?

Start by following interesting people/organisations.
Listen
1. What are they talking about?
2. What are they interested in?
3. What is missing in the conversation?
Respond when
1. You have something valuable to add
2. You have a question
Provide VALUABLE content.
1. Link to own article or video
2. Share others content – this is an excellent way of establishing your presence. People see when you retweet them. You show that you are there because you are interested in others opinions and not only your own.
3. Quote or tweet with humour/witty content – when and if possible – this will depend very much on the tone of voice you wish to have. How are you in real life? Business and politics is serious, but it doesn’t mean we can’t still be human.

The difference between Twitter and a real life party is slim. Just like when you go to someone’s party where you don’t know anyone. You normally start to introduce yourself kindly. You keep a humble approach. You DO NOT start shouting your opinions as soon as you come in the house. You start by listening, finding out who is there, what they do, what they like. And when the time is right, you enter the conversation. And most likely, you’d want to incorporate some humour – making people laugh is a good way to make them want to be your friend.

By participating in the conversation – you will get followers.

In the start of your Twitter life, it is a good idea to make your research and start following a crowd. You will become more visible like that. Take time to see who already has a good following base. If they have more followers and they retweet you, it means you will have a higher reach.

3 MORE EASY TIPS

Someone followed me – what should I do?
1. Respond back: “Thank you for following me” Try to make the message personal by adding something in regards to the followers profile, interests. And why not asking a question.
2. Follow them back – if they are relevant that is.
Someone retweeted my tweet – what should I do?
1. “Favorite” it
2. Thank him/her for the retweet. Add something personal.
What about pictures?
1. Twitter has become like Facebook.. it means that they clearly show the images which are posted. So if we scroll the news feed and there is a visual popping up – we are more likely to stop and see what it is than if it is just text. Therefore: use visuals when possible. Of yourself. A “selfie” is always a good idea if you want to give a visual context to an important session you are in or people you meet with.

To conclude: Take part in the conversation. Do it passively by using hashtags (so people can find your tweets) and actively by engaging with people. Retweet, favourite, talk the people, comment, ask questions.

5 MINUTES PER DAY

Make it a habit to check your news feed and tweet/retweet daily. Allocate 5-10 minutes either in the morning – it can be before you leave the house, on the train or when you arrive at the office. Or during lunch, before you leave the office or in the evening after dinner. You choose. Make sure you make it a routine. Just as you would start the day with reading the newspaper to see what’s up. Include Twitter in your habit. After all – it’s just another way of bringing you news. And well… letting YOU participate in writing the news as well. All on your own.