In this guest post Aira Bongco (@airabongco) shares 10 tips for Beginners who are just getting into Twitter.
So you just signed up for Twitter. You make your first tweet and you realize you don’t have any followers. “What a dumb idea!” You say. “Who the hell would be interested in what I’m doing anyway?”
Don’t worry. You’re normal. That is a sign that you are a Twitter beginner. A lot of us Twitter users (or addicts) went through the same questioning routine. And look at us now. We’re geeks who are on Twitter all day and night and we can’t stop tweeting.
So you want to be like us? It’s not that hard really. Just follow these simple steps.
1. Set up your profile
The first thing you need to do is to set up that profile. See that bar on top of your twitter page? Click Settings and start filling up your profile. The notable areas in here are URL, bio, picture and design. Put up a link to your site or blog in here along with a brief description. Upload a picture to differentiate yourself from the others and then tweak your Twitter design. Like any other social networking site, it is important to completely express what you are or what you stand for in your profile.
2. Follow people with similar interests
Now that you have a profile, start following people. You can find these people in Twitter directories. I use Twellow and JustTweetIt. These sites can introduce you to Twitter users that have the same interest as yours. Follow these people and observe their tweets. You may also try following who these people follow but read up their descriptions and visit their blogs to make sure you’re still on the right niche. Being on the right niche will make it easy for you to build a community with a similar interest.
3. Get into the conversation
So now that you are following people, you will now see some tweets on your board. Read up on what the people your following are up to and reply if it interests you. For example, a person narrates how he is going to conduct a meeting. You may then reply with ideas. When someone asks a question, don’t hesitate to answer if you know it. Don’t be afraid to interact.
4. Don’t spam
Spam is the cause of many unfollows on Twitter. There is a character limit for a reason. Do not send repeated messages to people. Do not constantly direct message (DM) them with links.
5. Update daily
Alright so you’re blending in the community. Now update daily if possible. I know some Twitter users who unfollow because of inactivity. Reply to people and update people with what’s going on with your life. Soon you’ll be recognized and you’ll get some follows.
6. Find the latest buzz and contribute
Now it’s your time to contribute. Find a topic that will interest your niche and tweet it. Since you have established relationships with your followers (through replies), you will get more attention. It’s a nice strategy to always append “please retweet” at the end of your tweet. There will be some people who will be so interested that they will retweet. There are others who will reply to you about the link you tweeted. But you are not a “nobody” anymore. You are not just talking to yourself. People are now responding to your tweets.
7. Help other people out
The famous saying “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you” holds here. Before you can receive retweets, you must help others first by retweeting their messages. Help the people in your niche. One day you’ll be surprised on how eager they are to help you back.
8. Create relationships
Now it’s time to create constant connections. Soon you will find that some users are more active than others. You will get to talk with the same group of people at the same time every night. But don’t get bored. Interact with these people and create relationships. Ask how they are doing and try to touch on their interests.
9. Integrate Twitter with other social networks
Have a blog? Then post to Twitter when you have a post that will interest your niche. Have a Facebook profile? Then ask people to add you. Twitter is really a vital part of web 2.0. It can serve as the core. It can let you build relationships that can branch out to other social networks.
10. Establish relationships even outside Twitter
Have a lot of friends on Twitter? Then take it to another level. Ask for their messenger and talk to these people on a more intimate level. Call them through Skype or even arrange a meet-up. Twitter can create real relationships.
Congratulations! You are now an official member of the Twitter community. You talk, act, think and breathe like us. Perhaps you find yourself spending every five minutes updating Twitter on what you are doing. But I guess I’ll save Twitter addiction for next time.
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Thanks a lot for the information.
Darren,
It’s amazing – and I mean this in a good way – that these kind of how-to-use Twitter posts will resonate with many people. As much as Twitter has been embraced by the digiterati, it’s just starting to move into the mainstream.
I did a post yesterday on how to follow people on Twitter that people seemed to like – http://tinyurl.com/6a6hrh
cheers, Mark
I totally agree with the “help other people out” part. I’ve gotten some great assistance from twitter, and I try to give out as much as possible. Karma!
Great article as usual Darren. This blog is a daily MUST READ for me since I’m so new to twitter. I have to be honest and tell you that I don’t know what “It’s a nice strategy to always append “please retweet†at the end of your tweet.” means?? I shouldn’t be afraid to ask.. right?? Also, how can I get my icon to come up in my comments here like Corey??
Thanks for this blog!
Thanks very much – Very sound advice!
These are the answers to the questions many people asked me! Thank you, Darren!
Sorry forgot – @Chris For the icon go to http://en.gravatar.com/ and sign up
6. Find the latest buzz and contribute – Find the latest links being posted on Twitter with Twitseek – http://beta.twitseek.com
Hi Aira,
I resisted Twitter for quite a while, even posted on my blog about not getting it. And my reason for doing so was exactly what you mention at the beginning of the article.
Well, I decided to give it a real go before I made final judgment. I’ve been faithful for about three weeks now and here’s how things shake out:
My overall traffic has increased.
Twitter referrals grow by 3 or 4 per day.
I have connected with some great folks.
Now I almost always get to comment within the first ten for sites like this and ProBlogger.
I am able to announce my new posts and I get immediate response.
So, It’s safe to say that I like Twitter and find it to be a valuable tool.
Cheers
George
Broadcasting Etiquette Question: Is it OK to broadcast a blog post more than once. i.e. different times during the day? 3x too much?
Very timely. Was just explaining beginner nuances to someone yesterday. Sent him link this AM . Thanks!
Rob
More Broadcasting Etiquette Questions:
1. Is it OK to broadcast from my archive?
2. Can some one explain retweet
Thanks
The one thing that I like about Twitter is to be able to connect with people that I have never imagined being able to connect (ie: such as yourself and many others established bloggers)
I agree that updating daily is important, but don’t over-do it. I’ve never un-followed somebody due to inactivity, but I have un-followed people who tweet too much about irrelevant things, so put a little thought into your tweets so you don’t have to repeat yourself due to a spelling / grammar error or a bad link because that’s more annoying than inactivity.
Great tips! I think the Twitter community moves so fast that it can be intimidating for a newcomer, but the key is to just get in and learn as you go. As long as you don’t annoy everyone with spam and what not, you’ll do fine.
http://twitter.com/coryobrien
nice post. just joined twitter this is useful info.
Thanks
Hi there – great job may I link to your post on my blog?
Great advice, I rarely use Twitter, But I’m going to Start Using it More.
I found this post to be very helpful. Even just the part about finding people to follow- I couldn’t find anything on twitter.com itself about how to find people to follow, or how people would find me.
Thank you!
Thank you, Aira Bonco, for writing these tips; and thank you, Darren Rowse, for posting them. (And Ian David Champman, for leading me here.)
I really enjoy the aspect of helping others out on Twitter, and reading/contributing tweets about interesting, humorous, and useful topics.
I’ll be sending a link to this post to anyone that I know who is starting on Twitter. (And maybe as a hint to those who repeatedly spam-tweet! Yes, I will stop following you!)
To AccountingElf,
Re: Finding people to follow
When I see an interesting Tweet, I go look at the person’s profile. I look at their previous Tweets and also their website, if they have one. If I’m still interested, I start following them. Also, I look to see who they follow and who is following them. I frequently find people with similar interests there, and then I follow them.
Another way is to “search” in Twitter (click on search at the bottom of Twitter’s screen) and type in a keyword of your interest. Then you can find Tweets about that topic.
As far as getting people to follow you.. I think if you post Tweets that are the kind I like: interesting, humourous, and useful – you’ll get followers. Also, if you can put in the topic you are interested in, like-minded Twitters may follow you.
Hope this helps – oh, and you could put your Twitter ID in a comment like this – that could get you some followers! I’m guessing AccountingElf is your Twitter ID ?
Thanks for the definitive guide for beginners! I believe you have to be active in using Twitter to have people start following you. Meaning, start following the people you’re interested in for a start, and start tweeting. An idle Twitter account will attract no followers.
Twitter is such an interesting tool and culture to me. I’ve been pretty active on it for 3-4 months now … being around and connecting with people who have similar interests or who write about things that i’m beginning to be interested in have been extremely helpful. the things people share are incredible.
I’ve been bookmarking things along the way that have influenced or otherwise helped me:
http://delicious.com/franswaa/twitter
One thing that i find to be true for me is that people on Twitter who take the time to interact/talk to me are the ones that i talk to more, trust and generally check out what they are sharing.
@Darren how do you keep it personal with the people you follow on Twitter?
–
http://twitter.com/franswaa
Not bad, much of this is pretty straight forward. I like what you got going here Darren .
This is a great list for beginners. Many are confused by Twitter so this helps create a system for them to embrace the new platform. I will let others know so they can stop by to get some great guidance.
http://twitter.com/inthelivingroom
.
Thanks
Very useful infomation…
Wish I had it when I started twitting..
Tamkin
.
Tumblemoose – It’s really nice to hear how Twitter is helping you out. It’s really not that hard to figure out once you get the hang of it. As I said, it is a process you have to go through. As you pick up the Twitter culture, you’ll be hooked and addicted ^_^
Robin – I think it is okay. So long as it is evenly spread out through the day and not sent one after another. We are, after all, in different time zones.
Broadcasting past posts? Hmm… I’m torn with this. I think it is okay if people asked for it.
And “retweet” means you will resend the post of other people to help them out. This is very useful if you’re friends have links they want to promote. This is a way to reach out and help.
Dora Crow – I’m glad my article helped you out. ^_^
I’m at step 2. I didn’t know that there’s a directory to find people of similar interests. The resources have proven to be useful for me.
It has clearly spelled out the way twitter newbies have felt in the beginning, I know it clearly as I felt that way.
Even till now, it seems to me that Twitter is somewhat more for Internet Marketing Niche.
Nevertheless, Aira@Thanks you for such wonderful post.
In case it hasn’t been said, if you follow a large number of people then you won’t ever have a chance of getting to know any individual twitterer. Some people follow everyone who follows them and end up with thousands following/followed. I think that’s very silly. This isn’t a competition and it’s not expected that you must follow someone who follows you.
Find people whose twitter stream interests you and then follow them. But limit it to a number you can handle. I follow less than 30 twitterers but over 100 follow me. That’s great. People who like my stream follow me plus the ones I follow know that I chose them for their content and not because I’m a promiscuous follower.
I can imagine that some people might have a good reason for following 4,000+ twitterers so take my advice if it’s helpful to you.
Hello Dareen,
I am the twitter fallow.But in starting stage I followed 2000 persons .Next day Twitter Kicked out me.Can I change my account or Should I create new account in another name?Pl .
Excellent tips! I’ve been twiddling with Twitter for a couple months now and find it more and more fun…cool…interesting?? Don’t know the right word to describe but, I was skeptical going in and thinking I had to update all the time to get any traction however, I’ve been amazed to see the people that are now following me. Fun. Thanks, again!
I am new to Twitter and appreciate these tips. Thank you.
I have been trying to figure out just what twitter is about and how to use it for a while now. I initially just used it to update when I published a new post, but now I’m thinking that might be a pretty cheezy thing to go. I’d rather meet some interesting people.
This list helps.
Great post…I was researching some stuff to blog about about and the “beginner top 10″ idea hit me. But you’ve done a great job, I’ll just re-link to your and forget about writing the one I was gonna do.
I wish Twitter would make the photo sizes larger though.
By the way, would you outline your daily blogging routine sometime Darren?
Great article that covers the basics – it is too bad Twitter doesn’t really give these tips themselves – but then again, maybe that is the beauty of Twitter in that they let the community develop the rules.
This was sent to me by my cuz at http://www.andyjacobson.com. As you can see , I’m still clueless . Thanks Andy! I’m posting tomorrow on http://sueadler.blogspot.com/2008/11/times-they-are-changin.html
Thanks for providing these great information. I am very much thankful to you. What a good information for twitter beginner??
I suggest all beginners to follow these instruction, soon you will get notices in twitter.
@filipination
Thanks for the tip about “retweets”. Mabuhay ka, Aira!
@markdarling
Great post – so many people that have heard about Twitter just “don’t get it” because they are just tweating blindly without following others and building a community.. This is what Twitter is about, it’s a communication tool rather than a broadcast tool.
Mark
@hectorhenry17
Well in my case i juts star juts how dose thips say and know i have some fallowers of my reagon Colombia, and its fun becuase we havea lot to shear between each other.
Good tips for begganners.
@theyumdiary
Thank you so much for this! Profoundly helpful.
@alexstrandberg
great article. My first tweet (or twit?) was “I am unsure what twitter is or what it does???” thanks for the insights
@infonote
Use an alert service like TweetBeep. This is how I started to find Twitter useful.
this is very nice… more informative!
@deekayw
Dumb question, but I’m brand new to Twitter, so when you say “Read up on what the people your following are up to and reply if it interests you.” … does that mean that if you use the @username syntax, they will receive your tweet even if they don’t follow you? Or are you assuming that the people you are following will follow you in return?
@farffa
Very good advice.I would like to add that you must also make your Twitter profile look good.The default bubbly blue with the brown avatar is not going to do you much good.
@Fruitfulvine2
Another helpful article.
@LCC_Bryan
Very helpful, thank you. I am very, very new to Twitter and I am testing it out for business purposes as well as personal. I am not sure how it will all pan out, but again I want to thank you for the helpful information
@dannybrown
One to add – there are no “rules”. Everyone uses Twitter differently and there’s no real “right or wrong” way – people will either connect to how you’re using it or they won’t.
@tamalanwar
Hey Darren, thanks for these quick tips. Recently I’m working on a twitter for beginners series. I’ve created a detailed step by step twitter posts for new people. You can check it out and I’d love to have your expert opinion on this post about twitter search: http://blogkori.com/a-step-by-step-guide-for-new-twitter-users-part-4
@cannedguds
Hello my friend! Thanks for sharing this tip! I hope my own works will drive traffic with the help of Twitter! I’m really impressed by your work! Good job! Have a nice day!
@photoshoptips
For the newbies to twitter, your advice can really help. I have found that they have a lot of effort to succeed but lack the knowledge and plans achieve.
@alecwinmill
Thanks for the tips!
@Curious_Jo
Cheers Aira. thanks for the info on getting started. Im quite new & feeling stupid, and felt like what on earth am i doing & why would anyone be interested? but Im plugging along. You’ve given me some insight into how to proceed so Ill see how it goes.
Great tips, thanks
@healthwater
Thanks for sharing these some great tips. Have a fantastic day.
Julia
@franswaa
Great tips. For me #7 & 8 have proven to be the most beneficial – Building relationships with people that I can learn from and sharing things that help those who are following me.
I thought i’d share a bit about when i started on Twitter in case it might help others: http://budurl.com/twitter1st
@franswaa
thanks for the info…more power!!!
Yes, Twitter helps to get more traffic. Nice easy steps for sharing here. Thanks
@vijajabu
your tips are very usefull for beginers.thank you for your tips.
@veryveryblessed.twitter.com
Very good tips. Thanks for sharing.
@shabbie
This is all good stuff, I have a little following and I need to understand this in more detail, yeah.
@jiangwei1989718
thanks a lot.I learned a lot.Add me @jiangwei1989718 I am from China.呵呵
@fuzzyblee
I learned something valuable today, thanks so much! I’m new to Twitter and this really helps. Thanks.