1. -Twitter-
Twitter is quickly gaining momentum, support and market inertia with its extreme growth within
the last few months due to mainstream awareness. Compete.com numbers show that roughly
7.9 million people visit Twitter.com each month, and up over 950% since this time last year. Just
as a comparison Facebook receives about 73 million unique visitors per month.
How Twitter Works.
People can add you as a “friend” or “follow” you and receive your tweets as you send them.
Each message that you write can only be a maximum of 140 characters long (this includes
any links), which is also know as micro-blogging.
Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have
signed up to receive them. Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant
messaging, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Facebook.
Getting Started.
1. Build an account and immediately start using Twitter Search to listen for your name,
your competitor’s names (if used for business), and words that relate to your space.
(Listening always comes first.)
2. Add a picture. We want to see a face to a name.
3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. It shows them you’re human.
4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
5. Share links to neat things in your community.
Humanize.
If you’re too commercial, your account may be deleted. Therefore, actively participating in
conversations proves you are not spamming Tweeters but you’re a contributor to a larger
conversation.
Twitter for Business.
Although Twitter was originally intended for communication among individuals, a number
of organizations have begun to actively participate on the platform. However, not all
companies are using Twitter in the same way. Some tweet, some listen, and some do both.
Twitter can be an excellent channel to push messaging: share company accomplishments,
provide links that take people back to your web pages, articles, etc. As a warning, don’t be
too self-serving or self-promotional on Twitter. You can do some serious damage to your
reputation – Keep it more personal.
Before any company starts tweeting, it’s a good idea to remember that with all web
participation, you will get the good with the bad, the fans with the non-fans and the
opinionated on all levels. Transparency is the broken record in regards to social media.
As long as you are transparent about your presence on Twitter, your “followers” will
participate and contribute to your discussion. Be sure to ask questions… they are the best
conversation starters.
Copyright 2009 © Meghan Beattie

2. -Twitter-
Definitions:
@name – When you want to respond to someone’s question, begin your Tweet with
“@twittername” (i.e. @meghanbeattie) and Tweet – this Tweet will show up on your
Twitter feed but will also show up in the follower’s @Replies section and under search
results. This allows you to go back and forth with a fellow Tweeter.
DM – DM or “Direct Messaging” is available on some profiles – based on the settings
you’ve set. This allows you to speak “offline” to someone without it showing up as a
Tweet on either of your profiles. You are notified via email when you receive these as
well.
RT – RT or “Retweeting” is a common practice on Twitter. When someone Tweets
information you enjoy or appreciate, you copy and paste the Tweet and begin with “RT”
signaling that you are passing the information on versus it being an original Tweet.
#CODE – When you want to gather people around a certain topic, end your Tweet with
#subject. When you visit search.twitter.com, search for #subject and see who else is
talking about that subject. It’s similar to “groups” on Facebook but no membership
required. Example: Learned about social media today in San Francisco #socialmedia #SF
Twitter Applications:
Future Tweets - FutureTweets.com is a free service that lets you schedule your Twitter
messages. Send it at a specific time in the future or send a reoccurring Tweet daily,
weekly, monthly or yearly!
TwitPic – Upload photos to your Tweets
TweetBurner – This site will take lengthy links you’re Tweeting and shorten them so you
can squeeze them into those 140 characters!
TweetBeep – This is like Google Alerts for Twitter… Type in your email address and your
keywords and you’ll receive an email when your business or name is being discussed on
Twitter
Helpful Links:
Search Twitter
16 Examples of Huge Brands Using Twitter for Business
Newbies Guide to Twitter by Chris Brogan <- Social Media GOD
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and read my blog for information on PR and
general social media!
Copyright 2009 © Meghan Beattie