If you’re new to Twitter or you’re setting up your business’ Twitter account for the first time, you may be wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into. Twitter can be a confusing thing at first if you’re not familiar with how to use the “@” symbol, the hashtag (#) or what it means to “retweet.” This post is designed to give you the very basics in Twitter 101 for your business.
Usernames
First things first, if you don’t have a Twitter account and username for your business – get one! Every username is unique, and your business’ name may already be taken. This might require you to get creative (Tip: You can use an underscore in your username which may help. Try Acme_Business if AcmeBusiness is already taken.)
Profile
Complete your profile. You’ll need to create a short bio (160 characters or less), add an avatar (your profile image), add your website, and add your location if you choose. You can customize your profile further, but like I said – we’re just going over the basics here.
The Language
Learn the Twitter language. I won’t leave you hanging – if you want to learn more about the “@” symbol, hashtag, and retweet, see the Twitter Glossary. It may take some getting used to, but the more you use Twitter, the more you’ll get the hang of it.
Tweets
If you’ve read the glossary, you know that a “tweet” is a message posted on Twitter with 140 characters or less. You need to start tweeting for a few reasons:
- You need content on your profile. If you want people to pay attention to what you and your business have to say, you need to be saying something.
- You need to engage your audience.
- You’ll get the hang of things. Learning the Twitter language and how things work takes you actually using it.
Followers and Following
Again, if you’ve read the glossary, you know that there is a difference between followers and following. (Twitter does a good job of explaining the difference between the two.) Most people on Twitter want to increase the number of people following them. When you’re starting out though, you start at zero just like everyone else did. There are several ways to devise your business’ Twitter strategy, which could be another post by itself. Since we’re keeping this brief, I would suggest starting with these two:
- Follow other respected people in your industry.
- Make people aware that you have a Twitter profile. (Link to your Twitter account from your website, etc.)
Hopefully this post will serve as a good starting point for launching your business’ Twitter account successfully. Once you’re underway, you can begin tracking your success and building upon your efforts. If you have any questions about this post or how Twitter could benefit your business, let me know! Feel free to leave a comment or email me directly at heather.e@delegator.com.
