How To Twitter – 8 Steps to Getting Started

1. Get an Account

http://twitter.com/
You’ll need to provide:
• Your Full Name: Use your real name
• Username: Should reflect your brand
• Email: You’ll get notifications here

2. Setup Your Profile

1. Find Friends using your email address (optional)
2. Follow some famous people (optional) Be sure to de-select any of the famous people you don’t want to follow
3. Go to the Settings Tab Account Tab:
a. More Info URL: Add your blog, your webpage, your LinkedIn page, etc
b. One Line Bio: In 160 characters, describe yourself so people you want to connect with can find you
c. Location: If desired, provide your geographical location
d. Protect Your Updates: If you click this box, no one can follow you unless you allow it, and no one can read your tweets unless they are following you. NOT the recommended option.
Picture Tab:
Upload a picture, also known as an Avatar
Design Tab:
Choose a preset theme, or upload your own background picture.

3. Choose how to Tweet

Web Client
Log into twitter, and click the Home Tab.
• Write tweets in the box under “What are you doing?”
• Click the @<username> link to see tweets directed to you
• Click the Direct Messages link to see any private messages

Desktop Client
A list of clients is available on the Twitter website: http://twitter.com/downloads
Desktop clients allow you to watch your tweets as they come in, more like an IM client.
• Tweetdeck allows you to group your followers, or to watch search strings
• Twhirl allows you to use more than one account at a time.

Cell Phone
Twitter can be set up to send and receive SMS messages from your phone.
To set it up:
1. Log into your account from the website
2. Click the Settings Tab
3. Click the Devices Tab
4. Save your Cell Phone Number
Be aware: you’ll be charged for sending & receiving tweets just like you are for texting

4. -Tweeting Cheat Sheet

@<username>: Respond to someone on twitter
d username: Send a private message to someone on twitter
RT @<username>: Retweet someone else’s tweet
#<term>: Add a hashtag to tag it with a search term
140 Characters per tweet
Shorten URLs to save on characters used in your tweets

5. Twitter Jargon

• Avatar: Your twitter profile picture
• Direct message: A private message. Only the sender and receiver can see this message
• Follow: In order to see other the tweets of other people without searching for them, you have to Follow them
• Hashtag: A way to tag individual tweets with a search term. Hashtags start with a #, and are followed by the search term
• Retweet: Forward another user’s tweet
• Tweet: Individual messages sent on twitter. Anyone can see any tweet
• Tweetstream: all of your tweets

6. Know your Brand!

On Twitter, everyone can see what you say.
It is critical to understand this if you are tweeting for your business.
Be cognizant of your brand and your mission, because what you tweet will add or detract from your message.

7. Have a Strategy

Why do you want to be on twitter?
• Connect with clients
• Sell a product
• Connect with thought leaders
• Find a job
• Find job applicants

8. Find Followers

• Fill out your profile
o People will ignore you if you don’t have a profile
• Search
o Use http://search.twitter.com/
o Look for