By Kyle Wegner, Social Media and Organic Search Specialist, BKV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not long ago, I wrote an article about signing up for Twitter for the 60 Second Marketer blog. That post was all well and good, but once you’ve signed up for Twitter there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Below are the 8 most important things you should know about using Twitter, covering every aspect that has confused me and many others starting out on Twitter. Consider this a Twitter beginner’s FAQ.

1. Twitter Etiquette

To help write this article I polled my own Twitter group (you can find me at twitter.com/kwegner) about what a beginner would want to know regarding Twitter. One of the best responses I received was from @gurnage (more on the @ sign later), who said, “Find and follow people that interest you and don't be afraid to engage in a conversation. That is why we are all here.” Keep that in mind whenever you have a question about what is proper Twitter etiquette.

2. Someone I don’t know started following me. Do I need to follow them back?

Twitter is unlike many social networks in that there is no expectation of mutual following. If someone follows you they are interested in what you have to say and may want to network with you. This does not mean, however, that you will be interested in everything they say. If this is the case, don’t follow them! There is no love lost in a 1-way following on Twitter.

3. So how do I know if I want to follow someone?

I’m sure every person has a different method, but the best way to find out if a new follower is worth following is to simply look at a page or two of recent tweets. Do they talk about things you are interested in? Do they reply to people you know? Do they send 30 messages a day, or are they only active a few times a week? Take all of this into account and then decide if you are truly interested in seeing all of the person’s updates.

4. Is it OK for me to promote my blog/website/business, etc?

There are 2 types of social networks: push & pull. Bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit, or Delicious are “push” networks and discourage self promotion. This is because they rely on truly interesting content that is voted up by merit, not self-promotion. However, sites like Twitter and Facebook are “pull” networks, as in people have consciously decided they want to hear what you have to say, and therefore self promotion is not only acceptable, but often expected. Many people sign up for Twitter for the sole purpose of self-promotion, and their followers are there because they enjoy hearing about these types of updates.

5. When should I block someone?

Using the block function on Twitter makes it so the blocked user no longer receives your Twitter updates in their timeline. Blocking also removes this person from your followers list. Blocking can be used in multiple cases. Often it is used to block spammers, or people who simply add hundreds or thousands of users while providing nothing to the Twitter community in return. Blocking can also be used when someone follows you that you’d rather not send messages to. If your Twitter account says things coworkers, friends, or relatives shouldn’t see, block them. Realize, however, that blocking a user does NOT stop them from seeing your public timeline, as that is accessible to anyone on the internet.

6. Common Twitter Messaging

Using the @ symbol: The @ symbol is used to send replies to users in Twitter. These messages will show up in your public timeline, and therefore on the timelines of everyone following you, as well as under the “@Replies” tab for the person replied to. It is common practice to also use the @ symbol any time you are talking about a person. Example: “Found out today that @FriendlyTweep lives on the same block as me!” This is done so users know not only when you talk to them directly, but also when you talk about them.

Sending Direct Messages: Direct messages in Twitter are like an email service, except you are limited to 140 characters. These messages do not show up in anyone’s timeline and can only be seen by the user you send the message to. Direct messages can only be sent if you and the other person are both following each other.

7. Knowing Twitter Lingo

One of the hardest parts of getting started on Twitter is trying to figure out what the heck to call things. As a Twitter user, am I a Twit? A Tweeter? A Twitterer? Those all sound fine, but what has the community come to use as common terminology?

Twitter: Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Tweet: A single message sent by a Twitter user. Messages must be less than or equal to 140 characters long, including spaces.

Tweeps, Tweeple, Tweeters, Twitter-folk, etc.: One term there hasn’t been consensus is on what you call a Twitter user. Some people use this do their advantage, coming up with their own salutation (“Morning Twittles!”), which can become somewhat of a brand or persona for the user.

Elipses (…): Elipses at the end of a message on Twitter mean the message sent is too long to show. The full message can be seen by clicking on the Elipses.

RT: Retweet. Taking someone else’s message, in part or in whole, and resending it out to all of your followers. Often used to help spread a good idea while giving credit to the original sender.

8. All the Ways to Tweet

Twitter has made it easy to tweet no matter where you are or what you are doing. Whether you are strolling through the city or at your desk working, there is always a way to tweet.

Tweet from the web: The most basic way to tweet is to send messages from your browser at twitter.com. The interface is clean and simple and lets you know exactly how many characters you have left out of your 140 total.

Tweet from your phone: There are multiple ways to tweet from your phone, but I’ll start with the most basic. If you follow there directions here, you can send SMS messages directly to Twitter and have your account updated in real time. You can also choose to receive tweets and/or direct messages as SMS to your phone as well. The nice thing about this feature is that you can also determine, person by person, who you want updates pushed to your phone from. That way Mr. “I update my status every 3 minutes” doesn’t send you 480 text messages a day. Phones with more capabilities, such as Blackberrys or iPhones can download applications that allow you to interface directly with Twitter, bringing the full experience of Twitter everywhere you go.

Tweet from your desktop: Twitter is inherently a pull service, forcing the user to visit twitter.com to know if there are updates from anyone you are following. The game has changed, however, through 3rd party applications that turn Twitter into a push service, alerting you every time someone sends a new message, replies to you, or sends a direct message. There are hundreds of applications out there to try, but here are the 3 I recommend:

Twitterific (mac only) - an awesome little desktop application from Iconfactory that enables you to receive Tweets and post them without being on the site.

Twhirl (cross platform, using Adobe AIR) – Similar to Twitterific, but works on PC, Mac, and Linux using the Adobe AIR plugin. An added bonus of Twhirl is that it not only pulls in your Twitter data, but it also connects to multiple Twitter, laconi.ca, Friendfeed and seesmic accounts.

Twitterfox (cross platform, using Firefox) - TwitterFox is a Firefox extension that notifies you of your friends' statuses on Twitter. This is not quite as robust as Twhirl or Twitterfic, however it does not require you to startup a separate program simply to receive messages. Twitterfox is great for anyone who has Firefox open on a regular basis.

Hopefully that covers all of the questions you may have about Twitter. If not, leave your questions in the comments or contact me through Twitter at twitter.com/kwegner. Maybe your question will make it into our guide!

 

Kyle Wegner is an Organic Search Specialist at BKV, a direct response and interactive agency whose clients include AT&T, The Home Depot, Equifax, Harrah's, Six Flags and other well-known brands. Kyle's own blog can be found at http://www.automaticable.com.

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