Log in to become a member of Sande Saimond's Fan Club!
New to Twitter? Want to start tweeting right away BUT you aren't sure where to begin, what it all means and you want to do it right?
Let's break Twitter down into quick, easy bites. Here are 18 terrific tips for making the most out of your Twitter experience ... each 140 characters or less!
Then let's move on to Twitter Terms 101 where you can make the most of your Twitter experience by learning the best loved terminology on Twitter.
This one-two combo punch will make your Twitter learning curve quick & easy!
Getting Started with Twitter Doing it Right from the Very First Tweet Twitter is a social network - it's designed to be fun. It's a place to find and follow friends, network yourself and, if done right, market your business as well. It's a truly remarkable community - of a huge variety of people each with their own agendas, desires & dreams. The Twitter concept is truly amazing and is also called micro blogging.
Micro blogging (or minimalistic blogging) essentially limits the size of each contributor's posts - which minimizes or forces people to condenses what they can say into what's most important.
Twitter limits each tweet (or post) to a maximum of 140 characters including spaces, punctuation & links. The concept has caught on and is now blazing across the internet. Now even people with short attention spans (and/or limited time) can check out the latest tweets without having to read/scan through an entire 500 to 1,000 word article to get to the real meat of what someone is saying. And they can do it all in one place - http://www.Twitter.com.
Twitter forces its Tweople to condense their comments to 140 characters or less ... no one can get wordy, get on their soapbox, go off on a tangent AND, most importantly, no one has the time & characters to be truly boring.
18 Terrific Twitter Tips for New Users Changing Overwhelming into Anticipation! If you are new to Twitter, it can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming. So, here are some true Twitter-like tips for new users just getting started-- each one 140 characters or less.
The main thing is to take a deep breath and remember that Twitter is a SOCIAL network and is meant to be FUN!
1. Tweet about things that interest you. People with the same interests will follow you to see what else you have to say.
2. Follow interesting people. When you find them, see who they follow & follow them as well.
3. Say "Thanks" when someone (or several someones) RT one of your posts. People see the "thanks" and go find the post that started it.
4. Don't use Twitter to constantly sell your stuff. You are not a pimp. It's the quickest way to lose people's interest and their attention.
5. People do NOT want to know about your bathroom habits. There really is such a thing as T.M.I. (Too Much Information)
6. You never know who is twittering. Don't tweet something you wouldn't want your Mom, your boss, your spouse or your worst enemy to read.
7. If you get in a long 2-way discussion with one twerson - take it to DM. There's nothing as boring as seeing one side of a conversation.
8. Need an answer? Ask the question! Tweeple love giving their opinions.
9. Be a real person - add your photo. It's better than an icon, avatar or your sister's cat. People want to see YOU.
10. Not sure what to tweet? Ask yourself "what's interesting now" instead of "what am I doing now?"
11. If someone follows you, follow them back. They may have some really interesting tweets. Use an auto-follow software if needed.
12. When someone else says something inspiring, interesting or fun; Retweet it to your tweeple. Don't forget to give credit to the originator.
13. Think Golden Rule-If you can't say something nice, you may want to rethink your tweet. Lots of people may judge you by that single comment.
14. Shorten your links using a URL shortener. Some Twitter clients, such at TweetDeck or HootSuite, even have them included for convenience.
15. If you decide that you really like Twitter, check out different Twitter clients & tools. It'll make your tweeting time more efficient.
16. Be willing to offer something of value, give of yourself, learn from others and then retweet it. It's really NOT all about you.
17. Tell a clean joke. Show beautiful photos. Inspire someone. Share funny stories. Condense your life into 140 characters at a time.
18. Most of all, have fun! The networking & business building (if that's your real goal) will come naturally if you tweet right & give it time.
And there you have it! With these basic tips in mind, you are ready to start your Twitter adventure - in 140 characters or less!
Twitter Terminology 101
Some Basic Terms You Should Know as You Start Your Twitter Journey! Tweet
Each of your Twitter posts or updates is known as a tweet. Some people refer to them as "twits," but the official term is "tweet."
@
The @ symbol is a way of referring to another Twitter user. For example, @SandeSaimond means you're either sending a message to Sande Saimond or you're talking about her in your message. On your Twitter home page, you'll see a linked search where you can find people mentioning your username with an @ before it. This is how you find other people's replies to you.
Retweet
A retweet - or RT - is when you share the tweet of one user with all of your Twitter followers. If you happen to follow a Twitter news feed and they post a link to a story that you feel should be shared, you can "retweet" it. If you see a beautiful quote or a funny saying that you like, you can also retweet it. For instance, if I (SandeSaimond) tweeted, "Twitter Tips - How To Tweet in 140 Characters or Less http://ow.ly/5ntl" you could retweet that as: "RT @SandeSaimond: Twitter Tips - How To Tweet in 140 Characters or Less http://ow.ly/5ntl." Something to be aware of - it's considered rude or just plain not nice to take someone else's Tweet and send it back out as your own. Give credit for the tweet where it's due. You will more than likely be thanked for the Retweet and you may gain new followers at the same time. Retweets are usually prefaced with "RT @username."
Reply
Reply is when you respond to a tweet from a particular user. To reply to any given Twitter community member where it's placed in the public feed (everyone can see what you are saying) is called a Reply. Most Twitter clients (and Twitter itself) prefaces your tweet with "@username." If you wanted to send a message to me, for example, you would tweet, "@SandeSaimond How are you today, Sande? Hear any good tweets?"
Direct Message
Whereas replies are completely public, a direct message is akin to a private message that you send through a discussion board. You can only send a direct message to someone that is following your account. Send a direct message by prefacing your tweet with "DM username."
Follower
While Facebook requires that all relationships be reciprocal, Twitter allows for one-way relationships. If you find Twitter users who are interesting, you can "follow them" to subscribe to their tweets. They do not necessarily have to follow you back, though the more social users will want to follow you back.
Tweeple or Twerson
Twitter people, Twitter members, Twitter users.
Tweeps
Twitter people that follow each other from one social media/network to another.
Twitterverse
The Twitter Universe ... it's big and it's expanding at a great rate!
Hash Tags or #
Hash tags are words or acronyms that begin with the number sign. They are used when many people are tweeting about the same topic or from the same event. At least one hash tag is often atop Twitter's trending topics list. The granddaddy of tracking what the different hashtags means is http://www.Hashtags.org, which tracks tags by popularity over time. Before Twitter's search feature was useful, Hashtags provided a means to search tags. A popular hashtag is #FollowFriday. You'll see every Friday posts from different tweople suggesting who they think you should follow. "#FollowFriday @SandeSaimond."
Sande Saimond is a self-admitted computer geek & social
media maven who enjoys coaching home business owners & network marketers
how to better utilize the internet & social networking to build their
prospect & customer list while bringing in a steady cash-flow through
monetization.
When she doesn't have her nose buried in a computer screen, Sande spends her
leisure time making jewelry, twittering, blogging & reading.
When the weather is warm, she enjoys relaxing by the pond she & Tony
created in their backyard, playing with her "boys," Phantom &
Archer (rescued racing greyhounds), or taking moonlit Miata drives on the back
roads of Pennsylvania.
Sande is always offering plenty of up-to-date training materials and free
goodies on her website to help you on your path to freedom and financial
independence. You can visit her at www.SandeSaimond.com
I could use twitter to promote my many articles, blogs and soon to be book. However, I can't condense things very well. I always have to go into detail and look at every little thing. Also I would be a total novice as apart from reading a few articles - including this one- I know nothing. Actually, SearchWarp is the closest to a social network I have used!
Twitter could be used to promote your many articles, blogs, etc. - however, the true power of Twitter lies in it's value as a social community where people get to know you as a person and not as someone with an agenda (i.e. 'buy my stuff'). Although a posting for folks to go check out your latest article or blog posting is perfectly OK and great exposure.
When people are interested in what you have to say they
will go and check out your website and/or blog - organically. Nothing could be a
stronger recommendation than for someone wanting to get to know you
better and voluntarily checking you out.
I can say that if you want to get your words seen by thousands of people each minute - Twitter is the best place to do that.
Here are several famous quotes that are less that 140 characters - if they can do it, so can you!
Don't aim for success if you want it; just
do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. ~David Frost
Common sense & a sense of humor are the
same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense,
dancing. William James
I have heard it said that the first ingredient of success - the
earliest spark in the dreaming youth - is this; dream a great dream.
A fair argument. I think If I were to use twitter I would come across as a normal member wanting the social aspect but with an alternate intention of promotion.
Promoting is OK ... it's when promoting is the only thing that someone does that gripes most people. Many people do nothing other than scream "buy my stuff" with every tweet. Boring ... annoying!
If you are promoting a new blog post or article, you aren't asking anyone to buy anything. If your article happens to have a link to a site where something can be purchased, then it's your visitor's choice to click it and their choice to buy or not.
The more they like and trust you BEFORE they leave Twitter and/or your blog post, the more likely they are to buy from you if you are selling someting they want.
Jump in the Twitter water, I think you'll like it!
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
If you are new to Twitter, it can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming. So, here are some true Twitter-like tips for new users just getting started-- each one 140 characters or less.
tweet this!
