How To Use Twitter

Everywhere you turn nowadays it seems as if people are talking about Twitter.  So now you have an account but you need to work out how to use Twitter.

In the early days it's true that people were tweeting about what they had for lunch or that they had just arrived somewhere.

But since those early days Twitter has grown up and people, companies, charities, celebrities and others are using it to connect with friends, colleagues, customers and supporters.

So when it comes to working out how to use Twitter the first thing you need to think about is what you are aiming to achieve. Are you on Twitter to keep abreast of the latest news?  Are you trying to drive traffic to your pages on the internet?  Is it a way of keep others informed about what your organisation is up to?

When it comes to how to use Twitter it really is down to you and what you want to achieve from using it. I hope that the following suggestions from my many years of using it will help you get the most out of it.

When you first sign up for Twitter the whole concept of tweeting can seem a little wierd!

You might think that the whole world is going to read it and then you realize that actually, no one is going to read it because you haven;t got any followers yet.  So with the whole world not listening what do you tweet about?

Don't worry everyone feels a little apprehensive when they first start out on Twitter.  You can generally tell if someone is relatively new to Twitter because you will notice that their tweets sound tentative and directed at no one in particular.

So rather than tweeting banal information about things why not try one of the following approaches.  I would also suggest that before you start tweeting you find some people in your niche or interest area to follow.

Tell people what you're doing! "I am just finishing a Wizzley page about ________."

Ask a question "I am writing about ________. Anyone care to share links to their favorite resource about that?"

Respond to tweets by the people you have followed in your niche or areas of interest.  Not only are you starting to establish a relationship with these people, it also create a positive impression to potential followers to see their @name in your Twitter stream.

One word of warning!  Please don't start promoting your website, pages or products straight away or try to follow 2000 people! You are a human being and you don't want people to think you are a bot or a spammer do you?

When people are thinking about whether to follow you or not, they will more than likely look at your Twitter page and see what you are about.  If they see you posting interesting questions, interacting with others, sharing your knowledge and exchanging tweets with people they are following, they are more likely to follow you.