twitter 101: a beginner's guide

TwitterA Beginner’s Guide

101

By: USA Benefits Group

Topics1

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

History of Twitter

2 Twitter Terminology

3 Twitter & Business

4 Getting Started

5 Building an Audience

6 The Art of Tweeting

7 Best Practices

History of Twitter

1

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

History of Twitter

• Founded in 2006

• Text message service

• Simplicity in mind

• Initially called ‘twttr’

• Goal: Bring people closer to their interests

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

History of Twitter

Who is it for?

982 million accounts

230M daily active users

Nearly every country in the world

Over 35 languages

76% login via mobile devices

500 million tweets

sent per day

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

History of Twitter

• 140-character limit

• Real-time

• Ease of joining conversations

• Search capabilities

Why Twitter?

Twitter Terminology

2

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitterer/Tweeter:A user of Twitter

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

Twitterer/Tweeter:A user of Twitter

HandleYour username (@usabg)

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

Twitterer/Tweeter:A user of Twitter

FollowersPeople who have followed you

Follow/UnfollowSubscribing or unsubscribing to a Twitter account

HandleYour username (@usabg)

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

Tweet (verb):The act of posting on Twitter

Twitterer/Tweeter:A user of Twitter

FollowersPeople who have followed you

Follow/UnfollowSubscribing or unsubscribing to a Twitter account

HandleYour username (@usabg)

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

Tweet (verb):The act of posting on Twitter

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

Twitterer/Tweeter: Anatomy of a Tweet

1. Hashtag: any word beginning with the # sign, used to organize conversations

2. Mention: used to bring a Tweet to someone’s attention

3. @reply: respond to a Tweet

4. Retweet: share someone else’s tweet with your followers

5. Links: automatically shortened to 19 characters

A user of Twitter

FollowersPeople who have followed you

Follow/UnfollowSubscribing or unsubscribing to a Twitter account

Tweet (noun):A message posted on Twitter

HandleYour username (@usabg)

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

MessageA private message between you and another user, starting with DM

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

MessageA private message between you and another user, starting with DM

TimelineA list of real-time tweets from the users you are following

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

MessageA private message between you and another user, starting with DM

TimelineA list of real-time tweets from the users you are following

NotificationsNews about your Twitter account

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Terminology

MessageA private message between you and another user, starting with DM

TimelineA list of real-time tweets from the users you are following

NotificationsNews about your Twitter account

DiscoverWhat’s happening now, tailored to you

Twitter & Business

3

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter & Business

• Connect with current and potential customerso 49% of active users follow

companies or brands

o Twitter users are 3x more likely to follow brands than Facebook users

Benefits for Businesses

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter & Business

• Users want to hear from businesseso 67% of users are far more likely to buy from brands they follow

on Twitter

Benefits for Businesses

o 42% of Twitter users say they use Twitter to learn about products and services

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter & Business

• Build Your Brando Stand out in the industry

o Become an expert

o Improve reputation

o Showcase yourself

Benefits for Businesses

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter & Business

• Start right away!o Create an account

o Follow

o Listen

o Tweet

Benefits for Businesses

Getting Started4

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Getting Started

• Personal – More one-to-one with people you know, not businesses. Share personal stories, thoughts, etc.

• Business – Focus on connecting with other businesses and clients ONLY.

• Both – Keep personal tweets “private.” Keep work tweets “professional.”

• Combination – Put it all out there and let people unfollow you if they desire.

Choosing a Handle

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Getting Started

• twitter.com/signup

• Follow the walkthrough

• Add followers

• Find people you know

Sign up

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Getting Started

• twitter.com/signup

• Follow the walkthrough

• Add followers

• Find people you know

• Upload picture

• Fill in Bio

Sign up

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Getting Started

• Confirm Email Address

• Add Cover Photo

• Let others know you joined Twitter!

• Add icon and link to email signature and website

Sign up

Building an Audience

5

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Build an Audience

• Friends/Family

• Clients

• Local Businesses

• Carriers

• Industry Leaders

• Media Outlets

Who to Follow

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Build an Audience

• Import email contacts

• search.twitter.com

• Related hashtags/keywords

• Local hashtags

• Your name

Finding People

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Build an Audience

• Import email contacts

• search.twitter.com

• Related hashtags/keywords

• Local hashtags

• Your name

• Add to Lists

Finding People

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Build an Audience

• Import email contacts

• search.twitter.com

• Related hashtags/keywords

• Local hashtags

• Your name

• Add to Lists

Finding People

The Art of Tweeting

6

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Art of Tweeting

• Interesting

The Perfect Tweet

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Art of Tweeting

• Interesting

• Readable

The Perfect Tweet

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Art of Tweeting

• Interesting

• Readable

• Compelling

The Perfect Tweet

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Art of Tweeting

• Interesting

• Readable

• Compelling

• Built to be retweeted

The Perfect Tweet

Best Practices7

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Best Practices

• Listen First

Strategy

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Best Practices

• Listen First

• Be Yourself

• Be Unique

• Be Timely

Strategy

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Best Practices

• Listen First

• Be Yourself

• Be Unique

• Be Timely

• Analytics

Strategy

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Best Practices

• Listen First

• Be Yourself

• Be Unique

• Be Timely

• Analytics

• Stay in the conversation

Strategy

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101:

Best Practices

• http://business.twitter.com

• http://media.twitter.com

• http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter

• http://moz.com/blog/category/social-media

• https://library.hubspot.com/

Resources

Questions?

Twitter A Beginner’s Guide101: