Helpful Twitter Tips

If you’re new to Twitter, here are some helpful Twitter tips, how-to’s, and netiquette to consider.

These tips may help you make good use of the microbloging tool and help you avoid some common errors made by new Twitter users.

Twitter Tips

• To promote a link for someone, or ‘re-tweet’, structure it like this: RT@user message, link. Example: RT @BullHunter Great article on: www.seanrasmussen.com. Everyone accepts the ‘RT’ prefix as a re-tweet and by using @user (without a space between the @ sign and the username), not only will the user see that they’ve been re-tweeted (because your tweet will appear in their ‘replies’ section), but others can click right on their name to learn more about them.

• If you want to speak with someone directly, you can either direct message them (if they’re also following you) for a private discussion or you can write to @username and they’ll see the message on the public timeline and in their Twitter replies. @messages are seen by anyone on the public timeline.

• If you run out of space for a link, (140 characters doesn’t go all that far!) consider using a link shortening service like Tinyurl.com or Bit.ly. Bit.ly is a great option because if you sign up for an account, you can go back later and see how many people actually clicked on a link.

• If you use a tool like SocialOomph for doing direct replies to new Twitter followers, don’t try to sell to them in that initial email. It’s often obvious that it’s an automated message but if you go for a sale in first contact, you’ll more than likely get ignored.

• If someone follows you and they look like a good potential customer, follow them back. If they give you a chance and don’t see reciprocity, they’ll more than likely tune out after a while (unless you’re someone famous).

• When un-following someone, be aware that they may be using a program that notifies them of this. If you’re planning to add someone, plan to keep them (if you want them to keep following you.).

• Add a hashtag (the number sign on the keyboard) to a post for popular topics, especially niche words or current events. By doing #topic in your Twitter update, you’ll be likely to be found by people searching for information on that topic.

• Utilise the Twitter search feature to find new people to follow by searching for your niche or keywords related to it. You’ll find people talking about that topic and by following them, you could find a new potential customer. They may not buy from you today but as you build rapport with them (or interest them with your contributions to discussions) you may eventually coerce them to a URL where they could buy or at the very least, opt in to receiving direct communication from you.

• Make your profile interesting. You don’t have much room to grab someone’s attention but there’s enough room to make an impression.

• Add your picture. People prefer tweeting a person rather than a logo.

• Use a Twitter badge on your blog. It’s available in your account and is some code you can grab and put on your website or blog to you’re your most recent tweets. This can pique the curiosity of people visiting your blog by letting them learn more about you and / or follow you on Twitter.

This isn’t an exhaustive list about Twitter uses for online business. There are now books published entirely devoted to the subject, even. But  these Twitter tips can help you get started, appeal to the public, and you may even start seeing some sales as a result.

If you want to follow me on Twitter, feel free to check out my Twitter profile!

Have a most outstanding day.

Sean Rasmussen
Aussie Internet Marketing
www.AussieSEO.com 2010

 

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