Chances are you’ve heard of Twitter. After all, it was the most popular word in 2009 according to the Global Language Monitor, which tracks language trends and releases an annual list of the most popular words and phrases within the English language. As reported by Mashable.com, “Twitter’s constant media attention and mainstream ascent has vaulted it into the English lexicon, so much so that it beat out the words Obama (#2), H1N1 (#3), Stimulus (#4), and Vampire (#5).”
For those of you that haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, Twitter is a free social networking site that allows you to share what you’re doing, reading and thinking (i.e. an article you enjoyed, a blog post you wrote, what music you’re listening to, etc.) in 140 characters or less. Interested in signing up? Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Include information about yourself in your bio. Tell others what you’re interested in and/or what you do. We would also suggest including a link to your website for more information.
- Include a picture of yourself. A picture of yourself will help your followers feel like they’re connecting with a real person instead of just another faceless logo.
- If you want to include your logo on your page, include it in your background. It’s easy to upload a photo to use instead of the design options Twitter offers.
- Find people to follow. If you already know some people, great! Click the “follow” button so you’ll begin seeing their tweets (or posts). Look at who your friends are following or, if you don’t know anyone that’s already using the site, check out Twitter’s suggested users. You can even Google a phrase like “top Twitter users” for ideas. Make sure you’re following Three Girls (@ThreeGirlsMedia), too!
- Tweet. Update your Twitter page with what you’re reading, thinking and/or doing. Did you read an interesting article? Post a link to it (remember to include what it’s about). There’s nothing wrong with promoting your business a little bit, but don’t go overboard. No one will be interested in listening if you only talk about yourself – share other tidbits you think they might enjoy.
- Listen. Remember that part of networking is listening to other people, so read others’ tweets to see what they’re reading, thinking and/or doing. If you see something interesting, feel free to pass it along (or retweet it) to your followers and/or reply to the poster.
- Have fun and be yourself! Remember, the whole point of social networking is to connect with people and exchange information. The best way to connect with others is to share who you are and what you find interesting.