Twitter

My goal is to simplify complexity. I just want to build stuff that really simplifies our base human interaction.

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter

What is it?

Twitter is an online social networking tool. It is the perfect social channel for business owners or leaders as it connects you to the global conversation to share and listen as to what the broader community thinks on your industry.  It is easy to join, with a low barrier entry and creates a level playing field for big brands and smaller brands.

People share information in 140 character ‘tweets’
They can share text, photo or video updates
And these are tweeted out to their ‘followers’
“Following” is essentially what “friending” is on other sites.

In the first quarter of 2016, there were 310 million active users.

That’s like one in 22 people around the world logging on to tweet.

Source: twitter.com

How to set it up:

Checklist for setup -

What you need to set up -

Twitter Handle

A twitter handle is simply your name with an @ in front of it. The trick is finding a name that hasn’t already been snatched up. Twitter allows you to keep trying names until you find a free one.

Banner Image

Profile Header: 1500px by 500px. Or 1263px x 421px. This is the cover image on your twitter page – it is a promotional / branding / identifying tool.

Profile Image

400 x 400 pixels. A profile picture for twitter. Keep it the same across social platforms. A photo – if it’s a person – or a logo can work as a company. Especially a stacked logo.

Description of your company or brand

This is the short bio that describes who you. It only has 160 characters so keep it punchy and precise – what do you do? Why should they connect with you.

Your website link (optional)

Fill it in if you have one. Or use a Linkedin page.

Email notification preference

Do you want email notifications and if so what for. The default is always to emal you for everything – so be sure to switch it off if you don’t want to be annoyed, I mean emailed.

Twitter Lingo:

When you first enter the wide world of tweets there’s a few key words to understand:

A “Hashtag” is reference to when the pound sign # (aka hash) turns any word or group of words that directly follow it into a searchable link. This allows you to organise content and track discussion topics based on those keywords.

A “Retweet” is a re-posting of a Tweet. Twitter’s Retweet feature helps you and others quickly share that Tweet with all of your followers. You can Retweet your own Tweets or Tweets from someone else.

A “Reply” is a response to another user’s Tweet that begins with the @username of the person you’re replying to. You can reply by clicking the Reply button on a Tweet.

A “Mention” is a Tweet that contains another user’s @username anywhere in the body of the Tweet. (Yes, this means that replies are also considered mentions.)

A “Direct Messages” (DM) are the private side of Twitter. You can use Direct Messages to have private conversations with Twitter users about Tweets and other content.

How to create Lists:

Coming soon.

How to find followers:

Coming soon.