An introduction to Twitter to the members of the Joseph Project (http://workmatters.org/the_joseph_project/)

1. Getting Started With Twitter
A practical guide
March 24, 2010
SocialMediaRevolutionary.com

2. Overview
 Why Twitter?
 Things to do on Twitter
 Sign up for Twitter
 Set up profile
 Common actions
 Getting organized
 Get followers
 Dos and Don’ts
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3. Why Twitter?
 Instead of Facebook/LinkedIn/MySpace
 Because:
 Fast – Only 140 characters
 Interesting people talk there
 Fun!
 Sharing interesting information draws followers. More
followers mean more reach and more influence.
 Connect with people you wouldn’t normally meet
 Public – what you talk about is picked up by search
engines
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4. What Do You Want To Do On Twitter?
 Build personal brand
 Find friends with similar interest
 Show your expertise
 Drive traffic to my business
 Find new readers for my blog
 Share my passion
 Communicate what I’m working on with colleagues
 Meet my future wife/husband
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5. Sign Up For Twitter
 Go to Twitter.com and click the Join the conversation! Box
 Select a username
 Use the shortest version of your name possible (ccondray vs.
collincondray) to free up more space in Tweets.
 Avoid underscores (reduces retweets)
 Find connections in your email http://twitter.com/invitations
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6. Set up your profile
 Name – Use your real name
 Location – Can help other local people find you
 Web – For longer posts try using Posterous or Tumblr
 Bio – Should be related to your goal
 Picture –use a real picture. Gives you a human face that’s easier to relate to.
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 Design – Change from the default one to make you unique

7. Common Actions
@ Replies DMs
 Tweet - Individual
messages
 Messaging Other
people
 @ Reply - Public
 Direct Messages -
Private
 RT – Retweet
 #hashtags
 Trending News –
#nwastorms
 Lists – groups of
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related users

8. Organizing Your Activity With Hootsuite
 Post to all major social media networks from one place (Twitter, Facebook,
etc.)
 Organize using Twitter lists based on location, topic, personal friends, etc.
 Set tweets to be posted during the day when more people might see it
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9. Link with other networks
 Facebook
 LinkedIn (or by using
the #in tag)
9  Others: MySpace

10. Adding Relevant Followers
 Mr Tweet.com
 Twello.com
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11. Now that I’ve got it, what do I do?
 Tweet, often and honestly.
 Follow friends and interesting people
 Don’t Tweet just because you want more followers!
 Show people cool stuff.
 Re-tweet – share other people’s knowledge
 Respond to questions in your area of expertise
 Block annoying people and spammers and move on
 Use hashtags to organize your content
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12. Monitor How You Are Doing
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13. Cool Twitter Tricks
 Link Shorteners – bit.ly, is.gd, tinyurl.com
 Bit.ly lets you see how interesting your links are to other users
 Post pictures or videos with sharing services
(TweetPhoto.com, TwitPic.com,Yfrog.com)
 Twitterfall (watch this during your favorite sports event)
 Keep up with trends – WhatTheTrend.com
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14. Do’s and Don’t
 Do
 Fill out your profile completely
 Be interesting
 Answer questions
 Follow interesting people
 Don’t
 Talk just about yourself. Help others.
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15. Dos and Don’ts
 Don’t just say what you’re doing “I’m having breakfast” or
“I’m looking for a job.”
 Do show a picture of your breakfast or a link to an interesting
article about job hunting.
 Other things that can make a Tweet more interesting
 Picture (Cute kids are better than actual content)
 Link to a website or news story with interesting content
 Location sharing (Check out Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, and
the mobile version of Twitter for bonus points)
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16. Homework
 Follow me at @ccondray, I’ll put you in a Joseph Project
group and I’ll tell people to follow you
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17. Thank you!
Collin Condray
Twitter.com/ccondray
SocialMediaRevolutionary.com
collin@SocialMediaRevolutionary.com