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The growth of the Internet has catapulted our society into a digital global village.Twitter allows us to follow our passions and communicate in a very efficient and effective way through microblogging. If you are an “information junkie” like me, you will be very fond of Twitter.
We generate sub-cultures and niches in the Twitter-sphere. Twitter is the most popular microblogging platform. If you create a tiny URL for your blog post, it is easy to send it to Twitter so your followers can read it and hopefully retweet it. Twitter only allows 140 characters so use your words carefully. Remember to use hashtags with your tweets. You can easily set up an automated Tweet to your Facebook page. You will also have an opportunity to Retweet your favorite blog posts. You can check my Twitter stream @vino_con_vista to see a history of my blog posts and tweets.
Here are some Twitter Tips for beginners that will help you get started with Twitter:
1. Pick a user name that includes the keyword that you want to use to identify yourself in the Twitter Sphere; I picked @SocialMediaEvie. Your Twitter “Handle” could just be your name if you prefer.
2. Add your website “vanity” URL (www.eveannlovero.com) to your profile on Twitter. You can grab a Twitter Follower Widget while you are filling out your profile on Twitter.
3. Tag your Twitter. Profile photo for SEO using Picassa. Rename the photo before you upload it. Click on “Settings” and the “Picture”.
4. Use an RSS feed for Twitter so your followers can subscribe to our Tweets. I have the Twitter widget installed on this web page. Use RSS feeds with your blog to increase your popularity with Search engines. Go to Feedburner and sign up with your Google account. I have an RSS feed on my computer using Twitter #Hashtags: #SEO and #SocialMedia.
5. Find some quality people and companies to follow on Twitter. Think about Twitter as a digital cocktail party. Who do you want to meet? Who do you want to work for? Who do you want to learn from? These are the groups/people who will send you timely information; hopefully, they will follow you back. Google has a handy tutorial on how to use Google search commands to find Twitter users here.
- Search.twitter.com: this works well for finding your friends, celebrities, or organizations. Search for specific topics you’re interested in. In the search box, I like to do a #Hashtag search by #SocialMedia or #Chicago or #Rome or #Italy; those are my favorites. Try it and see the results for yourself.
6. Make sure that your tweets contains keywords and phrases that you want search engines to pick up. Also, make sure to use #hashtags in your tweets but do not use more than 3. When you send a tiny URL to Twitter, give your post a compelling headline with a #hashtag included.
7. Twitter Favorites with Keywords: Make sure that some of your favorite tweets contain keywords, key phrases and relevant links. Your Favorites will serve as a receptacle for things you want to save.
8. Tinyurl.com your links from your blog post. By Using a shortener like Tinyurl, search engines will recognize the link and rank them.
9. Become a Twitter Evangelist! Make sure that you are submitting your Twitter profile and RSS feeds to directories to enhance your SEO efforts. Also, be sure to add your Twitter user name in blog posts and forums to bolster your brand recognition. Put you Twitter @user name on your business card.
10. Generate a Bio using your keywords. I used “Social Media” in my Bio. You only have 160 characters to describe yourself. Use words that maximize search value.
11. Compile a list of Twitter users that you want to follow. Hopefully, some of them will follow you back. Look at the people your followers are following. Use Tweetscan.com to search a variety of criteria or Twellow.com. Check the Twitter suggestions on “Who to Follow” on a regular basis. “Tweetdeck Directory” and “Listorious” for directories of Twitter users.
12. Promote your blog posts through your Twitter account.
13. Communicate the nature of the post using social media hashtags. This is your Headline!
14. Build reputation and brand with interesting and engaging Tweets. Use Infographics to capture your audience. Use pictures and graphics above the fold of your blog post. When you Tweet them, they will grab your followers attention.
15. Be courteous and remember to promote other social networking sites with interesting content by re-Tweeting. Maybe someone will offer you an incoming link. This is a technical relationship that is created from the WordPress toolbar. I will discuss this in more detail in class.
16. Interact and network at local events, conferences and Meetups. Bring plenty of business cards with your vanity URL, vanity email address, LinkedIn and Twitter addresses.
17. Monitor your followers and delete spammers. Check your twitter statistics to measure your influence. You can install the same widget on your site that I have added in my sidebar.
18. Check your Klout score.
19. Check your “Mentions” and “Retweet” stats and thank followers for mentions and retweets.
21. Create a Twitter Newpaper @ paper.li. I created the Social Media Daily and the Social Media Weekly.
20. I found this “Cheat Sheet” for Twitter RSS feeds:
- Academic librarian Valerie Forrestal has documented a simple way to score RSS feeds for any Twitter search result, i.e. for hashtags. Following her cheat sheet, we see that it’s simple matter of plugging in the search keyword into this formula:
- http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23hashtag
- Replace the bold “hashtag” with your own keyword, drop this URL into an RSS reader, and you’ve got yourself a continuous RSS feed of that hashtag. For example, to follow the #SocialMedia stream, this is the URL you need:
- http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23SocialMedia
- The “%23″ takes care of the actual hash (pound sign), so you don’t need to include an “#” in the URL.
- Despite Twitter seemingly eliminating RSS feeds for hashtags, it’s that easy!
Look up :Twitter Blackbird Pie and see if you want to use it. Now you can all become my official “Tweety Sweeties”!
Dr. EveAnn Lovero has a Travel Website @ www.vino-con-vista.com
