How To Twitter

Twitter lets you communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages called “tweets.” Your short updates (140 characters or less) answer the simple question, “What’s happening?” These messages are posted to your Twitter profile, sent to your followers, are searchable on Twitter search, and can be linked to your other Social Media accounts like Facebook.

1. Go to www.twitter.com and click SIGN UP NOW
   
2. Type your Full Name: this can be you, your real first and last name, or your business name.
3. Type a Username: this should be the name of your business. Twitter will verify that the name is available. Twitter will also create a unique URL for your username, which will be twitter.com/USERNAME.
4. Type a password and your email address, verify the security code and click CREATE MY ACCOUNT.

You can follow these prompts or SKIP this step to see if your friends are on Twitter.

Next, Twitter will automatically suggest some people you might like to follow. Before you start Following people just to fill up your profile, remember you should only Follow your “real” friends and associates as well as relevant industry insiders. Click SKIP THIS STEP to ignore these recommendations.

Time for your first Tweet: in 140 characters or less, tell the world “What’s happening?” then click UPDATE.

The following Tweet has exactly 140 characters. Tweets will appear on your profile and will be shared with all your Followers.

Update your Profile

Click SETTINGS at the top of the page to add more information about your company. This will help people find you on Twitter. For example, you’ll be more likely to turn up in a Twitter search if you’ve added your location or your real name. You can change your basic account info, fill in your profile data, and set whether you want to be private or public.

Click PICTURE to upload your company logo:

Click DESIGN to change the appearance of your Twitter profile:

Choose a predesigned made theme or add your own background images. Background images must be in PNG, GIF, or JPG format, smaller than 800k. If your image’s file size is too large, the easiest way to get it down is to use and image editing program or web application like www.picnik.com to shrink the image.

To customize your design:

1. Log in and click SETTINGS (or go to http://twitter.com/account/settings)
2. Click the last settings tab, Design
3. SELECT a template, CHANGE your text and background colors, or UPLOAD your background image
4. SAVE your changes

To start from scratch with the default background, select “Use the Twitter default style” and save your changes.

Twitter Glossary:

• Following: Following someone on Twitter means getting their updates in your personal timeline. Your follower/following stats are listed on your profile page, and if you follow someone, they can send you private tweets, called direct messages, too.
• Followers: Followers are people who receive your Tweets. If you follow someone, you’re their follower– you receive their Tweets in your homepage. If someone Follows you, they’re your Follower– they’ll receive your Tweets in their home page, phone. Following is not like friend requests on social networking sites because it isn’t mutual. In other words, someone who thinks you’re interesting can follow you, and you don’t have to approve, or follow back. Deciding to follow back and changing your mind later is fine- just visit the person’s profile page and un-follow; Twitter does not send a notification when you unfollow someone.
• Retweet: Use Twitter’s Retweet (RT) to quickly share other Tweets you like, whether they are information, newsworthy, informative, or just entertaining. Just hover over a tweet, click the retweet link, and the Retweet will be posted to your profile.

Want to know more? Check out this series of articles.