You’ve heard all the buzz and you’ve decided to see what Twitter is all about. You’ve set up your account easily enough but now what?
Twitter is a great tool for making connections, building and enhancing relationships and sharing information. It is also great for demonstrating knowledge and expertise or to gain it. For me, I have found Twitter great for professional development and community building.
But it has more of a learning curve compared to some other forms of social media and it can take longer before you see and experience the benefits. It’s easier than ever before but still too often someone gives up on Twitter before they have enough experience with it.
To help you get started, I am sharing six posts for someone beginning on Twitter. They are intended for individuals. If you are setting up an account for a business or an organization, you can also gain some good insight but there are some differences that we won’t explore here. I’m hoping these posts help you to reduce your learning curve and help you make the most of your Twitter experience sooner.
My best piece of advice about learning Twitter? Use it and use it regularly. As you have firsthand experience you’ll figure out what to do and what works for you. You’ll also be able to see what others are doing and learn from them.
These posts are based on a mix of my own experience since I started on Twitter in April 2009 and the many social media gurus who I follow who have so generously shared their own insights and advice.
Where do I start?
To make the most out of your Twitter account, it helps to know what you want to talk about or learn. It could be networking, professional development, a personal hobby or topics relevant to your business and organization. The bio section of your page is where you should indicate who you are and what interests you.
If your Twitter account is personal, you may not know yet. That’s ok. Don’t let that stop you. Dive in and start exploring the conversations occurring. Your focus will come with time. You’ll likely find that you gravitate towards one or more communities of people talking about what interests you most.
Having a focus helps you to make sense out of the noise by helping to determine what you see and say on Twitter. It also provides a filter for determining who you want to follow. As your focus develops, you can make changes to who you follow and what you say.
Getting started on Twitter series
Here’s what the posts in this series cover:
