Bridging Media

Been promising for months to post some tips for a few of my friends that are newer to twitter and are just getting started on experimenting in this space for the first time.  Finally they are here!

Tips to Getting Started on Twitter:

1. Own Your Identity.  Not always, but often it is best to own your own name online, especially if you do anything in the public eye.  This prevents others from misrepresenting themselves as you and looks a little more professional.  Take, for example, @EricaHargreave verses @CrazyCanuckGal. If you are a minor, however, I don’t recommend you use your own name for safety reasons.
2. Post a Pic. Ideally the best pics are closer head shots of you (as the avatar is small), that look fun and have a bit of character to them.  But if you really don’t want to post a real picture of you, cartoon versions of you or animal pictures tend to work well.  Also if you are a minor, I’d recommend that you don’t post a picture of your actual self. To find where to post a picture, click on ‘settings’ in your top bar and then on ‘picture’ in the subsequent top bar. (Please Note: This element of twitter occasionally glitches out due to growing pains. If it’s not working, avoid throwing your computer out the window and try again later)
3. Write something in your bio. Quirky and light work well. Or a mix of business and your personal side. But you want to say something that gives you a bit of personality so that people take an interest in you and want to follow you. To edit your bio, click on ‘settings’ in your top bar and then on ‘account’ in the subsequent top bar. Scroll down the ‘account’ page and you will find the box for the ‘one line bio’.
4. Add a website or a blog. Depending on the main purpose of your tweeting, you may wish to add your company’s website or your personal blog.  To do this, click on ‘settings’ in your top bar and then on ‘account’ in the subsequent top bar. Scroll down the ‘account’ page and you will find the box for the ‘more info URL’. Add your web address here.  It is fine not to have a web address as long as you have a pic and bio posted.
5. Try a few tweets. Test out your voice.  Try a tweet or five, remembering that this is not the ‘Facebook is ….’. Write in the first person, not the third person. Ideas on what to tweet: you could upload a photo with a comment, share a simple recipe, share a favourite quote, share something new you’ve learned or tell people about an enjoyable event you’ve been to.  Don’t expect a response as no one is following you yet.
6. Start following people. Twitter works because it’s voyeuristic, and as a result, spreads information beyond your current network.  What this means for you, is that you don’t just want to follow your current network of people, you want to move beyond that. So who do you follow?  Search a term that interests you on twitter and see whose talking about it.  Add people that are saying things of interest to you.  Similarly you can also look up and add people that you are interested in and follow them (even if you don’t know them personally).
7. Getting followers. Twitter has changed from the early days.  It use to be that when you started following people, many of them would follow you back. These days with spammers and more people following, many people (myself included) have trouble keeping up with new followers, so you need to engage them.  Look at what the people in your stream are saying and engage them by responding to their tweets. You do this by clicking on the curved reply arrow on their tweet and then typing in your message to them. You can also retweet something they say, if you want to help spread their message online.  Do that by clicking on the double arrow retweet button on their tweet.
8. What to do when someone new starts following you? I like to, when I have the time, click on a new follower’s profile and check them out.  If they don’t appear to be a spammer and have something interesting to say then I follow them back.  I also usually try and send them a personal note thanking them for the follow and commenting on something in their stream or on their website.
9. @Replies You will notice on your sidebar an @ symbol and your twitter handle, which in my case would be @EricaHargreave. You want to check these replies regularly, as these are people that are replying to a tweet of yours or referencing you in a tweet.  I feel to be polite and genuinely interactive, you should generally respond to these.
10. Direct Messages Similarly on your sidebar you will see ‘Direct Messages’.  You also want to check these regularly as these are people that are sending you a private message. It ‘s generally polite to respond to these, unless it is an automated DM (direct message) thanking you for following. You should, however, beware of hacker messages here. If someone is telling you that you ‘can make x amount of dollars at such and such online’ or is asking if ‘this is a video or picture of you’, then chances are they’ve been hacked. Don’t click on the link (that’s how you too will get hacked), but do send them a DM telling them that you suspect that they’ve been hacked.
11. Keeping up with the conversation. Some twitter newbies think that they need to go back and read everything that their followers have said in their stream.  This is next to impossible, so don’t overwhelm yourself by trying.  If you want to follow particular people more closely, you can put them in a list. Lists are a relatively new feature on twitter.  You will see them in your sidebar. Click on ‘New List’. Mark it as ‘public’ or ‘private’ depending on whether you want the rest of the world to see it or not. Give the list a name, such as ‘film folk’. Next, give the list a description if you so choose, and then click on ‘Create List’. Finally you will be prompted to ‘find people’. You can do this by typing in someones twitter handle (ie. EricaHargreave) or by scrolling through your following list. When you find someone you want to add, click on the list button beside their name and click on the list you wish to add them to. Similarly any time later that you want to add someone to the list, simply click on the list button next to their name and then click on the appropriate list.

That should give you more than enough to get you started.

Have fun with it!