The first 5 steps to get started on Twitter
Twitter, the online social networking site that everyone talks about, defines “less is more.” With messages of 140 characters maximum, or “tweets”, as the only way to update your profile, using Twitter really demands that you clearly express your message or thought. Basically, go straight to your point and make it interesting; otherwise you won’t get followers, which is the goal here. If you are someone who likes to write prose or paragraph after paragraph about a new product or idea, Twitter will challenge you to think and write more rigorously. However, what sets Twitter apart from all other social networking sites is its real-time capabilities. Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn require you to log in to view posts and reply (although this is rapidly changing on Facebook), but Twitter attracts those who want to stay socially connected online, right now.
From a leadership standpoint, if you have the talent, knowledge, and intuition to become a thought leader, Twitter offers the ideal platform to start. You can follow others to get a feel for what they are tweeting and then start tweeting your own thought-provoking ideas to build your own following. The more followers you have, the higher your “authority” rating. You want to be an authorized VAR, so naturally you will be inclined to carry that number as high as possible. Countless plugins and plugins also allow you to keep track of your results with statistics.
Getting started with Twitter can be a bit overwhelming, especially when you log in, set up your account, and realize that there isn’t much on the Twitter site to get you going. Here are some tips to help you join the Twitter craze:
1. Choose your username wisely. When you sign in to your Twitter account, be careful when creating your username, as this will be remembered in the tweet community. Each username begins with the @ symbol. Something like @superVAR could be literally any VAR that chose that name. What makes you unique and different? What do your current customers think of you and your services? Work on creating a username that stands out and sets you apart.
2. Add a photo or logo. Get real. You will see that there is a brown square on your profile when you first sign up. Adding a photo of yourself or your company logo makes it real. The brown square makes you generic. Remember that the whole world of social media is about connecting with people, not entities.
3. Use words that are important to your followers to find you. Similar to including keywords and phrases in your website and blog copy to be found in search engines, using keywords that appeal to your customers, prospects, and channel partners will help you get found. Consider tweets with terms like “profitability,” “trends,” “ROI,” and “added value.” Once they find you, if you provide interesting or revealing information, they will follow you.
4. Being the follower is just as important as being followed. What is your competition up to? And your clients? Becoming a follower of other users is just as important as being followed for the mere fact that you can also build your knowledge base (and see what your competitors are up to!). Find other people on Twitter that you can follow. You can find inspiration to tweet too!
5. Feed your blog, Facebook and LinkedIn updates from or to Twitter. An easy way to spread your insights across all social media platforms, and ultimately Twitter, is to include them directly in a Twitter post automatically. Visit twitterfeed.com and follow the easy steps to embed automatic feeds. Through Twitter, you can also change this idea so that when you tweet, you also automatically update your status on your Facebook page.
The number one tip I can share is to start slowly; Get your feet wet a bit while exploring the vast possibilities on Twitter. Once you are more comfortable with working with Twitter, start using the site to position yourself as a leader in your industry. You’ll quickly discover that Twitter allows you to differentiate yourself from your competition, and your followers will continue to grow, and perhaps produce some new customers, along the way. Now get tweeting!
