Twitter Training - Getting started with Twitter

Twitter is just another example of the light speed at which
communications are catapulting forward, and corporate
America (as well as home business online marketers)
should do our best to keep up. Social Radar, a research
group reporting on activity and trends in social media,
ranked Twitter number one in June 2009. Close on their
heels were iPhone, Google and Facebook. Yes my
friends, there were more "tweets" (140
character exchanges on Twitter) than
there were searches on Google.

Let's start with the basics. What is
Twitter? Twitter is a text only platform
that launches discussion and banter
with a basic question, "What are you
doing?" The answers must be 140
characters or less and are sent via
the web, mobile texting, instant
message and/or a variety of
applications.

Because Twitter combines elements
from many applications in the digital
world, many say it was the logical
extension of what had developed
electronically thus far. For example,
Twitter uses some of the elements
of instant messaging (IM), some of
chat rooms, some of blogs, and of
course, it is actually a member of the
entire social networking family of
sites. It's like a chat room in that it
is an open forum, like instant
messaging in that tweets are bite-
sized core thoughts, like a blog in
that it allows for moment to moment updates with people of your choosing, like a website in that profiles can
(and should) convey a specific "feel" and/or character, and definitely a social networking site enabling fun or
passionate communication either continually, or in whatever timeframe fits each user.

But what is it really? Depends on who you ask. To some, Twitter is a fun escape from the doldrums of the
job, home life or commute; to some it is a way to feel close to friends, family and associates (divided by
schedules or geography); to some it's an instant communication and information dissemination device; and
most importantly to home business professionals like you, Twitter is the one of the most powerful, real time
marketing system now in play.

But, before we go any further, get it out of your head that Twitter is mysterious and complicated. It's just a
communication vehicle that allows people and companies to deliver bite-sized messages…in 140 characters
or less. And where all the people are – is where those who are running a business from home need to be
too.

But, you ask – isn't Twitter just a big waste of
time? Well, yes and no. Is TV a waste of time?
Is listening to radio a waste of time? What about
surfing the web, flipping through a newspaper,
reading email, talking on Skype, checking
Facebook or cable news? The answer to all of
the above is – yes… sometimes – and sometimes
not. Like all media, people can choose what they
want from Twitter. All media can be engaged for
fun, relaxation, education, major announcements,
public relations and access to breaking news. It
doesn't matter what peoples' intentions are. All
you need to remember is that millions of people
live on Twitter, giving you millions of opportunities
to reach them!!

Unlike traditional media however, Twitter can
also be used for advice, personal branding,
feedback, directions, self or business promotion
and marketing,

So, let's get started.

It's simple. Just go to www.twitter.com. This homepage is laid out very clearly. Click the green button on the
left which says "join the conversation." At the top of the next page, you'll see "create a free Twitter account."
Fill in the required info here. Select a user name (you cannot have the word "twitter" in your user name),
create a password and add an email address. Then type in the distressed text exactly as you see it in the
"Captcha" box, and click "I accept – create my account."

Immediately you are taken to a page that already has you email address filled in – and asks for your
password. If you type in your password, the system automatically sends a message to everyone in your
contact list inviting them to follow you on Twitter. If you want every single person in your system to receive
this email, then fill in your password and allow Twitter's automatic email invitation to run. This can take a few
minutes. If you DO NOT want Twitter to send an invitation to everyone in your contact list, do NOT fill in your
password! Just go to the top right and click "skip". People who have both business and personal contacts
in their computer may not want one group or the other to be included. You can always have one Twitter
account for personal use, and one for business.

After the invitation has run, or you have clicked on "skip," you are taken to your new Twitter homepage! At
the top of the page is a box with a live curser that poses the ultimate Twitter question – "What are you
doing?" Type in a bite-sized update (remember, 14 characters or less) about yourself and hit "update."
You've just completed your first tweet!

Now it's time to find some people to follow. For home businesses and online marketers, we suggest you
begin to "follow" everyone currently in your business. You can find them by typing their name or their email
address into the search bar. When you find them (be careful – often there are multiple people with the exact
same name!), click "follow". Normally, those who you select to follow will follow you in return.

A good way to expand your following is to check out Twitter account of others you know – or people whose
tweets you find interesting. Check out their followers. When you mouse over their name, a brief bio or
description comes up. If you like it, begin following them. Chances are, the people they are following will be
like-minded. Next, check out some groups and search for individuals who may be good prospects.

Another way to find people you may want to follow is to visit www.search.twitter.com. This is actually a Twitter
site, but it provides more options for finding people. When you get to this site's homepage, click on
"advanced search," and quite a few options come up that are pretty self explanatory. Similar to how you can
add information in a Google search by adding the plus sign (+), you can fill in more than one of the search
fields for more specific results.
.
Remember, with Twitter, you are always in complete control of who you communicate with, when you receive
updates from people you've chosen, and on what device all of this info arrives. You can turn Twitter off for a
big meeting or private dinner for example.

Before you can accelerate you business using the Twitter platform, you need to use it a little and get a feel
for how it works, what kind of tweets you like, and some Twitter etiquette. This can happen pretty fast
though, so dive in and get started.

Come back and read our follow-up article, How to Market Your Business on Twitter.

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