In Internet marketing circles Twitter is all the rage and for good reason, too. You work hard on your products, services and website -- and at the end of the day you want to reach as many people as you can with your news and messages. On Twitter you can take your hundred or more followers and the potential for each of those users to tweet your message to their hundred (or thousand) followers, and suddenly your Twitter reach is explosive.
Top 5 Practical Twitter TipsBefore you jump on the Twitter bandwagon, you need to learn the basics, and this list of five practical Twitter tips will help you do just that. Start at the beginning and adjust your profile; find the right people to follow and then send messages that are useful -- not spammy.
1. Personalize Your Twitter ProfileWhen you create a profile on Twitter, you can customize several areas of the page to give your Twitter account a unique, personal style. You should always edit your Twitter profile to display relevant and interesting information about yourself or business.
In your Twitter settings you can access your Twitter profile and change information for the following: your picture, your name, location, Web address and bio. Your Twitter profile acts as your publicly displayed information on Twitter, and it can also be found in Web search results. Be sure to include accurate information so people can find you easily when they search Twitter or search the Web.
2. Build a Relevant Twitter FollowingOne way to build a good Twitter list is to find the people who are involved in conversations related to your own main topic of discussion. For example, I mainly tweet about ecommerce and technology on Twitter. To find like-minded twitterers, I typically search for #ecommerce and similar keywords and see what users are tweeting about. When I spot Twitter users (such as ecommerce business owners, ecommerce marketers, ecommerce vendors and so on) who send out interesting messages, I follow them.
These are the people who tweet things I will retweet (RT) because it is closely related to my main topic. We share a common interest with me, and they're most likely to follow me in return and potentially retweet my own messages. This is one way to build a good, relevant Twitter following.
3. Communicate with @ReplyWhen you first use Twitter you’ll encounter symbols and characters in a tweet, and it's important to know what these do and how to use them. The @reply function is used to show that your Twitter message is being directed to another user in response to their update or message. An @reply will be saved in the user's Replies tab . Replies are sent either by clicking the reply icon next to an update or typing @username message (e.g., @user I saw that movie. too).
Another way to use the @reply message is to add it to the end of your tweet to show the message is relevant to (or about) another user. For example if I wrote a review of "XYZ" company’s shopping cart -- and I tweeted about my review -- I might add @XYZ to the end of my tweet.
4. Learn to Use Twitter Hash TagsA second important Twitter tag to learn is the hash tag (or hashtag). Using this tag lets you organize your updates for Twitter search engines. When using a tag you are helping others to discover relevant posts. One of the most common tags on Twitter is #followfriday where users network by providing the names of their favorite people to follow on Twitter.
You can search Twitter to see which tags are most relevant to your own Tweets and topics, but when using the tags you should limit usage to only the most relevant tag in each message.
5. Find the Right Twitter ToolsTwitter can be overwhelming when you are first starting out, but you can make the process of tweeting and networking on Twitter easier by choosing the right tools. There are hundreds of free desktop and Web-based Twitter tools available for you to use.
First, decide what features and options you would like, and then set out to find the right tools to meet your objectives. For example, consider if you want to use one interface for managing Twitter and Facebook, or if you want to see your daily Twitter reach and retweet exposure.
The following EcommerceGuide.com articles will help you find the right tools to boost your Twitter efforts.
25 Twitter Tools to Make Tweeting Easier, Faster15 More Twitter Tools for Small Business MarketingMore Twitter Small Business Ecommerce TipsWould you like to learn more about integrating Twitter into your small business ecommerce marketing plan? Try these Twitter tips and guides for small business ecommerce sites:
How to Use Twitter as an Online Marketing ToolEcommerce Tips to Help You Build a Twitter ListA Beginner’s Guide to Twitter TermsHow to Twitter for E-commerce SuccessVangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG .
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