Twitter for Beginners

For those of us that speak English,  internet speak - especially on Twitter- can be a little overwhelming for the new user. So before you get online, here are some tips and tricks to decode what is being said, and some tools to keep track of all the social media accounts you are keeping up with with Twitter being at the centre.

I would still like to stress that being educated and having a Social Media plan is the most powerful tool in your hand (need help? Your Social Media Plan in 5 Easy Steps or 60 Second Solution [video] are good places to start). So do that  - sit down with the appropriate people in your company and come up with who you are, why you are on specific sites, what should be posted where and when  (?), and who is going to do it. Do your homework, then read on.

{Photo from Entrepreneur}

Twitter Lingo for Beginners

Tweet: Is basically a public post on Twitter. Twitter is the place, Tweet refers to the post, tweets are the plural. No one Twittered or Twooted. At least not on my Twitter anyway.

Referencing people or concepts in tweets
@ScreenName: On Twitter the "@" doesn't refer to an email address. The @ is typically followed by someone’s screen name. It’s a way to hold a public conversation with that person, or to refer to them in a post. Think of it as directing your public message at (@) someone specific, and that someone is defined by their "screen name" or twitter account name etc (bad grammar I know, sorry).  When you hit "Reply" Twitter automatically places an @ScreenName in the new posting space so you are responding to the correct people.

Hashtag (#): The hashtag or sharp symbol(#) before a word or phrase on Twitter is essentially a keyword tag for the tweet so that others talking about similar topics can find it more easily. On Twitter this is called a hashtag and they can be serious (eg #advice or #blogging) or funny (ex. #sogood) and usually refer to a concept (#coffeetime) or an event (#SocialMediaConference2012) or anything you would like to make a collection of posts about with people of like posts. Not every tweet needs hashtags. Basically, it’s a way to follow the stream of everyone talking about a specific subject.  If you click on the link created by a hashtag in a post, you can see what others are posting about the same topic. (example: #coffee)

Twitter Terms you might come across

RT: RT stands for Re-Tweet. If you like what someone says on twitter, you can retweet it to forward the message to your followers as well. This gets tricky because when you retweet, the text simply copies into one of your own tweets, so without indicating that this is someone else's idea first, followers would never know this wasn't you writing. Therefore it is proper Twitter etiquette (See below) to add RT to a retweeted post by typing RT in front or after RT'd content. 

DM: DM stands for direct message. It’s a way to hold a private conversation with another Twitter user, but you can only DM people who are already following you. You can find this option in the upper right hand navigation (see picture). Note: typing DM doesn't send the person it relates to a private message, it is still public.

OH: Shorthand for Overheard – usually this is something funny or profound that someone overheard while going about their day that they are recognizing they did not come up with on their own

Twitter Chat: A Twitter chat happens when several people get on Twitter at once to share ideas with one another. They do this by using a specific hashtag. For example, every Sunday, bloggers participate in #blogchat, where they send their posts to the same page by including #blogchat in the text.

Lists: Once you start following lots of people, you can put them in different lists to keep them more organized. People can also add you to their lists to keep their own streams organized. Lists can be public or private.

Favorite: If you want to save a Tweet for later, you can favorite it by clicking the star below where the post appears.

Etiquette

• Twitter is an online tool, so adding links to posts, pictures and videos is encouraged. It will get you more traffic however if you explain what the link is or why your viewer should click on it (they are always asking whats in it for them?)
• When RTing, have RT and a personal message along with the retweeted text. This gives props (or for the educated "gives attribution") to the person who originally wrote the post, as well as adding your own comments about why  this post is important to you. ex." RT(@Jon1234): "I need a coffee before I say anything profound" Amen to that. " -this should make it more obvious who was originally speaking, what they said and why you care enough to retweet this post. 
• be conscious of the content you are publishing publicly. Twitter is like a conversation among a group of people; you would never say something to embarrass them or put them on the spot for a favour publicly in person, so it is bad form to do it online. When in doubt, DM them. 
• People don't like automated DM's. If you are going to comunicate via twitter, comunicate on a genuine level. Don't send mass messages or generic messages, people want to talk to you not a machine. So only send what is absolutely needed and to each individual, or you will be unfollowed.
• Don't try to sell or bait and switch on Twitter. Let readers know what (and why) they are clicking on links, and be true to what you tell them. Twitter folks aren't generally there to be buy, but make relationships and know the people driving your machine.  
• No vanity RTs! You would never walk up to someone and just announce something awesome someone else said about you. So don't do it on Twitter.  This means don't just retweet something because someone said something nice about you. It is ok to vainly retweet tweets about something you are working on or your initiative, but not about yourself. NO!

What other Twitter tips are out there? Anything you would like to share?  Thanks to Alison for her post on Twitter for beginners.