A Facebook and Twitter Primer, Part 2

This is the second part of a two part primer on social networking giants Facebook and Twitter.  The first part gives basic information on using Facebook.  This post will cover basic information on Twitter.  This primer came about when a client asked me to send him an email on how to use the two sites.  The information I emailed him ended up being longer than he was likely expecting.  When I was finished, it occurred to me that I could re-purpose this information into a two part blog post.  Bear in mind when reading this that I’ve edited it somewhat, but it was originally written in more of an email format than a blog post format.

This isn’t a complete textbook on Twitter, nor was it meant to be.  It’s merely some information to get you started.  Whether you’re just learning, or you’re a social networking pro, please be sure to follow me on Twitter, at @stevemullen!

A Primer on Twitter

While Twitter and Facebook have some similarities in what they’re used FOR (at least when it comes to business), the atmosphere at each is very different.  Using Facebook privacy settings, you can control who sees your posts.  On Twitter, everything is out in the open for all to see.  Additionally, there’s the 140-character limit to deal with on Twitter, which means posts are usually limited to a sentence or two and a link.

There is really only one type of Twitter account.  When you sign up, you have the ability to post a short bio about yourself and a link to a web site.  People tend to make the mistake of not filling these out.  They’re missing an opportunity to promote themselves that no one will begrudge them.  Advertising yourself in Twitter posts on a regular basis is generally a no-no, so plug away in the bio!

When you follow someone on Twitter, their updates show up in your “stream”, which is the list of your posts seen on the Twitter site when you click on “profile” at the top of the page.  When someone follows you, your posts show up in their stream.  There is NO obligation to follow someone back if they’re following you, but the fact that you don’t follow them back doesn’t stop them from being allowed to follow YOU.

There IS a way to protect your Twitter posts so that they’re not seen by everyone, but I don’t recommend using it unless you’re a minor (in which case you really shouldn’t be on Twitter anyhow).  The way it works is that new followers have to request to follow you, and you have the opportunity to approve or deny them.  I don’t understand why you’d want to do this on Twitter, and I never ask permission to follow anyone.  It seems very anti-Twitter.  If someone is particularly bothersome, you can unfollow them, and they probably won’t bother you.  If they’re REALLY bothersome, you can “block” them, and they won’t be able to see any of your posts or message you in any way.  If someone gets blocked by enough people, their account will be deleted from Twitter.

When considering Twitter, think of it as a giant all-inclusive networking meeting.  People are having all kinds of conversations, ranging from sports, to business, to industry news, to simple goofing off.  Whatever you want to talk about can surely be found on Twitter.  Joining in is simple.  On the Twitter website, hover your mouse pointer over the post you want to respond to, and then click on “reply”.  This will populate the form at the top of the page with @username.  Then, just type your message in 140 characters or less.  Putting an @ symbol in front of someone’s name on Twitter indicates that you’re talking to them.

Twitter has developed its own terms … some would say its own language.  Here is some Twitter terminology:

• Tweet: One post on Twitter.  If you say, “I just tweeted that”, you’re saying “I just posted on Twitter about that.”
• Retweet: Copying a tweet from someone else, and posting it on your account.  This has the affect of alerting your followers about the post.  It’s a way of rewarding a person who tweets something useful, witty, or simply interesting.  To retweet something, type “RT”, then the original poster’s username with an “@” in front of it (i.e. @sleep_better), and then their original post.
• Tweeps or Tweeple: Your friends on Twitter.
• Hashtag: A way of categorizing posts on Twitter.  To utilize hashtags, simply put the “#” symbol in front of a word. For instance, in every post I write about my area, Richmond, Virginia, I include the hashtag #rva.  Anyone who knows this hashtag will then be able to easily search for posts about Richmond.

Finding followers in Twitter is different than Facebook, mainly due to the lack of stranger anxiety and the fact that everyone can see your posts.  The first thing I always recommend to people is to write a handful posts.  When you start following people, they’ll check out your posts.  If there aren’t any, then they won’t be likely to follow back.  Also, if you write about your favorite topics, this alone is likely to gain you a few followers.  People out there have searches set up to automatically follow people who talk about certain subjects.  You’ll be amazed how one post on something like real estate can lead to a bunch of real estate agents following you.

The next thing to do after writing a few posts is to have Twitter search your email address book, just like Facebook does.  Then, do some searches for people in your area.  Try to figure out if your area has an established hashtag, and do some searches for that word.  You can also do some simple keyword searches (with or without the hashtag) that indicate your interests.  If you like golf … search for “golf”.  You’ll find golf enthusiasts, people giving information on how to play better, as well as some golf courses.

A note about spam: You will find significantly more on Twitter than on Facebook.  This is largely due to Twitter being more open than Facebook.  Remember that you’re under no obligation to follow someone back if they follow you.  If it smells like spam and looks like spam … then it probably is.  Either that, or it’s a legitimate business person who has no idea that he or she shouldn’t post a mess of advertisements on Twitter.

After doing some hunting and following people in your area … keep posting.  Followers will find you … I promise.

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