Twitter

Twitter involves users posting short updates (no more than 140 characters) about their current activity, news or information.

Twitter is all about being current, so the updates or' 'tweets;, that you post can be about things that have just happened or about to happen.  ‘Followers’ choose to receive your tweets and re-post (“retweet”) tweets they enjoy.

Given the volume of traffic on Twitter it has become a good announcement space, directing users to sites, links, content and pages found elsewhere in the web. Public exchanges and conversations are also an important and regular part of the Twitter experience.

Tips for using Twitter

• Whether you decide to use Twitter for personal use, business or both, it is important to establish your own brand or personality.
• Twitter is friendly and informal and only has 140 characters per post, so you will need to be concise – being more colloquial will help this.
• To send a public message directly to someone, write an @ symbol, then their name e.g. @username.
• To send a private note, use the option for sending a Direct Message or 'DM'.
• Use the retweet option regularly when you see something you like, and think would be relevant to others.
• Use a keyword or ‘hastag’ (#) to link your tweets to others of the same topic e.g. #agchatoz.
• Add an image of yourself or brand/logo to your account and fill out the bio information.
• As you begin to build a list of people you follow and engage with e.g. consumers, industry contacts and other businesses, you will begin to obtain people that follow you.
• Using a smart phone is particularly helpful to tweet easily on the go.
• There are smartphone and desktop Apps and software to assist you when using Twitter e.g. Tweetdeck.

Online tutorial - introduction to Twitter

Create a Twitter account

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