About Social Media:

Twitter is not confusing:
Basics of microblogging
for your business

The first question I hear when someone I know registers on Twitter, Plurk or other microblogging platforms is, "how do I find my friends here?". My standard answer? "You don't!".

It's true that it's difficult to grasp the functionality of microblogging platforms. I first heard about Twitter in an article comparing it to Facebook. The problem is that Twitter is nothing like Facebook. On Facebook people care about you: they add you to their friends list, they check out who you are married to and what places you visit. They care about you because they know you, and they use Facebook to keep in touch with you.

On Twitter, no one cares about these facts. On Twitter, your message is the most important factor. Your profile is very limited, and the only way you can express yourself is through status updates everyone can see.

Image Credits to M i x y

When you think of microblogging, try to imagine yourself in the middle of a crowded city, with hundreds of people passing by every minute with different goals for the day, different ages and different interests. No one cares that you're standing in the middle of all this...until you start shouting! What will you shout about to grab everyone's attention? Will you shout about the red roses you are trying to sell? Will you sing romantic songs to get people into the right mood? Or are you going to stand there just listening?

This is Twitter: millions of people with different interests shouting into the crowd. Some of them will ignore you, some of them will listen to you and some will even buy from you. It all comes down to the message!

Why you should care about microblogging

Microblogging is great for business. Whether you have a message to convey or want to find out what your customers are saying about you, microblogging is the right tool. It is open to everyone, very accessible (you can use it on mobile devices like phones, netbooks, etc.) and real-time. Once you post a status update, you get an immediate response.

Big corporations and small businesses alike are using it to promote their brand, products, and services, and to offer fast customer support. Some of them do it so well that they have gained a reputation on Twitter for being proactive and engaging in discussions, like @connectbyhertz or @starbucks.

It works well for small business, too. It takes time, however, to gain a large number of followers, and most people feel that posting updates into an empty space is a waste of time. This is why the best way to start using tools like Twitter is to participate in existing discussions before starting your own.

Twitter and other platforms

There are many microblogging platforms. More show up from nowhere and some disappear every single day. Only a few of them are doing great, but the most important one is Twitter. It has the biggest number of registered users and therefore gives you a lot of exposure, once you master its use.

If you want to check out other microblogging sites, have a look at Plurk.com, Tumblr.com, Identi.ca, Posterous.com and Jaiku.com. These are at the top of the list, too, but they are still losing to Twitter.

Be professional and engaging on Twitter

You have to be engaging to get the attention of the crowds. If you are plain and boring, nobody will care about your message. There are many ways to be engaging on Twitter to gain attention, but if you are Tweeting for business, you have to be professional as well. If you are tweeting for your business, here are some things not to do:

Don't post annoying ads for your products or services
Don't send the same updates repeatedly (rephrase them if you have to)
Don't post other people's updates without referencing them
Don't post links to pages that are not safe for work
Don't act like a self-promoting jerk
Don't send direct messages with promotional content (ever)

How to get people to follow you

The number of followers shouldn't be your concern. You can have hundreds of followers and gain nothing from it, and you can have a few followers who really care for your updates and get a lot of business from it. Not quantity but quality is important in the Twitter world.

The best way to discover how to use Twitter effectively is to follow the best and see how they do it. You can find the most engaging Twitter users on WeFollow. Here are a few great ways to use Twitter for your business:

Solve other people's problems: search Twitter for your support queries in your industry and help out for free (be a consultant)
Re-tweet interesting announcements and links to resources in your industry (remember to reference authors)
Reply to other people's tweets and participate in discussions
Post links to interesting stories (not necessarily related to your business)
Offer special discounts for your products and services exclusively for Twitter users
Post your updates a few times a day (you can use desktop software or your mobile)

There are many more ways to use Twitter effectively, so be creative and provide great information, and people will follow you.

How to communicate with others on Twitter

There are several ways you can communicate through Twitter and there are also hundreds of applications that use Twitter to extend their functionality. Here are the most basic ways to communicate:

Image Credits to L. Marie

Replies: To post a reply on Twitter, all you need to do is click on the 'reply' link and type your reply. This adds an @-symbol and the username of the person to whom you are replying in front of your reply so that the person will see the reply. Instead of clicking on the reply link, you can type it in yourself, i.e. "@britneyspears Your reply goes here".

Mentions: These are exactly the same as Replies. The only difference is that you do not reply to anything; instead, you mention a person you are talking about or starting a discussion with, i.e. "I really like @mediatemple, their support is fantastic!"

Re-tweets: When you Re-tweet someone, you post their original update on your own timeline, so all your followers will notice it. Twitter recently introduced re-tweet functionality, where all you really need to do is to click a Re-tweet button. However, some people still use the old syntax for Re-tweeting, i.e. "RT @goodfriend The fireworks show in Dublin is fantastic".

Direct messages: The above-mentioned communication methods are not private - anyone can see them. Direct messages are the only way to communicate privately on Twitter. It is the least popular method and is abused by spammers. If you really want to send a private message, use an e-mail instead.

Beyond the Basics

Twitter is an amazing tool that can help you grow your business, generate leads and have great fun while doing it. Having fun is very important when using social media for your business; it cannot be just another mechanical thing you do every day. You have to be engaged and motivated to engage others. Tweet with passion and great things will happen.