Twitter Your First Tweet!
- 3 Minutes
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- Download as a PDF
Step 1
Let’s send your first tweet!
Click On “Tell the world what’s happening in 140 characters or less” to share your news.
Step 2
A pop-up box will appear in the center of the page.
Work your 140-character magic and Click On Tweet.
What Should You Tweet About?
Sending a Tweet is easy. But what should you say?
Things to remember:
- Industry matters.
- Experiment and find what works.
- Make your responses personal.
- Have fun.
Twitter is all about conversations, and nobody likes someone who just talks about themselves. That’s why we recommend following Social Media Expert Chris Brogan’s 12-1 rule. Tweet about other people and events 12 times as often as you tweet about yourself or your own company.
Finding Stuff To Tweet is Easier Than You Think
There are a lot of things for you to tweet about! Here are just some ideas by type of business:
Restaurants, coffee houses, night clubs, bars, and venues can tweet about specials, happy hours, events, new menu items, customer birthdays and anniversaries, community events, employees of the month, links to blog posts, and foursquare mayors.
Hotels, bed and breakfasts, event facilities, airlines, and other service industry organizations can tweet about specials, remodeling, events, celebrity visits, the weather, links to blog posts, fun facts about destinations, guest stories, and testimonials.
Service professionals or consultants (including doctors, lawyers, or business specialists) can tweet about information related to their field, events, answer questions, links to blog posts or videos, and how-to posts.
Tips on Twitter for B2B
Listen. Find out what your clients needs are and whether or not your competitors are doing the job.
Ask Questions. Ask potential clients questions about how you could offer more value.
Extend Your Network. Build relationships and partnerships by establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
Tips on Twitter for B2C
Be Human. Twitter gives you the unique opportunity to engage with your customers as people.
Be a Resource. Provide useful information about your industry or specialty to your followers, and you'll increase followers and build your client base.
Offer Specials and Deals. Reward your followers for engaging with you by offering them exclusive specials.
Tips on Twitter for Nonprofits
Promote upcoming charity events and causes. Remember to help followers take action by spelling out for them exactly what they can do to help.
Encourage followers to donate to a cause. Using Twitter in combination with text-based donations or services like Chipin can be a great way to increase donations.
Tell a memorable story. Stories matter when it comes to helping people engage and invest in your cause, so tell a good one. Highlight an organizational success story or survivor story.
Corporations that Rock on Twitter
Scott Monty is the brains behind Ford's Social Media Strategy. Notice that he's reaching out to another influencer, while also telling a story about his organization.
Southwest Airlines was an early adopter of both blogging and Twitter. Here they are responding to a tweet from one of their followers. Notice that it's a personal reply.
Luxor Las Vegas is also great at adding a personal touch. Here's a welcoming, light-hearted, and informative tweet to a prospective restaurant patron.
How Often Should You Tweet?
It depends. ..
How much time do you have? If you have an hour a day to engage in Social Media, we recommend spending 15 minutes of that hour reading and sending tweets. You may even find it works for you to set aside a few minutes several times a day for Twitter.
What industry are you in? Industries that naturally have a lot of content - photos, news stories, videos, etc. – are great for Twitter. Think of restaurants or event management companies. However, if you sell a commodity, like cement, you might still want to have a Twitter presence for customer service, but you probably won’t be as active in sharing content.
What kind of return are you looking for? Social Media works by engaging with people. The more often you engage, the higher your success rate. Whether you can send 2 or 20 tweets a day, remember that consistency matters.
