"OK, I’m on Twitter. Now what?" Tips for newcomers.

Few social media sites are being embraced by the mainstream as rapidly as Twitter. In the past few weeks, I’ve had dozens of friends, colleagues and clients sign up on the brief messaging service.

That’s great, except for the fact that Twitter is far from intuitive. New users are often confused by the process – or even the point – of posting on Twitter. So I thought I’d throw together a few tips for Twitter newcomers. (Oh, and you can always hit me up with specific questions at Twitter.com/griner.)

1. Give a little more thought to your name. Whether you want to or not, you’ll likely end up using your Twitter account for professional networking. Most longtime users recommend you go with some relatively obvious variation of your real name.

Try to avoid numbers, underscores or incomprehensible letter clusters. The ideal is to have a Twitter name you can say out loud, which is a challenge when your ID is Twitter.com/pr3ttEh0rs3z.

Oh, and changing your name is easy. It can be done in a snap from your settings page, as long as the name you want is available.

2. Before you follow a whole mess of people, go through this checklist:

• Pick your pic. Remember, your “avatar” (thumbnail photo) is going to be tiny. Clean, clear headshots are the norm, but hey, it’s your picture.
• Fill out your bio. I like ones that give the facts but also show a little of your personality.
• Use your real name and real city in your profile. These will help people find you, and it’ll ensure your friends follow you back.

3. Start talking. People will rarely follow someone who hasn’t said much. That’s often a warning sign that you might be a spammer.

Yes, it feels weird to be posting things when it seems like no one’s listening. To get started, try just sharing some interesting links, talking about the next book you want to read, or just rant about how much you hate the newest changes to Facebook. You’ll fit right in.

4. Talk to the first people you follow. Your early days on Twitter are downright zen compared to when you’re following hundreds of people. Use this time to have some conversations and get comfortable with the system.

When you see a post you want to respond to, just hit the reply symbol (a curved arrow) on the bottom right of the post. That will automatically start your next post with an @ and the person’s name. That way they’ll see your response when they check their replies.

5. Speaking of which, use your Replies tab. Better yet, search regularly for your name on Twitter Search. Many newcomers don't notice that people are talking to them until weeks later, when they finally discover these tools.

Without replies, you’re just broadcasting one-way, and that’s not what Twitter is for. (People do it, but I’m not a fan.)

6. Click on your friends’ profiles, then follow the people they’re talking to. This is the single best way to gain followers that you might actually care to read.

That’s about it! Soon you’ll be chugging along like a power user. Whatever that is.

Of course, there are a few “don’ts” to be mindful of. These are subjective, but I think I likely speak for the majority of regular Twitter users when I say:

• Don’t set up an “auto-DM.” This service by TweetLater sends an automated private message to each of your new followers. It will show up in their e-mail inbox and, most likely, make them hate you. It’s hard to say why these are so obnoxious, but they are.  Just don’t do it. It’s not being polite. It’s being a spammer.

• Don’t obsess over your follower count. It doesn’t mean a thing compared to the quality of the relationships you already have.

• Don’t use a private (or “locked”) account. It’s almost never worth it, because few people will follow you back if they don’t know what you’ve said.

• Don’t be a sales robot. If you’re on Twitter as part of your business, that’s fine. Just keep the self-promotion to a minimum. You’ll build sales and site traffic by building relationships, not the other way around.

• Don't feel you actually have to answer Twitter's standard question, "What are you doing?" That gets old fast.

• Don’t post a Tweet at halftime. I’m talking to you, CV.

Whatever your experience level with Twitter, I'd love to hear your tips for newcomers. Be sure to share in the comments. For tips on using Twitter for business, check out my slideshow, The Tao of Twitter.

Comments

[Irene Alvarez]

Good stuff!

Here are some of my recent suggestions to Twitter newbies: http://tinyurl.com/dhal6n

[Alaina]

Awesome. I am going to add this post to my site for Twitter Virgins (ha) - http://www.twirgins.com.

Check it out - also helpful for you newbies.

[Ching Ya]

Interesting that a couple of months ago, I was just trying to sort out the do's & don'ts, how's & why's in Twitter. It all seemed so familiar nowadays, but it's great to have a Tweeting experience, really.

You've provided some great info for the new users, I agree. If I may add a little info: a Clickable Chart that I utilize to enhance my Twitter Network, both for new/existing users. Hope these would save some times & help out the tweeterers as they progressed.

Good job. Thanks for sharing.

@wchingya
Social Media/Blogging

[Ching Ya]

Ooppss.. here's the link to the chart. Sorry as I have to put the full link otherwise the 'click throughs' won't work properly. (only within its individual post)

[Ching Ya]

Here's the link to the chart. Sorry as I have to put the full link otherwise the 'click throughs' won't work properly. (only within its individual post):

http://www.wchingya.com/2009/03/killer-apps-for-successful-network-in.html