How To Use Twitter

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How To Use Twitter

Welcome to How To Use Twitter! Before we get into the detail let me make one thing very clear! Twitter is a way of connecting with other people who share your interests or who might be interested in what you have to say. Please do not view it simply as a source of traffic for your Squidoo Lenses, Blogs or other Websites.

Something new has happened online and if you're not part of it, you're missing out. The new trend I'm referring to is Twitter.

Twitter, is a free service available at Twitter, is a combination of a microblogging tool and a social networking site. Twitter is a fantastic way to get more traffic to your blog and build a relationship with your readership.

If you're brand new to Twitter, or even if you've been around on the site for some time, you'll find out in this lens how you could use it to generate traffic to your Squidoo Lenses and your blogs and open the doors to brand new subscribers.

How To Tweet - How To Post on Twitter
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Are You On Twitter?

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What is Twitter and How Can it Help Me?

Twitter is changing the way that many people connect and communicate online and should be an indispensable part of your overall marketing plan for your Squidoo Lenses, blogs and websites. Twitter is free to join and you can get set up with an account in a matter of just a few minutes.

Twitter has two main components. Just like social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook, you can add "followers" and follow other people as well. They'll receive your updates and you'll receive theirs.

What is unique is that your messages are limited just to 140 characters, which is why some people call it a "microblogging" tool. You have to keep your messages brief and to the point.

Sometimes it's a real challenge to get the point across in the allotted space, but it also leaves room for a lot of creativity! Coming up with ways to say what you have to say in that small space is part of the fun of Twitter. It makes you think about the core aspects of the message you are trying to convey. You may also find, like me, that it helps you write shorter reports and emails generally!

4 Ways Twitter Can Help Jumpstart Your Traffic!

Before you set up your account, let's go over a few of the ways that you can use Twitterr:

1. Getting traffic to your Squidoo Lenses, websites and blog posts - With a simple post to Twitter, you can have lots of readers come to your lens, blog or site. Even though feeds do the same thing, you can often find new readers on Twitter or remind current readers to re-visit your lens, blog or site.

2. Connecting with your readership - When you write, you're speaking to your readership from a distance. You write your lens or post, edit it and then post it. During all of these activities, you're removed from your audience. But when you use Twitter to communicate, it becomes a conversation. You can show more of your personality to your followers and truly communicate with them on a different level. This can get them more interested in you and your writings which will build more traffic over time.

3. Building your brand - In order to stand out amidst the large amount of Twitter accounts online, you need to develop a persona for people to connect to and identify with. You can further your branding by using a Twitter account. You need to figure out what makes you unique in your niche and then extend these differences between you and others in you Twitter posts. Decide what your persona or approach is and then make sure your Twitter posts reflect that.

4. Researching - With Twitter, your target market can be at your be at your fingertips. You can spy on their interests, ask them about their needs and automatically get ideas for your blog posts.

Using Twitter

Now that you know some of what Twitter can do for you, it's time to get your Twitter account set up. If you don't already have a Twitter account, head on over to Twitter. You register by using your e-mail address and picking a user name.

If you want to use Twitter in conjunction with your lenses or blog, you should use a user name that reflects them or do as I have done and use your real name!

Once you've registered, you'll need to upload a picture to use as your avatar. You can use a picture of yourself or an illustration that reflects your blog as your avatar. Make sure it's a clear picture and one that will show up well in a column with other pictures surrounding it.

On Twitter, you can search for other users and then request to follow their updates. Once someone approves you to follow them, more often than not they will choose to follow you as well. You can build your followers list by searching for keywords on the Twitter site that relates to your blog. If you find that the Twitter search function isn't working then use www.summize.com which shows you who is talking about a particular topic once you search on a keyword(s). This way you can build a list of followers that are interested in your topic. Once you start posting updates on Twitter about your blog, you'll automatically get more traffic.

When you join, you'll probably get follow requests as well from other users who are using the search tools. You can choose to follow these people if they seem interesting and that they could be a potential traffic source for your blog. Make sure that your follow list doesn't get too crowded.

Twitter works best when you can actually communicate with the people that you are following, and vice versa. If you crowd your list with thousands of people you may initially get more traffic but you'll lose out on many of the other benefits of using the site.

Before you get started with posting Twitter updates, you need to decide your primary purpose for using Twitter. If you're focused before you get started, you'll be able to produce better quality lenses or blog posts and get the right kind of traffic.

There are many different ways you can use Twitter, and everyone uses it a little bit different. Consider these different ways of using the platform when you decide how you're going to use it:

-To build your expertise and your authority in a niche
-To drive more traffic to your lenses, blogs, and websites
-To brand yourself
-To be more social with your readers
-To make your lenses and blogs more of a community experience

You can do all of this and more with your Twitter account, or you can choose just one aspect and run with that. Keep in mind though that if you decide that you're going to use it just to post links to your blog, you're going to be a bit disappointed.

Since Twitter is a social networking tool, people will quickly unsubscribe from your updates. On Twitter, people want to know more about you and see a more personal side of you. This is why it's such a powerful way to drive traffic to your blog.

How To Tweet - How To Post on Twitter

There are a few different ways of posting on Twitter that you need to know about.

*First, there's a regular post. When you type in a message to Twitter and hit "update" it will be viewable by all the people who are following you.

*The next type of post is a reply. When you type in a regular message, people may reply to your post. You'll see your user name with the symbol @ before it when someone replies to your message. You can respond to other people the same way. You simply type @ and then their user name directly after that. Replies are viewable by everyone who is following you or the other person you are replying to.

*Finally, there' a direct message. If you want to send a private message to someone that no one else can see, you can send a direct message. To do so, simply type the letters dm with the person's user name. You'll receive messages from others on a special page of Twitter and be notified via e-mail when someone direct messages you.

How to Post for Success on Twitter

The most basic way of using Twitter to build traffic to your lens is to post updates on Twitter whenever you create or significantly update a lens or when you make a blog post. But there's so much more to Twitter than that. The Twitter site has one question and one question only - What are you doing? How you answer this question is completely up to you.

A lot of people simply post about what they are up to. You'll see a lot of posts like "Just finished eating lunch." or "Working on a project." But you'll also see a whole lot more. If you're having trouble answering the question "what are you doing" try thinking of it in terms of "what are you interested in" or "what has you attention."

To start out with, you'll want to post things that are related to you personally and not your blog directly. Remember, first and foremost Twitter is a social networking utility. People have a low tolerance for blatant advertising.

Here are some ideas for non-promotional related Twitter posts:

-Share information. You can post links related to your niche, or just interesting things you find around the Internet.

-Ask questions. You can increase your relationship with your followers by asking questions. Ask people what they ate for lunch, what they think of the latest news story or their opinion on a topic.

-Share your opinion. You can post links to recent news stories, especially those related to your niche, and offer your opinion.

-Post tips related to your niche. Add to the value of your twitter feed by sharing tips that aren't on your blog. 140 characters are a great space to share a short, helpful tip.

-Share links to other people's sites and explain your view.

When you do post a link to your blog, make sure to add more to your Twitter post than just the link. Explain what it's about and tell your audience what is coming next on your blog. This way you won't just be spamming your link all over the "Twittersphere."

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How To Use Twitter

How To Use Twitter

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Are You On Twitter?

What is Twitter and How Can it Help Me?

Using Twitter

How To Tweet - How To Post on Twitter

Here's my favorite link:

Add Your Twitter Profile

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