How to use Twitter: An A-Z starter guide

With 330 million month-to-month lively customers, Twitter is among the hottest social media platforms on the planet. However when you could consider it as extra information and commentary-focused than a rock-solid funding in the direction of your advertising technique, Twitter is on the verge of reinvention. Elon Musk bid $44 billion to purchase the social media web site and intends to, amongst different concepts, introduce an edit button and open-source algorithm to push Twitter in the direction of changing into, “the digital city sq. the place issues important to the way forward for humanity are debated.”

Moreover, the Washington Put up shared that Twitter is cultivating a hyper-engaged person base of youngsters to compete with TikTok and create much more affect with the platform.

If you have not gotten on Twitter but as a self-creator, entrepreneur, or small enterprise proprietor, these new adjustments will possible convey a wave of recent alternatives. After you create an internet site, strive utilizing Twitter to advertise your small business. It gives a terrific venue to attach along with your audience and convey them tailor-made content material to transform them into prospects. Undecided the place to begin? This text will cowl the right way to use Twitter successfully from begin to end.

10 steps to make use of Twitter

1. Arrange your profile

2. Comply with related accounts

3. Perceive the Twitter lingo

4. Determine what content material to Tweet

5. Select your Twitter voice

6. Write your first Tweet

7. Be part of trending hashtags

8. Preserve your channel

9. Person Twitter instruments and options

Step 1: Arrange your profile

Select your profile identify (also referred to as deal with): That is how you may be seen on Twitter, so make it significant. We advise protecting it quick, so it is memorable and would not eat up too many characters. Wix’s Twitter deal with is @Wix – however yours would possibly look extra like @cupcakecrazy or @JimDoe.

Be at liberty to make use of capital letters for visible emphasis, however know that folks can use all decrease case letters and nonetheless have the ability to discover you (and that is an excellent factor).

Add a profile picture: There’s nothing worse than seeing an account with no profile pic. Add a photograph of your self, or use your brand in your profile photograph. As in your cowl photograph (banner icon), it is an incredible huge area to indicate what you or your small business are all about.

Tip: Use our free brand maker and free picture resizer to create your photos.

Full your bio: That is the world in your profile that allows you to inform different individuals a bit about your self. And after we say a bit, we imply it–you solely get 280 characters to take action. Make each character depend by solely together with an important and fascinating particulars on this spot. When you’re accomplished with that, be at liberty to fill out your birthday.

Wix person, The New Denim Undertaking, efficiently summarized what they do in their Twitter bio, “Manufacturing # sustainable textiles | Upcycled denim & cotton. Shifting the textile business right into a round and collaborative financial system, just like the earth itself.”

Add your web site. Twitter offers you an incredible place to showcase your web site – so don’t miss this opportunity to drive site visitors to your web site. Don’t have one but? Create an internet site or touchdown web page you’ll need everybody on Twitter to learn about.

Tip: Utilizing a hyperlink in bio instrument like Hopp by Wix will provide help to create shortened URLs that hyperlink to your web site, social media and different on-line property all from one devoted area.

Select your privateness settings: Make your account public if you’d like anybody to have the ability to see your Tweets and discover your web page. Alternatively, should you select to make it personal, solely accounts who request to comply with you and also you’ve accepted will see your content material.

If you happen to’re a model or an individual who needs to extend their publicity, we extremely suggest making a public account. Simply keep in mind to be significant in what you say, as the entire world will have the ability to see it for higher or worse.

Set your notification preferences: Select should you’d wish to be notified with push notifications each time somebody mentions you, follows you or takes any notable motion.

Step 2: Comply with related accounts

Following different Twitter accounts is significant for 2 causes. One, you’ll be able to study rather a lot from different accounts which can be much like yours. Two, with a view to get adopted, that you must comply with others. You’ll possible get adopted again by among the accounts you confirmed curiosity in. You do not solely must comply with individuals in your business. You’ll be able to comply with political figures, journalists, artists and even the manufacturers you like.

Wix person and artist Briony Douglas follows all varieties of accounts, even these outdoors her business, corresponding to sports activities reporter Kayla Grey.

Tip: Check out this information on the right way to enhance your social media engagement.

Step 3: Perceive the Twitter lingo

This specific social community has some key components you’ll wish to familiarize your self with.

Hashtags

Hashtags start with the pound image and are adopted by a key phrase. Hashtags are an effective way to faucet into conversations taking place on Twitter. You should utilize them in your bio, in your Tweets and even kind in hashtags to look within the discovery web page to seek out related accounts and threads.

Handles

We lined this one up prime, however right here’s a reminder: it’s your profile identify.

Retweets

Very like a share on Fb, Retweets are gold in your content material. You’ll be able to Retweet content material you see on Twitter by merely clicking the button beneath the textual content. It would then present in your profile.

You’ll be able to Retweet by including a message, which is known as a Quote Tweet. Including a quote might be useful if you wish to additional specific your opinion in relation to the Tweet you are sharing.

Sol Cacao, which sells its chocolate bars on its Wix Web site, Retweeted Buffer’s put up about them. Sol Cacao efficiently took their current publicity and content material that’s been generated to share on their very own Twitter feed.

When you begin Tweeting, you may quickly be hoping that folks will Retweet your content material.

Mentions

When somebody talks to you or about you on Twitter and tags your account, it is referred to as a point out. It is one thing you may wish to examine for while you’re sustaining your channel. It is extremely really useful to reply to mentions to extend your social media presence on the platform.

Threads

A thread is a sequence of linked Tweets that permits you to present further details about the identical Tweet.

Likes

To point you agree or assist one other Tweet, you’ll be able to prefer it by urgent the guts icon.

Non-public messages

Instantly message different accounts utilizing personal messages and your inbox. Keep away from spamming others with mass messages and use this instrument to construct relationships.

Twitter Areas

This instrument permits you to have dwell audio conversations, very like Instagram Rooms. Twitter Spaces lets you begin significant discussions the place your followers and followers can tune in and get publicity to your model.

Moments

Moments are crafted tales based mostly on Tweets that showcase what is going on on across the globe.

Tremendous Follows

Supply a month-to-month membership that can provide help to generate money whereas additionally permitting you to interact along with your Twitter followers in a extra private manner.

Step 4: Determine what content material to Tweet

What is going to your model be saying on Twitter? Are you most thinking about working Twitter advertising campaigns, or will you be utilizing it to offer commentary on issues that contain your business information? Maybe all the above?

This may increasingly evolve over time, however deciding what you may be sharing on this social channel is among the essential first steps. It will take some trial and error till you determine what works finest, however developing with some preliminary content material concepts might be very useful.

Listed below are 4 manufacturers that Tweet several types of social media content material to interact with their viewers:

Wix: We’ve run polls on Twitter to interact and higher perceive our viewers, as seen here.

Polychrome: This Wix person makes use of seasonal vacation content material to advertise its print enterprise. Right here you’ll be able to see a Valentine’s Day Tweet with a coronary heart print and CTA to go to the location.

Helga Put on Inc: This Wix person celebrates her small enterprise success with a giant milestone by sharing her award on Twitter.

Izzy Wheels: Wix person, Izzy Wheels showcases its lovely product utilizing user-generated content material within the type of video.

Step 5: Select your Twitter voice

Will your model voice on Twitter be severe {and professional} or enjoyable and playful? Manufacturers have taken completely different approaches and there’s no proper and unsuitable, so long as it feels genuine to you.

42% of Twitter customers at the moment use the platform for leisure, and subsequently taking a playful strategy, like Dopple Press, could also be an excellent transfer. The Wix Awards competitors winner, Dopple Press, exemplifies a extra casual tone in its Tweets, as seen of their light-hearted lingo, all caps opening and use of slang.

In distinction, BitPay (certainly one of Wix’s cost suppliers) makes use of a extra skilled tone with none all caps textual content or exclamation marks.

Step 6: Write your first Tweet

Now that what you wish to share and the tone you wish to use, you’ll be able to fill out the Tweet creation field.

You might have 280 characters, together with areas, in a single Tweet. A counter on the underside proper of the Tweet field reveals you ways a lot room you have got left. Bear in mind, you’ll be able to create a thread with a number of Tweets for an extended message you’d wish to share.

Amos Zimmerman, social media supervisor at Wix says, “Since Tweets aren’t (but) editable, be sure you proofread your copy a number of occasions. Take into account displaying it to a pal for suggestions, and even publishing it first on a take a look at Twitter deal with that is set to personal.”

You’ll be able to embed the next into the Tweet:

• Hyperlink

• Picture

• Video

• GIF

• Ballot

• Emoji

Subsequent, we’ll speak about hashtags, which you may additionally wish to embrace earlier than publishing your Tweet.

Tip: Use a social media put up maker to raise the visuals in your Tweets.

Step 7: Be part of trending hashtags

Among the best issues about Twitter is that you simply don’t need to spend cash to hitch the dialog and probably go viral. On daily basis, each hour, individuals are becoming a member of in on trending matters – and you may, too.

Relying on your small business, you could wish to play along with your location settings or use Twitter Superior Search to see what hashtags have probably the most engagement based mostly on the place you reside.

Embody the hashtags in your Tweets and comply with related hashtags. As an illustration,
# MarketingTwitter is a well-liked hashtag that ties collectively the advertising neighborhood on the platform with useful tricks to advance the business.

Tip: It’s also possible to think about making a branded hashtag tied to your model. It may possibly assist construct buzz round you and discover dialogue about you. For instance, we use # WixRead on our Tweets that share weblog articles.

Step 8: Preserve your channel

Arising with a Tweeting schedule will get you off to the correct begin. If individuals go to your profile and see that the final time you Tweeted was eight months in the past, they will possible resolve to maneuver on or unfollow you.

To keep away from this, you do not essentially must Tweet 20x a day – the frequency might be as little as as soon as every week, simply be sure you follow it. For finest outcomes? We advise Tweeting on the very least as soon as each couple of days and ranging your content material.

Step 9: Use Twitter instruments and options

Earlier than you enterprise off to launch your Twitter technique, preserve these options and instruments in thoughts:

01. Pin a Tweet: As soon as you’ve got began Tweeting, make the most of the Pinned Tweet possibility. A pinned put up enables you to resolve which Tweet you need individuals to see on the prime of your web page.

02. Get Twitter verified: If you happen to’re eligible, get your account Twitter Verified to achieve the blue badge subsequent to your deal with identify. Your account should be “genuine, notable, and lively” to be certified for the badge.

03. Create Twitter Bookmarks and Lists: Save Tweets you do not wish to lose by bookmarking them to revisit later. It’s also possible to create and comply with Lists to customise and set up Tweets, corresponding to this B2B SAAS Writers List.

04. Dabble with Twitter Adverts: Folks spend 26% extra time viewing advertisements on Twitter than on different main platforms. Subsequently, you’ll be able to think about Twitter promoting to advertise your content material to succeed in extra individuals in your audience.

05. Assist a trigger or vacation: Steadiness your Twitter content material by showcasing your customers, Retweeting different business leaders and never simply self-promoting. One great way to do that is by doing vacation advertising and recognizing nationwide occasions to indicate your assist for a trigger.

LinkedIn Retweeted Yelitsa Jean-Charles’ post about partnering. The Tweet displayed an genuine message and confirmed LinkedIn’s assist in the direction of Black Historical past Month.

06. Incorporate video: 32% of Twitter customers cited “watching video” as certainly one of their major actions on the platform. You should utilize a free video maker instrument that will help you create high quality video content material.

07. Faucet into your analytics: Attempt to take a look at several types of content material and use your Twitter analytics to see what’s performing finest. We extremely encourage you to take dangers and fine-tune your learnings to design a successful Twitter technique for your small business.

08. Share weblog posts: After you’ve created a weblog, Twitter generally is a phenomenal place to share such content material. Because the neighborhood is rather a lot about sharing information, you need to use Twitter to get extra readers to your web site.

09. Use a scheduler: Take off some tedious handbook work of frequently publishing new Tweets through the use of a put up scheduler. If you happen to’re utilizing Wix, we have now a built-in put up scheduler obtainable.

10. Bear in mind buyer care: To keep away from an overload of customer support responses to your Tweets, think about opening a devoted assist web page on Twitter. Then you’ll be able to direct them there to get the assistance they want.

We’ve adopted this recommendation ourselves by creating the Wix Help Twitter account and even pinned a hyperlink to it from our unique account.

The way to use Twitter FAQ