I received so many messages, comments, and emails on my Twitter Convert Post, that I decided to start a Simplified Twitter Series. Last week, I wrote a post that attempted to explain Twitter in the simplest of terms and why I am enjoying tweeting the more I learn and the more I actually use it. Many asked me about more information on tools and ways I use it and through this mini series, I’ll add to that and direct you to some other amazing blogs that I’ve learned from.
However, to keep this simplified, I will keep these short without overwhelming you with too much information at once. We all know if you want more information, there are lots of blogs and videos already made about how to use Twitter and various forms of social media platforms. Sometimes it can all be overwhelming and we don’t know where to begin. My suggestion is to start with one step at a time until your comfortable to add more. You don’t have to start with 1000 friends and know how to schedule tweets before sending your first tweet. You need to know to set up your account and start tweeting. Keep it short, remember from the last article, we are limited to 140 characters. That doesn’t mean you have to use 140 characters at once. Remember that if I want to RT or reply to one of your tweets, I’ll need to add a few characters myself, even if it’s just the RT and your user name.
To get the most out of Twitter, you want to build connections and have mini conversations with other tweeters. You want to get information quickly, share information quickly, and meet new Tweeps. We all know that to keep friends, we need to communicate with them. You can get someone’s attention using the @ symbol when Tweeting. As mentioned in the last article, the @ symbol is a way of tagging someone. There are a few things to note though.
If I reply to someone or write a post where the @ symbol and user name is the beginning, ONLY the followers that both you and the person you are @tweeting have in common will see the response tweet. Example, if I sent a tweet to my friend, Katie, that said “@ktbomb15 I’m so jealous of your lobster cookout”, only those friends that her and I both have in common would see that message. If you are not following both of us, you would not have seen that message in your newsfeed. However, if I put any other character in front of the @ symbol, even just a “.”, then every follower I have and every one of her followers will ALL see the message. This is considered a mention rather than a reply. This is important when replying to tweets. When you hit reply, the @username comes up at the beginning of the tweet. If you want to keep that tweet personal and limited, leave as is. If you want to share your response with all of your followers and theirs, put your comment to the reply in front of the @symbol.
Use the @ symbol to get someone’s direct attention. Use the @symbol to thank someone for following or just to give a shout out. Sometimes we want to use the @symbol to send a message to someone that does not follow us.
Just remember, even though the responses may be limited if you start with the @ symbol, these are NOT private direct messages. And if someone visited that person’s personal profile page, anyone can see @replies on their wall. If you want to send someone a direct message, use your inbox within Twitter or you can start the message with d or dm and type the user name, no @ symbol necessary. d or dm is short for ‘direct message’ (both work). Try it and send someone a direct message. This will send the message directly and privately to their inbox. If the person you want to dm is not following you, you can send them a limited @username message and ask them to dm you! Are you following along yet?
If we are not connected yet, please make sure we are connected @cherylboglioli. If you have any other comments to add or questions, please leave a comment below and we’ll learn together and find the answers together.
What a brilliant post, and the previous Twitter one as well, Cheryl. I’ve used Tw for a long while but your useful d or dm tip is really helpful – thanks.
I also use Lists and I keep them Private so that my followers are not aware how I’m listing them. It’s just a way to read tweets quickly, as you’ve said.
Thanks!
I’m so glad you found it useful, Shirley. I’m off to follow you now!
Oh, I am following you! Yeah!!!! Now I can connect the name with the face.
Thank you for taking the time to explain the symblos with Twitter. Is it o.k. to print the lesson out ?
This will be a stupid questions but can you answer a Twitter from your computer or just your phone ?
I am old dog trying to learn the new Social Media.
Thank You
No questions are stupid questions, especially when we are all learning. Since there is so much information out there on Twitter, that is one reason I decided to try to simplify a few terms. I need to post my next article on using #hashtags too. You are welcome to print this for your own personal use, but if you share with anyone, please make sure my web address information is included. You can use Twitter from your phone, your computer, your Ipad, etc. Just got to http://www.twitter.com and log in as yourself. Your main newsfeed will appear. I will write another article on tools to help you organize your social media too. Look for that soon! Thanks for the questions, Linda.
Thanks for this information, Cheryl! I didn’t know that the placement of the @username changed who saw the message. That’s definitely going to change the way I tweet from now on! ….Again, thank you so much!! I’m ready for the next post in your series! 🙂
Cheryl,
This is a great follow up article on Twitter! Would you mind if I copied it for my records only? Thanks so much for sharing!!!
I’m glad you are enjoying the series, Lisa. You are definitely welcome to use my information for your own personal use. 🙂
Thank you so much Cheryl! I promise I would never use it for anything but my personal use. I’m collecting information on Twitter to help me understand it better and your article has great information and it’s easy to read and understand!
Great information 🙂
I’m glad you are finding it useful, Jackie. It’s hard to know if you’re giving too much or too little.
See now, I wish I had read this before I tweeted this morning. 🙂
Two questions today 1) How do you know what hashtags to put with a tweet? 2) What is the purpose of lists on Twitter?
You know I appreciate the effort you are putting into this series. Makes twitter a little less overwhelming!
Great questions, Katie. The # symbol can be used to identify with a topic. There is no reason why you can’t make your own, but if you search Twitter, you’ll find many are already in use. Be careful, #craft will find tweets about all sorts of things including the art of making beer. #papercraft will definitely narrow this topic and help you find people of interest. Don’t use more than 1-3 hashtags in a tweet though – keep it simple. 2)Lists. That might take a whole new post, but in short, it provides a way for you to organize those you follow to find information quickly. Ex. I have a Mixed Media Artist list so I can find people of the same interest and read their tweets quickly without being overwhelmed by others.
I’m so bad at this~thanks , this is helping much!!!
I’m so glad this is helping Connie. It is helping me to learn this too.