How do YOU Twitter?

Twitter.  Seems like everybody’s doing it.  And everywhere you go, someone is talking about it.  There’s really no “right” way to do it, but there are plenty of examples of companies experimenting, listening and learning about what works for them.  Want to jump on board?  Here are some resources to help you chart your own Twitter course.

Twitter terminology

Tweet – Each time you enter your thoughts in the What’s Happening box and click the Tweet button, that message is delivered to all your followers.  Limit: 140 characters.

Retweet – If you like what you read, either from someone’s tweet or from a blog post or web article, clicking the retweet button automatically creates a tweet from you and identifies the original sender.  Guy Kawasaki, a prominent tweeter, calls a retweet “the sincerest form of Twitter flattery.”

Following – The best way to start is to find some people you know & respect and follow them (just click the Follow button on their profile).  Once you do, you’ll begin seeing all their tweets in your stream.  They may even follow you back.  Don’t rush to start tweeting until you you’ve done some following, as it’s a great way to learn.

Lists – You can create your own lists of people you follow.  It’s a way of categorizing and organizing your incoming tweets by groups that you define (friends list, family, coworkers, etc).

@reply – By default, all your tweets are sent out to all of your followers.  But @reply allows you to direct a tweet to a particular person.  Just type @ followed by the person’s Twitter ID at the start of your tweet.  Many people pay closest attention to tweets directed to them by @reply.  In fact, this is a great way to establish connections that lead to trust and perhaps ultimately to new business.

Hashtag (#) – Hashtags add a label to a tweet so receivers can categorize it.  Typically, groups agree to add a hashtag + label (#ourgroup) to single out tweets relating to their common topic.

URL shorteners – One of the most popular things to share via Twitter is links to other websites.  Since website addresses (URLs) can be long and a tweet can be only 140 characters, there are tools that will –with one click – shorten a URL.  The most popular is bit.ly.

search.twitter.com – Not sure who to follow?  Use this handy tool to search on keywords of interest and find who’s tweeting about your topics of interest, your product/service, or your company.  In fact, many people use this tool to find people of like interests, then use @reply (judiciously) to get introduced.

Twitter applications – Some of the most popular applications for managing your Twitter accounts, lists, and viewing priorities include: Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Seesmic, and Tweetie.

Twitter Small Business Success Stories

It’s one thing to know the terminology and to sign up and start tweeting.  But sooner or later you’ll want to get serious and put it to productive use for your business. Again, there are no right or wrong answers, but here are some examples of companies doing interesting things that add value for their business. 

New York Times article: Smart Ways to Promote Your Small Business on Twitter

SocialSmallBiz blog:  Collection of Twitter Case Studies

Inc. magazine:  Social Media: More Than Creating Connections

Social Media Examiner blog:  Collection of Social Media Case Studies

If you have a good Twitter story to tell — or question to ask — please share it in the Comments section.