Why Should I Tweet?

Twitter is a communication platform that helps businesses stay connected to their customers.  But Twitter isn’t just about useful immediacy. The conversational nature of the medium lets you build relationships with customers, partners and other people important to your business.

Beyond transactions, Twitter gives your constituents direct access to employees and a way to contribute to your company; as marketers say, it shrinks the emotional distance between your company and your customers. Plus, the platform lends itself to integration with your existing communication channels and strategies. In combination, those factors can make Twitter a critical piece of your company’s bigger digital footprint.

How to Get More Involved

Get Organized

By popular demand, Twitter users can now organize users they follow (or users that they don’t) into groups, or “lists.” Lists are a useful way to sort the Twitter users you follow – whether they are board members, association members, companies, etc.

• The easiest way to create a new list is by clicking “New list” on the Twitter sidebar.
• Follow the prompts to create a new list, and then find people to add – or sort users from your Following page into the appropriate group.

You can @mention any Twitter List as you would any Twitter user – which is often fun to do on #FollowFriday (see entry in the Twitter Dictionary below) – just add a forward slash “/” followed by the list name to list owners username: @<username>/<listname>

Learn more details about Twitter Lists by visiting http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711-getting-started/entries/76460-twitter-lists

Be Social

As with any new network there is a learning curve. Twitter has a quirky lingo all its own. But don’t let that hold you back from interacting. If you don’t understand something, ask someone.  (You can also search through Google or visit one of the web sites listed in the For More Information section below if you would like additional information or guidance.)

No one likes a “virtual voyeur” (i.e. someone who watches social media interactions without responding). Something as simple as a “good morning” often leads to a response. If that doesn’t work, try something a little more aggressive like, “someone say hello!”

Be Helpful

Twitter is all about karma. The more good you put out there, the more you receive. When you find others with great information, don’t be shy in sharing with your community. (See the “Retweet” and “Direct Message” entries in the Twitter Dictionary below.) 

It’s a great feeling when you promote one of your followers (instead of yourself), and it results in dialogue among your community. It ultimately reflects support for you and credibility for your follower. Win-win!

Twitter Dictionary

Direct Message (DM)
Tweets can also be private. Writers can send followers a private message called a “direct message” (DM), and followers can do likewise. Followers can also delete the DMs they sent, making them disappear from the writer's inbox.
You can easily send DMs from the Direct Messages tab by using the pull-down menu to choose a recipient and then typing in your note. To send a DM from your home page, start your message with “d username,” like this: “d AAMHQ Did you receive my membership application?”

Favorites
If you hover over the upper right corner of your Tweet, you’ll see a star. This is a way for you to mark an update as a favorite. People can view your favorites – and you can see theirs – by clicking on the Favorites link (http://twitter.com/#favorites) on your Twitter profile page.

Follow Friday
#FollowFriday is a popular game – “played” all day on Fridays – in which people suggest who to follow on Twitter. It helps everyone find interesting Twitter users. You list the users you recommend following and add “#followfriday” (or “FF”) anywhere in the Tweet (most often at the end of the message) so others can find it. The “#” is very important – don’t forget it! – and capitalization is optional.

Forward that Tweet (Retweet)
“Retweeting” forwards tweets individuals get to their followers. People retweet, or “RT,” to pass on worthwhile information. To “retweet” a message (for example, from AAMHQ), copy the message and preceed it with “RT @AAMHQ.”

For More Information
http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/best_practices
http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=Twitter&i=57880,00.asp