If you’ve decided it’s time to check out “that Twitter thing”, here are a couple of tips to help you get started.
Use your real name, or your real business name. Don’t make up a name, or use an old familial nickname that none of your business contacts know you by. This will make it easier for customers and business contacts to find your account.
When choosing your name, avoid using an underscore to join your first and last name. Underscores are harder to find on many cell phone touchpads and as customers use their cell phones more and more, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to find you. Adding in underscores and other spacers also indicates that you are a “late bloomer” in the Twitterverse as it implies to Tweniors (long-time Twitter users) the un-spaced version was already taken.
Upload a current photo of yourself to your profile, not a logo or cartoon avatar. I know it’s hard to believe, but we do still actually meet people face-to-face and you would be surprised how many times people will say “Oh, I recognize you from Twitter, you’re Anita Hovey.” It’s always nice to recognize a person at a networking event and be able to engage with them immediately because you’ve built a relationship on Twitter.
Now it’s time for the fun part…write your first tweet. Don’t worry too much about what you say because nobody is listening, YET! Find a few people to follow and feel everything out for a few days, tweeting and retweeting what you find interesting. Once you have a few tweets under your belt, then it’s time to let everyone know you’ve been Twitsimilated (assimilated into the Twitterverse). And if you need help deciphering all that TwitSpeak and Twanguage, you can use the Twictionary at www.twittonary.com to figure it all out.
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