DIGITAL FAMILIES TWITTER MARKETING FOR BEGINNERS
www.digitallyfamily.com Twitter: @digitallyfamily
Design: Hannah Dix
WHAT IS TWITTER? • Twitter allows users to post messages with a 140 character limit – these are known as ‘tweets’. • Tweets can be retweeted – this reposts to your timeline/ profile so all your followers can see it. • You can also like tweets – this function can be used to show appreciation for a tweet and all ‘liked’ tweets are listed under a tab in your profile. • To tweet another account, use their @ name - this is known as a handle. • You can direct message individuals or a group of accounts. • Users’ profiles are public unless they set to private. Private accounts cannot be retweeted and must accept follow requests before users can see their tweets. • You can create (and be added to) lists – these are mainly used by business professionals who want to group accounts together under a certain topic e.g. Bloggers
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YOUR PROFILE • • • • • • • • • •
Profile photo - a photo of you or your business logo Header image - a wide image that reflects you/your business Name - your full name/business name @Handle - what users include in a tweet to you Bio - description of you/your business, location & website Following, Followers, Likes - click these for a list Tweets - timeline of your own tweets & retweets Photos and Videos - media in your past tweets Who To Follow - suggested accounts based on your following Trends - currently popular keywords in tweets
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PROFILE TIPS • Make sure that your header photo and profile picture are of a high quality. Blurred images won’t do you any favours! • Ensure that your description is up-to-date and has no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors. If your website link is spelt incorrectly, you won’t have any visitors! • Follow people with similiar interests to yours. If you’re a business owner, follow potential customers e.g. those with interests in the kind of services/products you offer. • Schedule tweets using platforms such as Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. This means you don’t need to be online all the time and can target different audiences at different times of day. • Be interactive - it’s a social platform. Retweet and like other people’s content, reply to tweets on your timeline and start a conversation. • In the same way, be efficient in responding to your mentions - this shows you value others’ time and opinions (and is good customer service). • Be wary of sending automated DMs (direct messages) - they save time but are often perceived as spam by other users.
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YOUR TWEETS Remember: ‘Content is King’ DO make sure your tweets are: • • • • • •
Relevant to your followers Engaging, shareable, informative and/or entertaining Reflecting well on you/your company Proofread with no spelling or grammar errors Containing images and/or links (at least sometimes) Mentioning @ handles of individuals/people related to the tweet
DON’T • • • •
Spam your followers with tweets constantly Feel the need to retweet/like every tweet of another account Only tweet at one time of day or night Share content that is poorly written, abusive or promoting violence, sexism, racism etc.
To find out more about Digital Families and access further primers and activity guides, please visit: www.digitallyfamily.com Twitter: @digitallyfamily
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