Twitter 101
What Would You Like To Share?
N ic k Arm st ro ng - @ImN ic kArmst ro ng
h tt p://w w w.IAmN ic kArmst ro ng.com

What is Twitter?
One-to-Many instant messaging
140 character messages or less - called a Tweet
Each user has a username and avatar
“Follow” users to see their Tweets
Messages appear in the Main Feed (AKA Stream,
Timeline)

5 Reasons Twitter is Useful
1 - Potential for huge Word of Mouth promotion
2 - Potentially improved customer service
3 - Incredibly fast information gathering
4 - Easier Online Reputation Management
5 - Improved Google Rankings
... but - it depends on how you use it!

No More Excuses...
Social media is a
participation-based culture.
You have to participate to get
the most value.
But, how much, how often,
and how long you participate
is entirely up to you.

Setting Up Your Account

Setting Up Your Account
Go to www.Twitter.com
Click on “Sign up now”
Enter your full name
Enter a descriptive
username
Enter a strong password
Enter your common email
address
Answer the captcha, click
on “Create my account”

Sweet!
Okay, now what?

Your avatar and username
How many characters you have left (140 is the limit!)
Username and avatar # of people you are following
Click on either to go
to this person’s profile # of people following you
The home feed
Mentions
feed
How long ago something was tweeted
Where the Tweet came from
Tweet, of course!
But about what?

What’s in a Tweet?
@ signifies the next
word is a username
@’s are used in @
Replies and ReTweets
# signifies the next word
is a hashtag
d and a space, then a
user name sends a
direct message

@ Replies
@ Replies
If a Tweet starts with @ - it is an “at reply”.
You can click on an @UserName to go to that
person’s profile.
Whenever your name appears in an @ reply, it
appears in your mentions feed.
Example: “@LeoLaporte Hey Leo - caught your
show - it rocks!”
Only my followers (people who follow
@ImNickArmstrong) who also follow
@LeoLaporte will see the tweet.
If you put more than one username, they will
see the tweet too. Example: “@LeoLaporte
@AmberMac - Rock on.

ReTweets
ReTweeting is sharing someone
else’s Tweets with your network.
It’s a cool way to show respect
on Twitter!
“RT” and “via” are synonymous
Copy and Paste the text you
want to share, and type RT
@UserName at the beginning or
the end of the Tweet - where
username is the name of the
original author (@TheVanguard
here)

Hashtags and Searches
When you add # before a word, it
becomes a Hashtag.
Any tweet with that Hashtag in it
appears in the results when you
search for that tag.
Hashtags (and terms) are
searchable on Twitter. If a LOT of
people tweet that hashtag (or
term), it becomes a trending topic
and is listed on Twitter.com and
your sidebar.
You can Google search to see what
a hashtag means.

Your Home Feed
The Tweets from
everyone you follow
appear here. Your
Tweets will appear
here, too!

Your Mentions Feed
Any tweet that has
your @UserName in it
will appear here.

When you mouse over
a Tweet, two icons appear.
One is for Replying,
the other is for Favoriting.
Click on the star to favorite.
Your favorites appear
in their own feed.
These are visible to anyone.
You can Favorite Tweets.
Come back to them later, share them, make a
highlight reel - whatever feels right.

Direct Messages
Direct Messages sent to you
are only seen by you.
Direct Messages sent by you
are only seen by the person
you sent it to.
You can send a direct message
to only one person at a time.
You can’t send a direct
message to someone who isn’t
following you.

Basic Info
Use your real name -
you’re easier to find!
Don’t change
usernames often.
People will search for
you using your e-mail
address, so use your
most common one.

Basic Info - Part 2
Put your website into the
More Info URL
The One Line Bio should
have specific keywords
you want associated with
you - web designer, for
example.
Use a SPECIFIC location!
City and state. You’ll be
easier to find.

Add a Profile Picture
Your smiling face works best!
Try to use the same avatar across all your social media accounts

Be Sure To Change
Your Background/Theme!
Try http://www.freetwitterdesigner.com

Protecting Your Account
Only people you
approve will be able
to see your tweets
Not valuable for SEO
Harder to gain
respectable following

Finding People to Follow
If you know their username, go
right to their page and click on
the “Follow” button.
You can use your existing
networks (Gmail, Yahoo!, and
AOL) to find Twitter friends.
You can also use the Search
function by clicking on “Find
People”.
WeFollow.com, MrTweet.com,
Twitter.Grader.com

Managing your Followers
It’s okay to unfollow if you get
tired of someone.
It’s okay to block people you
don’t want to follow you.
No notifications are sent when
you block or unfollow.
Don’t feel compelled to follow
back everyone who follows you.
Look for the “Verified Account”
logo on celebrities’ profiles.

Twitter Soft ware
Desktop: TweetDeck and Seesmic
Phone: Tweetie, TwitterBerry
Allows you to organize multiple accounts, see your Home Stream,
Mentions Stream, Favorites, and Direct Messages - and any searches you
create, all in one screen.

Twitter Websites
WeFollow.com
People-powered Twitter Yellow Pages
Mr. Tweet (MrTweet.com)
Recommends relevant people
FriendOrFollow.com
Easily see who you’re following that
isn’t following you back.
Twitter.Grader.com
Compare your Twitter account with
others in your area.

Staying Safe
Use a strong password - at least one upper-case letter, one lower-case
letter, one number, and one symbol.
Do not enter your username and password anywhere but the official
Twitter site. Any 3rd party sites worth using will use OAUTH. OAUTH is
a safe way to use 3rd party sites without giving away your username and
password Usually there’s a link on those sites for “OAUTH” - click this
pop-up will appear:

Thank You!
Please feel free to contact me for questions,
comments or just to Tweet. :-D
N ic k Arm st ro ng - @ImN ic kArmst ro ng
h tt p://w w w.IAmN ic kArmst ro ng.com

Credits
Thanks to:
“Sharing” by FuriousGeorge81
“Twitter Pack” by carrotcreative
This presentation is licensed
under Creative Commons
Feel free to use and share
for non-commercial purposes.
All you need to do is give credit
and link back to IAmNickArmstrong.com