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THE ART OF
TWITTER & INSTAGRAM
Twitter Use #1: News
Twitter is an incredible news source. It’s easy to follow
breaking news, recent TV show happenings, or other industry
news by searching on Twitter or following industry experts
(people and/or businesses). No longer is it necessary to wait
for the 6 o’clock News to see developments around the
world. Follow BBC, CNN, MSNBC and others to stay
connected and updated.
Twitter is also the place to follow things or people you are
interested in. Gardening? There’s a hashtag for that.
Cooking? @FoodNetwork has your back. Stay in the know on
the latests in topics you love.
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Twitter Use #2: Customer Support
“Please enjoy the music while your party is being reached” are words of the past. Have a problem with a
service or item? Tweet the company’s customer service handle (@XboxSupport) and work with someone on
solving the issue. The Pros: No more obnoxious language barrier (we all know you’re in India and not Texas!).
No more waiting while your call is being transferred (a.k.a. being hung up on). It’s public, which means it’s in
the best interest of the company to respond. No hiding from complaints. An added bonus of this form of
customer service? Pictures! Let’s face it, 140 characters isn’t much to work with. The error message you’re
receiving is 300 characters alone. Take a pic and share. The Cons: Non-existent or dead accounts. Not much
you can do here other then call the 800 number. Also, trying to explain some problems in 140 characters is
more of a pain than its worth… a phone call may be easier.
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Twitter Use #3: Specific Answers
Need a recipe from last nights Food Network show? Tweet it using a hashtag and wait for responses to flood
in! Where else can you go with a specific need or question and be connected with experts?! You thought you
were just a celebrity stalker but now that Susan Egan (voice of Meg in Disney’s Hercules) is following you, you
can claim to be a friend to celebrities. Twitter allows access to industry and field experts without the
professionalism required in LinkedIn. No need to have connections with someone, just follow them, RT their
good content, share your quality content with them and watch Twitter magic take place!
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Twitter Use #4: Network with Strangers
If only there was a way to talk to that stranger you met at the conference who knew all about that one topic
you’re dying to learn more on. Oh wait! Twitter allows you to connect with people who would otherwise be
complete strangers without the awkward “hi, my name is and I find you fascinating because…” babble. Not
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only can you network with strangers who are at the same event as you but even with strangers who are at
events you’re not. Following conferences or event hashtags allow you to get “golden nuggets” from the
comfort of your desk. Striking up a conversation has never been so easy.
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Twitter Use #5: Be an Expert
Everyone is an expert in something. Showcase your expertise on twitter by answering fellow Tweeters
questions, responding to @HARO (Help A Reporter Out), or tweeting quality content. It’s best practice to
include no more then two hashtags and a URL for those who want to read more. Building a reputation for
being knowledgable and helpful goes a long way and you never know how it may come back to benefit you.
In the words of Disney, “It’s a small world after all.” And with social networking like Twitter, the world just got
a whole lot smaller.
Instagram: Social Photography
What is Instagram? It’s a free social photography app originally
designed for the Apple iPhone. With its major success, it is now
accessible on all smartphones/devices. Take a photo, crop it,
angle it, and filter it. Add a tag, description, and geolocation and
publish. Instagram allows you to push photos to other social
channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and
Foursquare.
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“The best camera is the one you
have in your hand”
Why Instagram? Most photographers will tell you, the best
camera to have is the one you have with you. Developers
realized that Smartphones/devices were quickly replacing cameras. They took it one step further and helped
the average person become a photo editor too! Instagram is loved for it’s user-friendly interface, fun filters,
active community, and affordability (free is hard to walk away from). Another pro of Instagram? Authentic
images. With Marketers flooding consumer eyes with cold stocky images it was desired to have real, warm,
honest photos.
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To Selfie or Not To Selfie
Selfie, n.
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1. The sacred art of taking a self-portrait on your smart phone and then posting
that photo on some form of social media, in hopes of impressing others as if to
say, “look how good I look today!”
!Instagram brought about a whole new level of art notoriety. Mainly, selfies. Selfies aren’t a new phenomenon.
As pointed out in the article The Art of Selfies on Hello Giggles, Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Pablo Picasso
were big selfies fans! Often viewed as pathetic, egotistical and eye-roll worthy, selfies aren’t necessarily a bad
thing. They allow the subject (you) to capture the best version of the subject (again, you). How many times
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have our friend’s taken pictures of us and captured the worst angle, expression, messy background, etc.
Selfies allow you to take your image back in control. So, take it. Just use it wisely. No duck face please.
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Duck Face, n.
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1. A pose in which the model tries to look sexy by pressing his or her lips together a
la blowing a kiss to the camera, but in reality this makes the subject look like a
duck.
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Words of Advice
No matter which social network you decide to use, please put to use these two pieces of advice:
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1. Decide your purpose and use of the network
2. Communicate or listen or both
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Know the purpose behind what you’re doing. Don’t arbitrarily sign up for things because they’re “popular”. If
you will get use out of using it or can help others through using it then go for it. But signing up just to say you
did it and not be an active participant is not necessary.
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Likewise, it’s silly to have an account on a very public platform and misuse it. It’s easy to fall into the traps set
by trolls - resist the temptation and walk away. Communicate your ideas clearly, respectfully and gracefully
and there shouldn’t be a problem with offending people. Listen to criticism and reflect on what is being said.
Does the person make a point? Should something change? If so, then great! Make the necessary changes. If
not, move on. Brush off the sometimes harsh words some people choose to share and go on your merry way.
By now we all know that there is no sense in online arguments.
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Twitter Vocabulary
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Tweet: A tweet is a post or status update on Twitter, a microblogging service. Because Twitter only allows
messages of 140 characters or less, "tweet" is as much a play on the size of the message as it is on the
audible similarity to Twitter.
Hashtag: A word or string of characters that starts with a number sign (#). Identical hashtags are grouped
together in a search thread.
ReTweet (RT): A retweet is when someone on Twitter sees your message and decides to re-share it with his/
her followers. A retweet button allows them to quickly resend the message with attribution to the original
sharer's name.
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Instagram Vocabulary
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Like: Like something? “Like” it by clicking on the heart image under the picture.
Instagram Direct: Send photos and videos directly to your friends. Only the people you send to can see
these posts.
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RESOURCES
!http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2013/08/30/31-twitter-tips-how-to-use-twitter-tools-and-twitter-
best-practices-for-business/
http://lifehacker.com/5788266/top-10-uses-for-twitter-that-arent-self-indulgent
http://webtrends.about.com/od/twitter/a/why_twitter_uses_for_twitter.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/JusticeMitchell/instagram-101
http://50.nitrogr.am/
http://www.annhandley.com/2014/02/12/use-instagram-genius-way/
http://staging.hellogiggles.com/the-art-of-selfies
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