This document provides an overview of Twitter and how to use it effectively. It describes Twitter as a microblogging site where users can post tweets of up to 140 characters. The document then discusses how Twitter can be used to find real-time search results on topics, monitor topics and people by following their tweets, build relationships with others on the site, promote yourself or your business as a personal marketing tool, get and provide help to others, and get instant news updates from services. It also suggests Twitter can be used to instantly communicate with friends about what you're doing.

1. A guide for those who want to be “in the know”
MAKING SENSE OF TWITTER
Prepared by Mark A. Silver
http://twitter.com/marksilver

2. What is Twitter?
 A micro-blogging site
 The blog is 140 characters and called a “tweet”
 A real-time search engine
 A way to build relationships
 A way to find people with mutual interests
 And yes, some people will post inane
comments like their lunch menu

3. Things to consider
 Here are some things you should consider:
 Real-time search results
 Monitor something (or someone) you care about
 Build relationships
 Use it as a personal marketing tool
 Give and Get Help
 Get news updates
 Instantly communicate with friends

4. Real-time search results
 Get search results by-the-minute!
 Find out what others say on any given topic
quickly, often with Web references
 Most news searches only offer daily updates
 I use Tweet Deck as a multiple search platform
 Tweet Deck uses a desktop alert when new
search results or tweets come in

5. Monitoring
 Monitoring people is done by “following” them
 You get their “tweets”
 You know what they are doing, thinking and feeling
 You can follow topics, such as a conference, or
a research group
 Topic tweeters often use a “#” symbol followed by a
word on their topic-relevant tweets (“#GPSEG”
might be used about the GPSEG group.)

6. Build relationships
 Relationships is about what you put in,
not what you take out
 Invest in others through:
 Personal or professional insights
 Mentoring and Coaching
 Encourage others to follow a cause
 Invite followers to meet in person
 Provide inspirations
 Share your expertise by Tweeting stories
 Interact with others (it’s a very human need)

7. Personal Marketing tool
 Personal Marketing is about building an
online brand about you
 Brands are built over time using simple and
consistent messages:
 Tweeting about your favorite topic builds a
personal brand that says something about you
 For example: Tweeting consistently about
volunteer work with children “brands” you as a
particular type of person.
 Continued…

8. Personal Marketing tool
 Be consistent about your tweets: vacillating
between contrary positions weakens your
positioning statement:
 For example: Advocating for battery-operated
cars, but then saying driving a 12-cylinder gas-
powered vehicle is contradictory and no one will
know what you stand for.
 Consistent marketing helps people
understand you and what you stand for

9. Give and Get Help
 By reaching out to followers, or on special
topics, you can get, and give
 Immediate advice and input from experts
 Suggestions on where to get help
 Experience of others on the same topic
 Other considerations to help you think
“outside the box”

10. Instant News Updates
 News services now use Twitter to provide
instant topical updates
 Interpretive data available through
Tweetscoop, which highlights hot topics now
 Sometimes, Twitter is faster at getting news
out than internal PR and the traditional
media (sometime speed sacrifices quality)
 You can group newsfeeds for convenience in
Tweetdeck

11. Communicate with friends
 As family follow you, share instantly what
you are doing
 Get tweets Via SMS for selected people on
your phone, Blackberry or Smart Phone
 Tweetup with followers (a Tweetup is a live
meeting (meet up) for Twitterers
 Get instant updates on your family and
friends and organize impromptu get-
togethers

12. Thoughts to consider
 Be genuine in your communications (i.e.
don’t be contrived)
 Building a Twitter community takes time
(unless you are a celebrity)
 Tweeting is quick and doesn’t have to be a big
drain on your time or resources
 It’s fun, have fun, and don’t take it, or
yourself, too seriously! 

13. Online Case studies
 A CEO that uses Twitter
 Twitter Becomes the Life of the <snip> Party
 Twitter-enabled box alerts bakery customers to fresh bread
 Twitter Case Study %u2014 Social Media Optimization
 Twitter Case Study of a Commercial Brand – Sugarrae
 Twitter case studies - Google Search