A basic guide to using Twitter effectively

1. Twitter 101
By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
Communications Specialist
AWDF
@nas009

2. Sign up to Twitter

3. First steps - recommendations
• Keep your user name as short and as simple as
possible. It contributes to your 140 character
allocation in a tweet
• Use your actual picture, unless you have
security concerns. In any case don’t leave the
egg picture profile intact

4. Your Timeline
To paraphrase my friend @kobbygraham
“My timeline is a garden. I cultivate it”
Your TL is as interesting or boring as the people
you follow

5. A snapshot of my TL

6. Deciding who to follow
• I look at people tagged in interesting tweets
and check out their TL
• I look at who my friends RTs
• I always check out a person’s TL before
deciding whether to follow them or not

7. Twitter Don’ts
• Don’t ask for a #FF or #FollowForFollow or
#Follow back – it smacks too much of
desperation.
• See @kobbygraham’s post on the subject
http://kobigraham.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/life
-sorry-no-followbacks/
• Don’t RT blindly. Read links before you RT

8. Twitter Do’s
• Engage. Comment. Share.
• Know that every tweet is public whether you
reply to one individual or tweet generally
• Use hashtags appropriately. #There #Is #No
#Need #To #Hashtag #Every #Word

9. Managing multiple accounts

10. Making Twitter easier to use
• Use a third party application like Hoot Suite to
make it easier to manage third party
applications
• Download a twitter application for your phone
– E.g.s include Twitter, Hoot Suite, Uber Social

11. Interesting examples of how Twitter is
being used
• To facilitate conversations e.g.
http://www.awdf.org/lets-talk-about-africanphilanthropy-a-round-up-of-our-tweet-convowith-theo-sowa/
• To live tweet an event
• To network across boundaries

12. Amplifying voices

13. 14 African women to follow
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@kenyanpundit
@SorayaSpeaks
@KinnaReads
@bettymurungi
@saratu
@sheroxlox
@HakimaAbbas

14. 14 African women to follow
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@GeeBrunswick
@ophiona
@khanyisile
@stillSHErises
@MsAfropolitan
@TheoSowa
@SpectraSpeaks

15. Final tips
• Avoid ‘sms’ speak if tweeting in a professional
capacity
• Edit tweets to fit 140 characters or send out
multiple tweets
• @anindividual on a tweet if necessary
• Have fun tweeting 