3. Included in this user guide are
the following sections:
ƒƒ What Twitter Can Offer
Intro:
ƒƒ Tool
The
ƒƒ Up Your Account
Set
ƒƒ People To Follow
Find
ƒƒ
Tweeting
• Understand Twitter Shorthand
• Link Shorteners
• Space at a Premium
• Direct Messages (DMs)
• Fodder for Tweets
• Twitter Gatherings
ƒƒ
Managing Twitter
• Manage Followers
• Being Unfollowed
• Manage Volume
The Twitter User Guide was developed by Michelle Golden of Golden Practices, Inc.
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4. Intro: What Twitter Can Offer
Twitter is extremely simple to navigate, set up and use—there are only a few elements to master.
It’s amazing how much you can convey or glean in 140-character posts. Use Twitter to:
ƒƒCommunicate timely news and information ƒƒ a good information filter for others
Be
ƒƒLearn from others ƒƒInteract with others—create and
deepen relationships
ƒƒStay current on general or industry news
and events ƒƒResearch people and companies
ƒƒConnect personally with key, influential figures ƒƒPromote others (build goodwill) by sharing
their thoughts or content
ƒƒRely on good tweeters as information filters
It’s amazing how much you can convey
or glean in 140-character posts.
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5. The Tool
If you do not already have a Twitter account, you can simply go
to Twitter.com, click “sign up” and fill out the required fields.
Once you create your account on Twitter, you can begin exploring If you do not already
the site and its navigation. If you need additional help from the have a Twitter account,
you can simply go to
social network, you may visit Twitter’s online help center Twitter.com, click
“sign up” and fill out
at support.twitter.com. the required fields.
Navigation: Content others can see:
Home Where you view the stream of tweets Lists Twitter’s “list” feature is very powerful.
by those whom you follow. Any lists you create will show for you and
others (unless you made them private) and lists
Profile Where you view your page as others others make, which you “follow,”
see it (called your “timeline”). are shown.
Messages Lists messages sent privately to Following Those whom you “follow,” a count
you, and those you’ve sent privately to others. and link to the list.
Settings Under your name, where you create Followers Those who follow you, a count and
your account and manage your minimal profile. link to the list.
Content just for you: Favorites Links to a list of any tweets you’ve
@mentions Lists all mentions of your indicated a “favorite” by selecting the “star.”
Twitter name.
Listed The lists to which other users have
Retweets Lists tweets re-broadcast added you.
(or forwarded) using Twitter’s built-in
“retweet” feature. Shows retweets by those Other features
you follow, your retweets of others and others’ Trending topics At any time, see a quick
retweets of your posts. reference of the 10 most popular topics at
that given moment. Keep an eye on this list
Searches If you’ve performed a search and for breaking news!
saved it, it shows up for your future reference
until you remove it—clicking the search term Who to Follow Suggestions of people
opens a new search for that term. who might be of interest to you.
Footer The footer of each page
contains links to Twitter’s Contact and
Help information.
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6. Set Up Your Account
Choosing Your Name
It’s always better to tweet personally, under your own name (e.g., Bill Jones with username
@billjones or @billjonescpa) versus under your business name (e.g., Smith Jones LLC with username
@smithjonesllc). Even when a marketing or customer service person handles company tweeting,
he or she should be set up as an individual—this makes you and your business more accessible in
order to better develop relationships. Several big corporations do this such as “@ChrisatDell.”
These are the two Twitter name fields: ƒƒDon’t use all caps. All lowercase is fine
Name: Use your actual human name, and or capitalize first letters of words.
definitely put CPA or other credentials in this
space—it displays in text format on your profile. ƒƒLeave out numbers—this isn’t a “login.”
Username field: Your “@” name, which is your ƒƒUse a hyphen instead of an underscore
main identifier and will be part of your unique between words if a break is necessary.
URL (twitter.com/YourUsername).
Also, do these few things in your Settings:
Your first choice of username may already be
taken. Including “CPA” is a good differentiator Account tab:
for a common name, and it helps brand you. Tweet Privacy: DO NOT select Protect My
Tweets. Hiding your communications defeats
Tips for a great name: the purpose of Twitter. Most people won’t
ƒƒThe shorter the better − with 140 characters bother to follow you back because they cannot
in a post, they all count. see whether your tweets would interest them.
ƒƒ okay to run words together
It’s Notices tab: Turn on (or off) email notifications
(e.g., @dansmith) to keep it short. to receive direct messages (DMs) and new
followers. These can be voluminous. Plus you
ƒƒKeep it simple and easy for others to recall. can view them on demand, so off is good
for most.
ƒƒAvoid uncommon abbreviations
(e.g., “oklaacctgprof”).
Even when a marketing or customer service person handles company
tweeting, he or she should be set up as an individual—this makes you and
your business more accessible in order to better develop relationships.
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7. Profile tab: Do be positive, friendly, and talk about yourself Select one
Picture: Add a photo as soon as possible to in the first person.
of Twitter’s
replace the default image. A photo cropped
tightly on your face, in which you look relaxed Design tab: Select one of Twitter’s backgrounds, or
and approachable, is best. Don’t use your backgrounds, or upload a favorite picture as upload a favorite
logo−be human. your background image. Simple is best. If picture as your
you want to sport a professionally designed,
background image.
Location: Add city/state. branded background image, hire a graphic
designer or use an inexpensive service Simple is best.
Web: List your company website address here (e.g., twitterbackgrounds.com).
or that of your blog, your LinkedIn profile, Some examples are:
Google profile or other online bio—hopefully
one that links to all your other websites. twitter.com/CLT_CPA
ƒƒ
Bio: Don’t leave it blank! Use 160 characters twitter.com/dentalcpas
ƒƒ
to describe yourself, your credentials (say
you’re a CPA!), your specialties and something twitter.com/Schneider_Downs
ƒƒ
interesting about yourself, for example: “father
of 3 beautiful girls,” “die-hard hockey fan,” Because background images aren’t clickable,
“birdwatcher,” “love helping people” or “PTA don’t list more than one or two links, and do
member.” If your website is your company site, list a phone number and email address.
you needn’t repeat your company name here.
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8. Find People To Follow
Did you know the To make Twitter interesting, follow interesting people. Use the Search feature to find people
you know.
AICPA is on Twitter?
Some of our popular
Suggestions for whom to follow: Also look for “lists” people have compiled of
accounts are: those you might like to know. For instance,
ƒƒThe AICPA (@AICPA) and its various
groups and staff members for CPA types, these lists can be helpful:
@AICPANews
@AICPA_JofA ƒƒYour state society twitter.com/michellegolden/cpas-cas-who-tweet
@CPALetter_Daily
ƒƒAny relevant media, both national
@YoungCPANetwork twitter.com/michellegolden/accounting-news-info
and local
ƒƒPeers twitter.com/michellegolden/accounting-firms-corp
ƒƒExperts in your industry(ies) twitter.com/AICPA_JofA/statecpasocieties
ƒƒAssociation representatives
Click on a list to see the most recent tweets, see
ƒƒPeople you respect and/or enjoy and directly follow any list members. You also
learning from can just “follow” a whole list after which a link to
the list will appear on your Twitter page sidebar
As you read others’ tweets, you’ll see them for your convenience.
referring to others. If you like what you see,
follow those people, too. This is how your
follower count grows.
6
9. Tweeting
Twitter wasn’t invented as a sales tool but rather a communication
tool (more like a telephone), thus it shouldn’t be used in a pushy or
pitchy way. Think how valuable a phone is, and yet how intrusive
many people find unsolicited telemarketing calls to be. Don’t be
that Twitter user.
Use a 10:1 ratio of promoting others to promoting yourself or your business. Retweet (RT)
and mention other people often (using their @name). And be sure to mention others who
mention you. There is a limit to how much public replying to do in a conversation, though.
If you are going to exchange more than three messages with someone, move the conversation
to direct message (DM), email or phone—take it private.
Twitter Shorthand See the below RT. In this example, the Young
“RT” A designation that what follows is CPA Network is RTing an original tweet from
retweeted or re-broadcast by the person typing AICPANews:
it. The RT is a powerful tool created by users
within the Twitter community. When people
RT you, it spreads your ideas and links to their
broader audience. To make it easy for people
to RT, leave extra space in your tweets.
@replies or mentions– typing the “@” character
When you quote others, always use “RT” and followed by a Twitter username (@name) is an
their @name. RTs can be manual (type or paste @mention or reply and results in two things:
someone’s tweet) or you can use Twitter’s
built-in RT feature, which offers some benefits: 1) It creates a link to the person’s Twitter page
ƒƒ fast and easy.
It’s 2) Your tweet appears in their @Mentions list.
In other words, they see that you named
ƒƒ won’t need to shorten a long tweet to
You them. Use this to reach out to, respond to
keep it at 140 characters. or thank another Twitter user. If you don’t cite
them this way, they are unlikely to see what
ƒƒ are captured for you in your sidebar
RTs you’ve posted.
(“Retweets by you”) so you can measure
and analyze. You can use the “reply” button/link (found to
the right of a tweet when you hover over it with
The manual RT is necessary, however, if you your mouse) to quickly reply to someone or
want to append the original tweet with your multiple people. This auto-populates the name
own commentary or context. in the tweet field and the post will have a subtle
reference under it telling others that your tweet
is “in reply to …” with a link to the original
tweet. This makes it a lot easier to follow a
conversation of your own or among other
friends you follow.
7
10. #Hashtag Link Shorteners
Hashtags are used often in Twitter to isolate or When you share links, you’ll quickly find that
designate multi-party conversations. This is how they consume a lot of precious space in your
groups converse about specific topics. You can tweet. Link shortening services convert very
search by hashtag to find an entire conversation. long links into nice, short ones. A popular
Highly publicized events, for example, include one is bit.ly because, when you create a (free)
the #hudson airline landing or #haiti. account, you can revisit bit.ly anytime to see
click-through statistics for your links. If you
For most conferences or events, in person or have a bit.ly account, you can choose a
online, attendees or hosts designate an event custom (or vanity) name for your link such
hashtag. For instance, the AICPA’s National Tax as bit.ly/mybio instead of the random
Conference used the hashtag #AICPANatTax. letter/number combo bit.ly auto-generates.
Before, during and after the event, people
could follow along by reading #AICPANatTax Other link shortening services and some
search results. The act of sharing tidbits during third-party Twitter reader applications (e.g.,
the event is called “live-tweeting.” TweetDeck) have built-in URL shorteners.
A comparison chart (from 2009) of link
Anyone can make a hashtag—just announce it shorteners is found at: searchengineland.com/
to likeminded friends—and consider registering analysis-which-url-shortening-service-should-
it with a site like What the Hashtag? you-use-17204
(wthashtag.com) to archive it and help promote
it to others. When you tweet links, a key to good readership
and getting retweeted is to write great,
compelling “headlines.” And when you share
a link, always provide context! Don’t just write:
“Great article: LINKHERE.” State why you think
someone ought to read it.
Anyone can make a hashtag—just announce it to
likeminded friends—and consider registering it with
a site like What the Hashtag? (wthashtag.com) to
archive it and help promote it to others.
8
11. Space at a Premium some “Auto DMs.” This is not a good practice. When people RT
At just 140 characters per tweet, Twitter Auto DMs (canned auto-responses) do not
you, follow you or
definitely teaches brevity! As you type your serve to build goodwill and they lack the
tweet, a remaining character countdown personal touch. otherwise mention
appears. Type out your thoughts, then whittle you, it is considerate
down your words as needed to fit. When people RT you, follow you or otherwise to thank them. You
mention you, it is considerate to thank them. can do this with an
Sometimes you’ll need to abbreviate whether You can do this with an @reply (which all will
see) or send such thanks in a DM.
@reply (which all
composing a tweet or shortening a RT of
others. Avoid obscure abbreviations, but it’s will see) or send such
okay to use common shortcuts. You’ll see Note: you can only DM people who follow you. thanks in a DM.
“mktg” for marketing, “preso” and “convo” This prevents all Twitter users from getting DM
for presentation and conversation, respectively, spam from just anyone. So if someone mentions
and SM for social media is a standard as is you, and they don’t already follow you, the only
“yest” for yesterday, and so forth. If you need way to thank them is to do so publicly with an
help shortening a tweet, try twonvert.com that @reply. If people bombard you with DMs,
automatically suggests how to conserve space. you can unfollow them.
On a limited basis, it’s acceptable to resort to In general, don’t click links sent to you in DMs
“U2” and “B4” but don’t write every tweet in unless you are expecting them. Like email,
this manner if you want to convey an overall there are some malicious users, and sometimes
professional image. Twitter accounts get “hijacked” so you could
receive something nasty from a “friend.” If
Direct Messages (DMs) unsure about an unexpected link, ignore it or
You might receive a private thank you DM from ask the friend if it’s a legitimate before you click.
people you follow, mention or RT. This is a very
good practice. You will also, no doubt, receive
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12. The AICPA uses Fodder For Tweets ƒƒShare something you enjoyed
hashtags for several The best source for tweets is your own content,
housed elsewhere online (i.e., website or blogs). ƒƒTeach you something
of its conferences. But heed the 10:1 ratio of You:Me posts. If you
Some recent examples aren’t currently generating content, don’t worry. ƒƒHelp you
include: Once you start reading tweets, it will not be
difficult to find things to share. Even five Twitter “Gatherings”
#AICPANatTax minutes of reading per day will provide ideas There are opportunities to join “gatherings”
for interesting content to share. of other Twitter users online, real-time, called
#AICPABVAL TwitterChats, or in-person gatherings, known as
#AICPASEC Read other tweets as well as online and print Tweetups. A core purpose in using Twitter is to
news/articles, or simply discuss observations broaden your contacts and develop rapport—
(sanitized to protect confidentiality) that you this requires participation. When you attend a
have in day-to-day business. It’s a good idea TwitterChat, you’ll discover people to follow
to have some focus in your tweets, so primarily who share your interests and, if you participate
share content related to your specialty. in the conversation, you’re likely to pick up
some new followers, too.
Promote others. A lot. RT or @mentions go
a long way. Social media is all about courtesy You may stumble upon these gatherings, but
and sharing. When others do something for you can also use tools for finding gatherings
you, thank them with a nice tweet, especially such as TweetMeUp.net and Tweetvite.com.
when they: If you’re attending a conference, ask if there
already is a #Hashtag for it, and then search
ƒƒAdd you to a list the #Hashtag to see if there is mention of a
Tweetup. If not, initiate one! With about 20
ƒƒ you
RT million people using Twitter, hardly any event
is held without at least a small Tweetup. While
ƒƒFollow you at the event, include the #Hashtag in tweets of
some of key take-aways—this is “live-tweeting.”
ƒƒMention you or your work
ƒƒHost live Tweetups, Twitter chats and
other events
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13. Managing Twitter
Manage Followers User name: Does it seem credible? People will follow
People will follow you, including some shady Or feature a product name or the words
“marketing,” “seo,” “guru” or “free?”
you, including
types. You needn’t follow back everyone who
follows you. But unless they look sketchy, it some shady types.
doesn’t hurt to follow back. You can unfollow Bio: Does it seem appropriate or interesting? You needn’t follow
them later− perhaps they post too much or Or is it blank, linking to a questionable site
back everyone who
post off topic. The person may notice their or salesy?
follower count drop but usually won’t know follows you. But
who dropped them. Bear in mind that if you Their most recent post or posts: Do they unless they look
only follow a small number of people (fewer seem thoughtful and do they have replies,
sketchy, it doesn’t
than 100), one person can seem to flood your interacting with others? Or are there repetitive
feed. You might want to wait until you follow posts (same links) or multiple posts that discuss hurt to follow back.
more people before penalizing someone weight loss, teeth whitening, affiliate marketing
for volume. or the like?
If someone is abusing Twitter, you may “block” Evaluate who else trusts them: Do they have
them, but only do this if they are truly offensive. a balanced ratio of followers to following, and
are they included on some lists? Or do they
Weekly or more often, review your followers list follow far more than follow them back and are
and follow back people who seem legitimate. on few or no lists? Note, new users won’t have
A few tips for spotting spammers: many followers or be on lists. If they have only
a few tweets, this isn’t a valid indicator. That
Consider their photo: Does it look “real?” said, if they have tons of followers and few
Or like a stock photo? tweets or are on few lists, they probably
aren’t legitimate.
11
14. Filter tweets of Being Unfollowed
favored people People will unfollow you from time to time. Don’t take it personally. Your follower count will rise
and fall. Sometimes spammers get booted from Twitter. When Twitter does a bulk cleanup, your
by creating Lists. numbers can drop by dozens. Odds are you did not offend anyone and that changes in your
Grouping people by numbers just reflect some housecleaning.
organization, industry
or talent (CPAs, Manage Volume
Filter tweets of favored people by creating Lists. Grouping people by organization, industry or
lawyers, journalists,
talent (CPAs, lawyers, journalists, thought-leaders and friends) makes it easy to locate focused
thought leaders and conversations or not miss out on the activity of key people. Lists can be private (e.g., “friends”) but
friends) makes it creating public lists is a service to others who may also value them as content filters. For instance,
easy to locate focused a list for people who tweet on “fraud” or “IFRS” might interest you and be helpful to others.
conversations or
See a tweet about something but can’t read it right away? Simply click on the little star to
not miss out on the “favorite” the tweet to find it later in your Favorites list.
activity of key people.
Third-party software applications (such as TweetDeck) also can help you manage your Twitter
stream. New tools for Twitter emerge every day. To see the newest and most highly rated,
visit oneforty.com.
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