Twitter is what’s known as a micro-blogging platform, which means it’s essentially used as a blog that’s limited to shorter posts. Even a short blog post typically consists of a few hundred words, but a tweet consists of a maximum of 280 characters.
When a user publishes a tweet to the world, other Twitter users can interact with that tweet in various ways. Users can click the heart-shaped button to “like” a tweet, or they can click the button that’s made of arrows going in a circular pattern to “retweet” a tweet and share it with their followers. Users also have the option of using a “quote tweet” where they can retweet a tweet and add their own text.
Like most social media platforms, Twitter allows users to comment on public posts as well. Keeping in touch with your customers through Twitter replies can be a great way to build and manage customer relationships, especially if you’re targeting a demographic that uses Twitter.
Start at twitter.com or sign up from the app.
Go to twitter.com/signup right from the home page. Or, download the app and be guided through our sign-up experience.
Fill out your Profile. Make sure you have:
A unique @handle to help others find or mention you.
A profile photo to show who you are.
A short bio to show what you’re interested in.
Customize Your Profile
Link Your Website – You can do this by adding a link under the “Website” section. If you want to add multiple links to your bio, you can also include links in the written portion of your bio.
Add your Privacy Settings – Make your account public if you want anyone to be able to see your Tweets and find your page.
Add your Notification Preferences
Follow at least 10 People
When you’ve set up your profile, find accounts you would like to follow. Search for people you’re interested in to find their handles, then go to their profiles to check out what they’re about. Like the Tweets you see? Then tap that follow button.
Follow at least 3 Topics
Follow Topics in addition to your favorite accounts to fill your timeline with Tweets about what you love. Celebrities, sports, hobbies – you name it, chances are there’s a Topic for it.
Home Timeline – This is the heart of Twitter. This is where you will see Tweets from accounts you are following, people talking about your interests, what’s popular, and what’s shared in your network. You can choose which Tweets you want to see as you scroll your timeline: top Tweets we think you’ll dig, or the latest — first-come, first-served. Tap the stars icon at the top of the page to change your content preferences.
Explore Tab – Trek the Explore tab for the best stories in Trending, News, Sports, Entertainment, and more!
Notifications – Your Notifications timeline is where you can keep in the loop. See your alerts and customize just the way you want.
Direct Message – Have conversations with the people you choose — without the world seeing it. Connect with someone or a group with a Direct Message. Start a new conversation, share Tweets, or share media as a Direct Message.
Topics – Find topics that you choose to follow.
Pin a Tweet: Once you’ve started Tweeting, utilize the Pinned Tweet option. A pinned post lets you decide which Tweet you want people to see at the top of your page.
Get Twitter verified: If you’re eligible, get your account Twitter Verified to gain the blue badge next to your handle name. Your account must be “authentic, notable, and active” to be qualified for the badge. Businesses generally remain an eligible category for verification.
Create Twitter Bookmarks: Save Tweets you don’t want to lose by bookmarking them to revisit later.
Lists – You can also create and follow Lists to customize and organize Tweets.
Support a cause or holiday: Balance your Twitter content by showcasing your users, Retweeting other industry leaders and not just self-promoting. One good way to do this is by doing holiday marketing and recognizing national events to show your support for a cause.
Incorporate video: You can use a free video maker tool to help you create quality video content.
Spaces – Twitter Spaces is a new feature that allows you to host live audio conversations with other users. With Spaces integrated into the Twitter platform, it’s easy to get the word out about your audio events. Joining is as easy as clicking a link in a Tweet. Announcing your Spaces chat with a Tweet lets you leverage the reach of your existing Twitter brand into engagement on Spaces.
Share blog posts: After you’ve created a blog, Twitter can be a phenomenal place to share such content. Since the community is a lot about sharing knowledge, you can use Twitter to get more readers to your site.
Twitter Analytics allows you to track and view key metrics, like follower gain/loss, impressions, engagement rate, retweets and more. The tool has been around since 2014 and is available to all Twitter users, including both personal and business accounts.
Using Twitter Analytics for business helps you make data-driven decisions about your social media strategy. Armed with data, you can optimize your Twitter campaigns to get better results and more followers without guessing whether your plan will work or not.
Getting There – Open Twitter in your browser and click on More, in the left-side menu. You’ll see Analytics as an option about halfway down. This will bring you to your Twitter analytics dashboard page.
Learning what your audience really wants
Through Twitter analytics, you’ll find valuable audience insights that will tell you what your followers respond to the most. Text posts? Photos? Video? Polls? Cat GIFs? All of the above, but only on Sundays? Without data, you’ll never know for sure what type of content will be a hit and what will miss the mark.
Tracking your growth
Ditch your spreadsheets and leave the math to Twitter analytics. Track your follower gain or loss per month and see growth trends over time. Having analytics data lets you see what types of content are getting you new followers (or turning people away).
Figuring out the best time to post
With Twitter analytics, you can tell when your Tweets are getting the most engagement. You’ll be able to see patterns for what times of day work best.
It shows you a monthly overview of your top stats, including your:
Top Tweet (by number of impressions)
Top mention (by engagements)
Top media Tweet (ones that include an image or video)
Top follower (the person with the most followers who started following you in the current month)
It also includes a short summary of your activity that month.
You can see all your Tweets’ impressions and engagement rates in the chosen time period, which defaults to the past 28 days. This is also where you view stats on your Promoted Tweets (paid advertising).
Along the right side, you can also view your average:
Engagement rate, Link clicks, Retweets ,Likes, Replies
You can also click an individual Tweet for detailed statistics.
Under the “More” tab at the top, you’ll find the video page. However, this page only shows stats for video content uploaded via Twitter’s Media Studio or for Promoted video ads.
Like the Tweets page, you can view similar video engagement stats here:
Views, Completion rate (how many people watched until the end), Total video minutes viewed, Retention rate
You can also see more detailed analytics in Twitter’s Media Studio, like when your audience is online and the top Tweets and comments people are saying about you.
Twitter has a personalized Business Insights page. You can find it in the Twitter for Business section under Advertising -> Analytics. It’s a bit hidden. Then, scroll all the way down to the bottom and click on Visit yours now under the Business Insights Dashboard header.
Receive news and announcements from Palm Springs straight to your inbox
Social Media - Twitter for Business - Visit Palm Springs
