With more than 10 million users worldwide, the social network Twitter
is defeated and the buzz on the web. Revolts in Iran to marketing via
Web 2.0 news: nothing escapes Twitter. But in fact, how does it work?
What is it ?
Specifically, Twitter is a free platform for micro-blogging for
disseminating messages (140 characters) to a list of personal contacts.
In other words it is a platform People exchanges where a large online
community that allows to easily create an online network.
Just as Facebook, Twitter makes it possible to create a list of
friends, more commonly known as "followers". Once you have them added
to their own list of contacts, they can track your activities, ie all
messages that you post on Twitter. You do not want strangers to see
what you publish? No problem, Twitter allows you to restrict access to
your profile, via the option "Protect my updates".
In contrast, on your side you can create your own list of personal
contacts, called "following". To do this, we must start looking for
contacts in the integrated search engine for Twitter.
Note:
Although the service is only in English (or Japanese), its use is very
simple and it makes it possible to strengthen its business presence on
the Internet.
How to register ?
To sign up for Twitter, visit the registration page. To create your
profile, you must of course enter a valid email address, password, and
two special identifiers. For the latter, we suggest you follow the tips
below.
Full Name: the name you wear on Twitter. For this, we strongly
recommend you to choose the name of your company or your brand because
you will be much more identifiable.
Username: The username
is actually the name that will appear in the URL of your Twitter
profile. Again we advise you to choose your company name Use Twitter
for business or your brand if they are still available!
How it works ?
Once your account is correctly configured, you are ready to use
Twitter. Before starting anything, in the horizontal menu at upper
right, click on "Home". The page that appears will be your home page is
the main page of Twitter, that allow you to type your messages and read
those of others.
Compose message
To compose your messages, simply click in the "What are you doing? .
Remember you are only entitled to 140 characters per spots therefore be
brief. Once your written message, click "Update." The message is sent
and it is this, below, in the central page. This means as well as your
message is now visible to all those who follow your activities. These
messages are called "tweets" (cooing in English)
Note:
The central part is also the space where you find the messages from
your contacts, ie the people you have chosen to follow. If you want
your message is better referenced, precede your keywords.
Search contacts
Past the stage of registration, Twitter will ask you if you want to add
friends to your network, you automatically or by looking for addresses
in your address book mail. You see if you want Twitter accessing your
mailbox! You are not obliged to follow your real friends but you can
take marks for proprietary or bloggers you enjoy reading the
publications! To find friends, you can use the "Find people" in the top
menu.
Advanced
The "Direct Messages"
As the name already evokes a bit, when you click on "Direct Messages"
in the vertical menu on the right, you go to the equivalent of what may
be your personal mailbox on Twitter. When a contact sends you a message
on Twitter, this is where you should go there. On your side, if you
want to answer the correspondent or you send a personal message to
someone, just do the same manipulation as for a classical message
except that here you must select the contact in question in the
drop-down list.
Reply to a message: @
When you want to answer a tweet, you can click on the "reply" next to
the tweet that you want to comment on: Twitter will redirect to the
entry field message … where you will see the @ + name of the user who
originally posted the link. Warning, this answer is public: it
therefore appears in the news of your entire network!
Forwarding a tweet: @ RT
You have found a tweet interesting and want to distribute in your
network? You must perform the same manipulation that when you want to
reply and insert the @ RT (Re-Tweet). You can then copy or rewrite the
message you’d like.
Search
You can also search on Twitter, using the search engine located on the
left side of the interface. Under the search engine, you will see the
"Trending topics", ie expressions of the most searched on Twitter.
Using Twitter for business
Social network and online community bringing together a few million
users, Twitter has quickly become a platform inescapable web on which
it is very interesting to be present to promote its business.
Create a network and expand its scope of action
The first element that makes Twitter an application for developing its
business on the Internet is its ability to form and consolidate a
network. The main advantage allows clients to concentrate on one platform but
also and especially the possibility of finding others. One way to raise
awareness and to broaden its scope, especially as when a new company /
brand has arrived on the network, users in general are quick to
transmit information.
Tip: To inform your clients of your presence on Twitter, be sure to
highlight your account on your site by adding an icon or a button to
your profile.
Strengthen your identity and your Internet presence
If Twitter can be an effective tool for communication campaign, we need
to know before mastering the identity of your company and be sure to
treat your footprint on the network. Fill out your profile properly
before any form of action is paramount. To do this, go into your
account settings by clicking on the "Settings" in the horizontal menu
at the top.
1. First, go to the "Account" and follow the tips below:
- "More
info url: contact the Internet address of your website. This field is
almost essential if you want your contacts can be directed to your
website when they look at your profile. - "One line bio: This
field can be likened to your identity card. Try to be specific and note
the key words that best define your business. It is a part which is
then indexed by search engines. Attention anyway, because you are
limited to 160 characters! - "Rent": This item may be crucial
because some users sometimes seek contacts to follow close to home.
Populate this field is strategically wise to attract new customers and
find a local clientele. - "Protect my tweets’ We do not check
this box. As a company, soon to be known member of Twitter, it is
better to provide a profile with an open and free not to "hide" behind
a private profile.
2. In a second time click on "Picture" and select a profile photo of
the best representative for your company. Obviously if you have a logo
do not hesitate to use it, you will identify at first glance.
3. In a third time, go in the tab "Design". This option allows you to
customize your Twitter page. Make sure that the color code of your page
is commensurate with that of your site because it is part of your
digital identity. The best solution is to work with your designer to
get an optimal result because you can add more important information
(address, contact etc.)..
Interact and communicate in real time with your customers
Beyond the features and benefits that can make a business blog or a
Facebook profile, Twitter puts considerable emphasis on real-time
information and the immediacy, the aim being to promote the interaction
with your contacts. In reality it is an excellent way to establish
dialogue with a client.
On Twitter you can launch in a few minutes a survey to test a concept
or a product measure and assess the degree of customer satisfaction on
one of your products by collecting feedbacks. You can also respond to
messages from your followers, eventually solve their problems in
private and why not start from time to time for exclusive offers.
The response to feedback from users and strengthens your brand. Share
and relay links, articles, ideas meet your contacts as they will have
the opportunity to communicate directly with you.
In all cases, we recommend you post messages on a regular basis.
Finding a balance is important because too little or poster can damage
your image. But in any case, remember that an active profile, and
attractive living is the key number 1!
Making the events
Since it is essential for a company to conduct daily monitoring,
Twitter is one of the indispensable services to see what happens on the
canvas. In fact, it makes you aware of the news much more quickly than
any other source.
On Twitter, you can follow the activities of your competitors to know
their strategy, be aware of their offerings, programs of events and so
on. Depending on their positions, you can respond almost immediately by
running your hand against a plan of attack.
In addition to tracking your competitors, you can use Twitter Search, a
search engine keyword that index all the "tweets". An excellent way to
monitor what is said about you on the network. It is also a good opportunity to find and build new relationships with
people you did not know before. Come into contact with journalists to
disseminate news releases, meet new partners, seek to promote a product
or event with other bloggers.
