You guys have heard of Twitter right? I’m sure you have but you might not have signed up yet. Maybe you’re not sure what it is? Maybe you don’t think it would be useful to you? Well I’m gonna tell you what it is and why you should use it!
Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows you to make posts up to 140 characters. You can write about anything you like. You can also suggest websites for other to check out and even share pictures with Twitpic. It’s like having a little blog of your own. You can even tweet (write Twitter posts) on the go from your cell phone.
6 Reasons You Should Be Using Twitter:
- Connect With Friends - Twitter is an easy way to keep up with your friends to see what they are up to. You also get to make new friends as well. There’s people I say hi to all the time who I wouldn’t have known without Twitter.
- Networking - Find people with interests like yours and build networks of friends and contacts. If you have a site you can network with people similar to you. I’ve made so many great friends with other personal finance bloggers through Twitter.
- Get Information - Remember that network and the friends above? Use that as an information base. Have a question? Throw it out there! Wanna poll some folks on a subject? Ask away! Interested in something you don’t have expertise in? Ask and you might find the info you need. I recently used Twitter to find out whether a Macbook is better than a PC laptop. I got some really great advice and answers! Twitter is also a great news source as well. People would tweet opinions and information during presidential debates as well as other newsworthy events.
- Promotion - Let everyone know when you have a great new post! I find that sometimes I see more new posts through Twitter than I do through my RSS reader.
- Traffic - Who doesn’t want some more traffic? When you put your posts out there people do come to check them out! Some will stop by because of your profile to see what you’re about. Others may re-tweet your posts so other can check them out. Many use Twitter to ask for comments or social love on posts (I’m guilty of this). Point is you can get significant traffic from twitter.
- It’s fun - Really it is. Try it.
11 Tips For Using Twitter:
- When you follow friends see who they follow - Odds are your friends have similar interests as you. That’s why you’re friends right? So their friends might have similar interests as well and you may want to follow them. If you have a blog this is a great way to discover other popular in you niche!
- Follow people you like and have similar interests in - Some people go out and try to follow anyone they can in order to get back a lot of followers. All you do is get a lot of noise that way. Follow people you will have conversation with and that will build up a stronger network. I tried to follow everyone in the beginning and now I have lots of tweets that get in the way of the people I want to talk to. I need to clean up my list too!
- Share more than your own stuff - It’s ok to tweet your articles but try share other people’s stuff as well and also anything you find that interests you. If all you do is pump up your articles then you’ll look like a spammer and you might find it difficult to build up a following.
- I won’t follow you if…- If you’re new and you are already following 2000 people with just a handful of followers and only wrote four posts I’m probably going to think you’re a spammer. I’m not the only one who will think this. If you’re genuine then take your time to build up your followers. I like to see that people have real conversation before I follow them back if I don’t already know them.
- Have fun! - Twitter can be a ball if you let it. There’s so many great people out there. Enjoy it and you’ll build up a network of good friends.
- Applications - I would say most Twitter folk use some sort of application rather than the site itself to make twittering more convenient. I use Twitterfox myself in Firefox. The Twitter Fan Wiki has a huuge list of different applications to use!
- Direct messages - Use the DM option if you want to tweet someone without everyone else seeing it!
- Search - There’s a Search function you can use to see tweets about a subject ot to lok someone up.
- Businesses - There are lots of businesses that use Twitter (@wholefoods, @starbucks, @BaskinRobbins). Follow them and you might find out about special promotions and deals. Some even offer contests through Twitter!
- Background - You can personalize your background for your profile. Logos For Websites has been making a lot of great backgrounds for people so check them out if you’re interested!
- Personal favorites - TwiTip (a nice site to watch for great Twitter articles) asked people to construct their own Twitter favorite lists. My main interest is Personal Finance and Bible Money Matters has put together a list of 125+ PF bloggers to follow! Make your own list and post it on your site! It’s a great way to get the word out and interact with other Twitter folk!
By the way, here are some of my personal favorite Personal Finance people to follow (in no particular order):
- @ptmoney
- @remodelthislife
- @sensetosave
- @MoneyNing
- @jnickles
- @ThatOneCaveman
- @mrsmicah
- @hank_MiB
- @bripblap
- @ncheapskate
- @RCThinkWealth
- @MMarquit
- @mytwodollars
- @FeedTheBull
- @NCN
- @FourPillars
- @paidtwice
- @mindicherry
- @Wazzy
- @FrugalDad
Oops! This list got big real quick!
What are waiting for? Get signed up on Twitter and go tweet! And don’t forget to follow Free From Broke on Twitter!
Do you have any other Twitter tips? How about favorite personal finance Twitter poeple? Let me know!
Sign up with ING Direct and get a $25 bonus
Related Posts- Festive Link Love Carnivality #16
- I WANT AN IPOD VIDEO NANO!!
- FFB's Festive Link Love Carnivality #3
- How To Find A Job On Twitter
- Blog Plug-Ins to Get More Readers
- How to Get Targeted Quality Followers on Twitter Using Hash Tags and Alltop
Subscribe to Free From Broke | Follow Free From Broke on Twitter
{ 4 trackbacks }
{ 19 comments }
Thanks for Twitter 101…I know what Twitter is but have never used it. Reading this post makes me more motivated to give it a whirl!
About a month ago, a locally owned restaurant in my area started using Twitter to advertise its specials. They even had a “Twitter Tuesday” - they created a tweet about it and patrons who came in and mentioned it got 25% off a breakfast or lunch entree. I thought that was a great idea, not to mention a wonderful way for the restaurant to utilize some free advertising!
Hannah’s last blog post..Illy Espresso Memberships
@ Hannah - When I first heard of Twitter I didn’t think it would be too useful but now I can see what a strong marketing tool it can be!
Thanks for mentioning my post, and my logo website, I appreciate it!
Twitter is a growing phenomenon, and it’s time to get on board, or risk being left behind!
Pete’s last blog post..125 More People Personal Finance Junkies Should Follow on Twitter
@ Pete - My pleasure!
Great guide! A few ideas I hadn’t considered yet. And thanks for including me in your favorites list.
That One Caveman’s last blog post..Have a Great Weekend!
You may want to check out http://yonkly.com
It’s the first niche-microblogging platform with twitter integration.
Best part. They’re a bootstrapped, small team! Go underdogs!
@ Caveman - Thanks!
@ Scott - I’ll give it a look.
I have heard so much about Twitter and have thought about trying it. I just don’t want to get caught in that whole Twit everything in your life. I would be telling people when I walk out my door, and when I start my car, then when I pull out. Who knows maybe I can manage. I will give it a try and see if I like it.
Thanks for the mention, FFB. This is a great intro guide to twitter. Good tip about following corporate tweeters. Does ING DIRECT have a twitter account?? I’m off to find out.
PT’s last blog post..Collecting Aluminum Cans for Cash
@ PT - If you find an ING account let me know!
Thanks for this! I have been on twitter (@moneymanagement) for about 6 months now and am always looking for new folks to follow.
Kim’s last blog post..moneymanagement: @bargainbriana None specifically about the blog, but I have sent a few that refer back to the site.
@ Kim - If you know of any other let me know!
Thanks for the primer FFB!
I’ve seen twitter on a lot of blogs and websites in general, but it always seemed to be a needless widget where people would post what they were doing at that precise moment in their lives, and quite frankly, I don’t need to know that they need more fiber in their diet.
You have shown me the possibilities though, and for that I thank you!
Joe’s last blog post..George Miller, Teresa Ghilarducci and the End of Your 401k.
@ Joe - I felt the same way too but I’ve discovered Twitter can be a great way to network and get traffic.
Thanks for your submission to the Thirty-First edition of the Blog Carnival: Blogging. Your post has been accepted and its http://thatsblog.com/?p=185
-ThatsBlog.com
I’m following a few you suggested and you. I haven’t fully grasped the functionality of Twitter, but I sure do hear a lot about it all the time…
@ Jarod - Dive in and see if it works for you! At first it was a major time suck (still is sometimes) but I’ve found it very useful as well.
I signed up to Twitter yesterday not really knowing it’s full potential.
I’ve installed the Twitterfox as mentioned above and this post is very timely for me.
Twitter is really a cool tool for fun, traffic and profit. I’ve also created a step by step guide for new twitter users.
You can see it here and can also start reading from part one. I’d love to get your response about my article about twitter too! stumbled!
Tamal Anwar’s last blog post..A step by step guide for new twitter users - Part 2
Comments on this entry are closed.