Twitter Part One – The Fundamentals

First things first… What is Twitter? Social networking platform Short messages – 140 characters maximum Relaxed, conversational tone and style Accessed on laptop, or on iPad, iPhone via app

iPad Desktop iPhone

Building your network Following relevant Twitter accounts Individuals, such as colleagues, MPs, fellow professionals Groups – news outlets, support groups, other providers Review what the people you interact with respond well to and what they interact with – bear in mind when adopting your style

Twitter can help... Suggesting accounts for you to follow Search by category From desktop, you can import contacts from address books, e.g. Gmail, Yahoo Mail Desktop iPhone

So, time to start interacting...

Sending a tweet A couple of different types... Tweeting your own thoughts or opinions Retweeting somebody else’s tweet Replying to a tweet Mentioning someone in a tweet

Tweeting your own thoughts Offer opinion, information or commentary on a topic Brevity is key – be engaging and make every word valuable These tweets don’t interact with other twitter users unless you add something else, e.g. mention, hashtag Will appear on your profile, and in your followers’ timelines

#Hashtags Add a hashtag to associate your tweet with a keyword Users searching for that keyword can find your tweet Useful at events or when commenting on something topical – organisations often specify a hashtag to use Twitter suggests using no more than two per tweet

#Hashtag examples

Retweets Retweet interesting and relevant content from the people you follow Double arrow icon under tweet Will appear on your profile page and in the timeline of your followers To retweet with your own comment, ‘Quote Tweet’ - make sure to RT

Sharing a Tweet For those who may not see a particular tweet, you have options to share On mobiles – you can a tweet Gives you the opportunity to share a tweet privately so that you can ask questions

Replies Use arrow icon underneath tweet to respond or comment on a tweet For example, to thank someone, or to answer a question In a reply, the will always be at the start Will only be seen on timeline of people who follow you and the person you’re replying to

Mentions This is when you include anywhere in a tweet. For example… The mention will NOT appear on their profile page, just yours If you search for a user, you will see all of their Mentions, including yours As before, only people who follow you both will see this in their timeline

Tweeting Links Just copy and paste from your browser – Twitter will automatically shorten this It’s often is relevant to post links, for example to our website or a news item Many sites (including ours) have the option to tweet links without having to copy

Tweeting Images Sharing in real time – not post event Events, conferences, celebrations Way of showing support for a local or national initiative, such as Dignity Day and Time to Talk Day Valuable when used with appropriate hashtag, such as #NASconf

Tweeting Images On your computer, you can tweet a picture by selecting the Compose New Tweet icon..and selecting ‘Add Photo’ On your iPhone/iPad, select the Compose Tweet icon, and use camera icon to take a picture, or frame to select from gallery

A guided tour…

Tabs Stats and compose Tweet Suggestions on who to follow Trends Tweets from followers Direct messages, settings and Compose icon

Tweets from followers Tabs – timeline, Notifications, Direct messages and profile Who to follow – suggestions and categories Stats Compose Tweet and Search Swipe to discover and activity

Timelines – takes you to tweets from your followers ‘Discover’ shows you the best of Twitter personalised to you – including trends and people suggestions… ‘Activity’ filters out what the people you follow have favourited and retweeted Who to follow suggests people for you to interact with, based on your activity Trends is a list of the most common keywords and hashtags currently being used, tailored to you

Statistics are quite self-explanatory – number of tweets, followers and people you follow. ‘Compose new tweet’ – where you start a tweet ‘Me’ takes you to your profile page

A Direct message (DM) is a private message sent to one of your followers. You can’t send a direct message to someone who doesn’t follow you Settings Here you can change your account details, e.g. password Twitter also has a comprehensive help guide

Conclusions Keep it conversational – must engage with followers Bear in mind the proper use of hashtags Tweet regularly Share images – particularly around events and initiatives Don’t be scared Finish what you start

Thank you Any questions?