Twitter Basics

What We’ll Cover

• Using the @ symbol• Twitter Lingo: RT, MT, DM, what?• How can I add a short link to my tweet?• Why Favorite a Tweet?• How do I get more people to read, RT, and

follow my tweets?• The Hashtag

Using the @ symbol• The “@” symbol is what appears in front of your Twitter handle – or

username. Example: @CarinZissis

• It’s also how you can tag another user in a tweet.• When you start a tweet with a Twitter handle, only people who

follow you and that person will see the tweet. As such, it’s a way to message in a semi-public way. You can also message multiple people.

Using the @ symbol

• You only want to start a tweet with a Twitter handle if you are directly communicating with that Twitter profile. The way to get around this issue is to put a period in front of the @ sign. This way, everyone will see it.• So, instead of: @ASCOA is having a great event tonight.

Go with: .@ASCOA is having a great event tonight.

Twitter Lingo: RT, MT, DM, what?

RT = Retweet, or re-sharing of a tweet that interests you.• There are two ways to retweet. This first way is to hit the

Retweet option below another person’s tweet.

• The other way is to compose an identical tweet and to put an RT (retweet) in front of the person’s handle.

RT @scharlab Six facts about Brazil's 6.3 million small and medium sized enterprises. http://bit.ly/1iZiRYe by @luisaleme @ASCOA pic.twitter.com/DP7CbJ1BS9

Modified TweetsMT = Modified Tweet• Let’s say you want to change someone’s tweet, maybe to fix a spelling

error, or just to make it shorter. In this case, you would compose a new tweet and use MT, for modified tweet.

• Change this RT:

RT @scharlab Six facts about Brazil's 6.3 million small and medium sized enterprises. http://bit.ly/1iZiRYe by @luisaleme @ASCOA pic.twitter.com/DP7CbJ1BS9

To an MT:MT @scharlab Here are six facts about Brazil’s 6.3 million SMEs. http://bit.ly/1iZiRYe

Direct MessageDM = Direct Message• Direct messages are private messages sent over Twitter. You

can only send someone a DM if that person follows you.

• How do you DM someone? In Twitter.com, look for the envelope in the upper right

• Then put in the handle of whomever you want to message in the pop up and send them a message.

Other Twitter Lingo

• ICYMI – This means: In case you missed it. It’s if you’re sharing something you previously shared, or you’re sharing news that may be a few days old.

ICYMI: Colombia will launch a new infrastructure bidding round this week. http://bit.ly/1iZiRYe

• H/T – This means hat tip. You use this to give credit to a person who you found a link or piece of information from.

Colombia is launching a new round of infrastructure bidding this week. http://bit.ly/1iZiRYe H/T @bloggingsbyboz

How can I add a short link to my tweet?

• You can shorten a tweet using a number of services. One of the most popular is http://bitly.com/

• You paste in your link here and it will shorten it:

• Then you copy the short link and paste it into Twitter:

• If you create a Bitly account, it will save your shortened links and track how many times they were clicked.

• You can also use http://goo.gl/ which works the same way.

Tweetdeck

• You can also download Tweetdeck: https://about.twitter.com/products/tweetdeck

• This program allows you to see your timeline, replies, and direct messages all laid out on your screen. It also allows you to automatically shorten links when you paste them in:

Using Bitly on Tweetdeck• Here’s how you do it. First, download Tweetdeck.

https://about.twitter.com/products/tweetdeck• Then go to Settings.• Then go to Services. • Then choose Bitly.

Why Favorite a Tweet?

One option Twitter gives you is to “favorite” a tweet. So why use this? • You can favorite a tweet if you see it interests

you and you want to come back and read it later.

Favoriting Tweets

• You can favorite a tweet to acknowledge you saw it and liked it.

• You can favorite a tweet to thank someone for writing it.

How do I get more people to read, RT, and follow my tweets?

• Use images – Tweets with an image (pic.twitter.com) are nearly twice as likely to get an RT.

• To add an image, compose your tweet and click the “add photo” button:

Adding Images

• Once you have added the photo and tweeted, this is how it will appear:

Time of Day Can Be Important.

All About Numbers

• People like numbers. Including a number receives a 17% bump in Retweets.

• Turns out 140 characters is too long. The ideal length of a tweet is 100 characters. Why? So people can retweet or add comments.

The HashtagWhen Do You Use Hashtags?There are two reasons to use a hashtag.• One is to highlight a particular topic and connect it to other

conversations about that topic. This could be a country (#Mexico) or topic (#women). You don’t have to do this because Twitter search will look up keywords regardless of whether there is an # attached to the word.

• The other is to use a hashtag that was created around a specific event or movement. For example, we created a hashtag for our São Paulo conference (#PanoramaBR) and people use #NAFTAat20 to discuss NAFTA’s 20 year anniversary.

• When you wouldn’t use a hashtag: for a word that isn’t going to help you start a conversation or link together topics you commonly write about. So for example, you wouldn’t do #event or #video.

Hashtags vs. Handles – What is the difference?

• You wouldn’t use a hashtag to write a person’s name, especially if that person is on Twitter.

Correct: This week, @CarlosCruzDiez is coming to Americas Society.Incorrect: #CarlosCruzDiez is coming to Americas Society.• The exception would only be if a) the person does not

have a Twitter handle b) that person is in the news or their name is trending.

You'll never believe what #JohnTravolta sent to #IdinaMenzel to make up for his embarrassing Oscar flub.