Twitter 101: What is Twitter Really About?

What is Twitter Really About:–Twitter is one of its kind social media platform. It is also a medium through which people post impactful and buzz-creating content. The daily average of people tweeting on this social network is 500 million.

However, there might be a lot of people who know much information on the medium. If you are one of them and want to start using Twitter, we are here to help. This blog takes you through all the information on Twitter you will need to get started. Let’s jump in!

How Twitter works?

You can create an account with an email address and password similar to Facebook and Instagram. 

On Twitter, you can share posts and send messages and media. Posts which are referred to as Tweets can be shared as often as the user likes. Tweet con consists of a maximum of 280 characters. 

Tweets appear on the feeds of people who follow you. Similarly, to get the tweets of a user on your feed, you have to follow them.

Once you have created your account, grow your connection. Influence people you know to follow your account. Ask your friends to re-share your tweets so that more people can follow and engage with your profile. 

Follow interesting people on Twitter including celebrities and politicians and try to engage on posts through comments and re-share. Re-sharing also helps you in gaining engagement; if your re-shared tweet interests other Twitter users he/she is likely to follow your account.

People Tweet all the time so it’s hard to keep track of all the tweets on your feed. Use Twitter.com to keep track of trending and latest posts around the world.

Interesting Read:- Top 150+ Twitter Abbreviations(Acronyms) you Need to Know

Twitter Terminology you need to know

Twitter has its own set of vocabulary that you might have come across. Below are some of the commonly used terms on Twitter that will help you have a better understanding of the platform. 

Tweet: It is the standard message posted on Twitter consisting of a maximum of 280 characters.

Retweet:  Reshared message, which can be viewed by a follower.

Hashtag: It is an important element of Twitter. The # symbol is used with keywords for better search results.

Mention: You can tag other people on your post, or mention them in comments with the symbol @followed by their username.

Handle: This lingo refers to your username and account URL.

Feed: Feed is the term used for all the tweets you see on your homepage from the account you follow. 

Lists: Twitter has a list feature that enables users to enlist their followers in groups or a list and access their tweets in a simplified manner.

Direct Message: On Twitter, users can also share direct or private messages to their friends, commonly used as DM lingo.

Why is Twitter so popular?

The short character limit of Twitter makes it a very popular social network, especially for academic students, politicians, entrepreneurs, business owners, and celebrities.

Unlike other social media sites, on Twitter people don’t have to read long textual content. Users can quickly refer to the latest trends and write tweets on the network from mobile phones. 

Here are some of the major significance of using Twitter: 

• Take your Twitter followers to blog posts and articles through links. 
• Getting access to experts and leaders within your industry and establishing relationships with them.
• Reach to a wider audience through Tweets and retweets.
• Participate in an invaluable discussion on specific events or situations. 
• To create brand authority and recognition.
• Solve customer queries and build customer loyalty.

Now that you have understood the basics of Twitter, let’s go through each step in detail:

1. Choose an appealing username and add a suitable bio

The first thing to do when starting a Twitter account is to have a suitable username for your account. Suitable here means: short, understandable, and relevant to yourself or your brand. 

It’s not advisable to choose an irrelevant or offbeat username for attention unless you want to run a funny account. 

Next, create a bio that gives a clear picture of you or your company to your audience. Along with your introduction, you can add location, website, and more. Now, choose a profile image, you can choose the best picture of yourself from the gallery or use a camera to grab the best shot.

After writing your bio, focus on aligning your account with your Twitter personality. Add good cover photos, themes, and background photos.

2. Follow Resourceful Accounts

As soon as a user signups an account on Twitter, the user will come across a lot of account suggestions to follow. You can find interesting accounts and sources of your likings or of your business niches. 

Apart from celebrities and political leaders, when you follow known people they are likely to follow you back. The more you are active on the platform the better suggestion Twitter will provide on the basis of accounts you follow and posts you like and retweet.

3.  Post Tweets

As mentioned, tweets are messages of 280 characters. You can include anything in your tweet text message, photos, videos, snippets, articles, and more. 

By adding media files in your tweets you can make them more engaging.  As per digital glue  Tweets consisting of images have proven to get 150% more engagement than tweets with no image.

You don’t have to worry about the length of links as Twitter automatically shortens links with its tool t.co. 

4. Retweet

In Twitter, resharing is known as retweeting. For many twitter marketers, retweets are important and a major goal because it shows 78% user engagement, while the rest engagement comes from replies.

5. Mentions for connections

One of the effective ways to establish connections on Twitter is to mention them in your posts. However, make sure you mention the user in a relevant post. 

This method can not only help you get more followers but also more retweets and engagement. You can also reach out to your followers through DMs- Direct messages and have a private conversation.

6. Search Tweets

Twitter is flooded with tweets, as per David Sayce report in 2020, Twitter accounts witnessed 6000 tweets per second. So if you want to be updated about trending tweets in your industry or interest, you must make use of the Discover tab. 

Use the Discover tab to search relevant keywords, people, niches, categories, and more. 

7. Twitter App

In Twitter mobile application, you can easily access hundreds of messages and tweets and retweet any time.

8. Efficiency Tools and Apps

If you wish to use it as a marketing platform, make use of some third-party tools for productivity and efficiency. 

You can choose tools as per any specific goal like scheduling tweets, monitor posts, analyze competitors, find potential clients as well as influencers, and a lot more.

Now when you know ‘How Twitter functions’ let’s understand different aspects of why people use the platform. 

Why People Use Twitter?

There are numerous reasons why people use Twitter, while some are just concerned about sharing their perspectives, some use it for marketing purposes, microblogging, and socializing.

There are also certain people who share hatred messages and trolls, for that case Twitter has strict privacy policies that suspend such accounts. 

The purpose of sharing Tweets may vary from person to person but the value of the social network lies in useful content. Twitter is a source of both informational content and gibberish content. You just need to choose what you want to follow.

An Easy News Reporting Tool

Twitter is a good resource to have a quick update on news and current affairs taking place around the world. One of the great aspects of reading news here is that you get to know about world events through the eyes of others. 

You can learn about other city or country festivals or climates, a terrorist attack on a country, sports events, and more from people around the world. 

You can also follow bloggers and experts to get information on specific niches like travel, food, politics, finance, etc.

If you like the idea of sharing knowledge and information you can become a Twitter blogger yourself. 

Result Generating Marketing Tool

Social media platforms are now essential for advertising and Twitter is one of the powerful social communication platforms that are highly beneficial for marketers. A lot of businesses, small or big, are able to achieve their business objective through this platform. 

Marketing on Twitter has its own perks, it is quick and less intrusive. Once you have the modality of Tweeting you can generate good results. 

A Distinctive Social Media Tool

Twitter is one of many social media networks but it is not so much about texting your friends or posting a media file online. It is a medium to share opinions and valuable information with the world. It is also about sharing connections with interesting people or experts. Here, users share their perspectives on an event or actions. 

You can also share interesting posts with other social networks from Twitter.

Celebrities love Twitter

Twitter is loved by world-recognized celebrities, political leaders, industrialists, and more. This is a medium where they can share their views with the audience and build rapid connections. 

Some of the most active celebrities are names on Twitter: Bill gates, Barack Obama, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Ellen DeGeneres. So If you admire a political leader or film star you can follow their account and see what they tweet on a day-to-day basis. 

Conclusion

Twitter is a powerful platform with an extensive audience that uses it for messaging, blogging, and establishing connections. If you enjoy doing any of this or are just curious about the content people post online, the platform is for you. Use the above guidelines and get started with your Twitter journey.