About three months ago I opened a Twitter account for work. However, only recently have I started to get some real value out of it. Like most people I actively used a Facebook account but I didn’t have the same enthusiasm for Twitter. But lately I’ve been spending more time Tweeting and following people and now things have started to pop. Being a Twitter rookie I decided it would beneficial to share some useful Twitter beginner tips.

Firstly some background info. Who uses Twitter? All sorts of people including tech geeks, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, bloggers and everyday people like me. What is Twitter? Twitter is micro-blogging.  What can you do on Twitter? With a limited space of 140 characters not a lot! What do people do? They post updates, post links, ask and answer questions and self-promote.  Why open an account? It’s different for everyone but I can tell you it’s a great way to connect with people all over the world.

Once you’ve opened an account and invited all your friends, what’s next? You start Tweeting!  I can tell you from first-hand experience that strategy is not going to get you very far unless you have 100’s of friends already on Twitter. What you need to do is to start following people. Start off by going through your existing friends list and start following those people. But this will only get you so far, what you need to do is to start following popular people who have hundreds if not thousands of people followers. To find these people go to Twitter Counter and Twitterati Alltop. Next work out your objectives for Twitter. People use it for social networking, becoming topic experts and brand and self promotion. I’m currently reaching out to people who have similar interests to me and befriending anyone and everyone who follows me.

The best tool I’ve downloaded so far is TweetDeck. It’s changed my Twitter experience! The app allows you to keep an eye on new tweets from friends, direct messages and searches all on the one screen. In addition, you can respond to people, start following and tweet all from TweetDeck. Additionally the app runs in the background and updates are flashed in the top right-hand corner. I’ve found the search function to be the biggest reason for my Twitter growth, it allows users to follow and track certain interests and topics. The only problem to having TweetDeck running all the time is that it can be distracting. By no means is this the end of my Twitter journey and as I obtain more information and tips I will add to this blog posting – until next time happy Tweeting!