10 Twitter Tips for Beginners

twitter tips for beginnersI joined Twitter six years ago when I was attending a Christian leadership conference. They kept putting their Twitter handle and their hashtag on the screen, but I just didn’t get it. Fast forward five years, and I was preparing to start my blog. My blogging cousin Jenny from Perfectly Disheveled advised me to start using Twitter, but I still didn’t get it… how it worked or why I would benefit. But I listened and started slowly growing an audience. Nine months later, I now have 6,300+ followers and have learned a thing or two along the way! Here are my top 10 Twitter tips for beginners.

1. Select a creative, short Twitter handle. 

Choosing a creative and memorable handle is obviously important, but your handle’s length is also paramount. Twitter only allows 15 characters in a handle, but try to make it even shorter to leave plenty of characters for others to reply to or retweet your tweets. For this reason, my Twitter handle is @AndreaTabler because @TablerPartyOfTwo is too long!

2. Write punchy, short and concise tweets.
It’s a fact. Shorter posts get more attention. Though Twitter will allow you to tweet 140 characters, aim to use about 120 characters to make it easier for others to retweet or add their own comments.

3. Learn the lingo
It can all be confusing at first: Direct Message (DM), Retweet (RT), Hashtag. Twitter will frustrate you far less if you take a few moments to learn what it all means.

4. Master the hashtag
Hashtags are critical to making your content searchable by others. But don’t go crazy with them. One or two relevant hashtags are far better for your tweet than a whole slew of them.

twitter tips*Bonus Tip: One of my favorite hashtags is #MondayBlogs. I start posting that hashtag Sunday night, and by the time I wake up Monday, I usually already have many retweets and new followers who search that hashtag.

5. Shorten your URL.
To get more bang for your tweeting character buck, use a URL shortener like bitly. Not only does bitly create a very short link for your tweet, but it’s also an excellent method to track your click-throughs.

 6. Install the Tweet This WordPress plugin.
What’s better than your sharing your content on Twitter? That’s easy: when others share your content. Why not make it easier for them by adding a Tweet This box in your blog post? Tweet This is the perfect tool for encouraging your readers to share. Here’s what it looks like:

7. Schedule your tweets.
In my early days of blogging, I didn’t understand how others consistently tweeted so much content. Then I found CoSchedule. I gladly spend $10 a month on this WordPress plugin that makes scheduling tweets a breeze. As soon as I post something to my blog, I can immediately schedule tweets for that day, the next, a week out, etc. CoSchedule also makes it easy to go back and tweet older blog content, and it even has a built-in bitly URL shortener. 

8. Build your following.
One way I’ve grown my Twitter audience is through Crowdfire app (previously known as Just Unfollow). The feature that I’ve used the most is copy followers. The idea is simple. Type in the handle of a user or blogger who has demographics very similar to your own. If you start following that person’s followers, chances are good that they will follow you back. Start out by copying about 200 followers of others a day, and as your following grows, you can add even more. Crowdfire also makes it simple go back and unfollow those who don’t follow you back.

9. Engage with others.
Like all social media, Twitter should be used as a tool to engage with others rather than a platform to simply tweet about yourself. Take the time to retweet others and reply to their tweets that you like.

10. A picture is worth a thousand tweets.
An image attached to a tweet is guaranteed to increase visibility and engagement. I try to include an image in every tweet. 

Do you have other Twitter tips for beginners? Please, do share!

xoxo,

Andrea Tabler | TablerPartyofTwo.com

 

Andrea Tabler

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Comments

  1. I like Twitter but know that I have just scratched the surface. These tips are great! I’m definitely going to check into Crowdfire!

  2. Thanks for helping me to understand Twitter! For some reason it has always scared me, but I think I might give it a try!

  3. Good post! Almost all of those I have put in to practice through trial and error lol! I am kind of like a bull in a china shop that way! I learn from making mistakes and figuring things out!

  4. Thanks for the Twitter tips! I am less than a year into blogging and am completely confused by twitter…by most social media really. I need all the tips I can get, and these were very helpful.

  5. Fantastic tips!! I only started using Twitter last year and now have quite a large number of followers x

  6. Thanks for the great info! Pinning it.

  7. Great Twitter tips. I’ve sort of been bad with my Tweets lately. Definitely have to make more use of Co-schedule for sure. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.

  8. Thanks for linking up at #HomeMattersParty hope you will come back next week to link up again.

  9. Awesome tips, and I love the Tweet this plugin too!

    Thanks for sharing at Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning.

  10. Really good tips for beginners at twitter, thanks for sharing!

  11. Twitter is one of my less favorite social media’s. It brings in the least amount of traffic, or click through so I don’t really spend must time on it. Thanks for sharing your great tips maybe they will help. Pinning!

  12. Wow! FANTASTIC post! So informative and full of awesome recommendations and advice. I wish I’d read this 6 months ago when I really started getting into Twitter. I’d like to send this to everyone I know. Thanks Andrea!

  13. Awesome list of tips! Thank you 🙂

  14. Great tips. The one I am the worst about is conversation. I need to make more of a conscious effort to do it every single day. Thanks for these great tips!

  15. Hi Andrea, great tips! 🙂

    Erika
    http://whaterikawears.com/

  16. Great tips, as always! Thanks so much, love Twitter but have not exactly figured it out yet! LOL This will help!

  17. Great tips Andrea!! Thanks for your insight, I’m still mastering my tweets.

  18. Some really great tips, I am checking the Crowdfire now.

  19. I have been on Twitter for a while, but just haven’t figured it out. This is really helpful! I have wondered about including a photo in my tweets, but just have never known how or if I can! Thanks for the encouragement to do so.

  20. Thanks for sharing the Twitter tips. I’ve been blogging for over 5 years but just in the last year + have tried to conquer Twitter. I find that I just can’t hardly say ANYTHING in that few words … lol My daughter is my VA at Love, Home and Health dot com and she is always saying “CUT CUT CUT” or “MOM – THAT BLOG WAS TOO LONG!!! I MADE A PART TWO OUT OF IT” 🙂 She has recently started doing some twitter FOR me because I couldn’t get anything said in such few words … lol Thanks so much for sharing … Kay

  21. Thank you for sharing this- my Twitter skills are severely lacking and this gives me some great starting points in growing it.

    Definitely Pinning!

  22. Thank you for sharing this- my Twitter skills are severely lacking and this gives me some great starting points in growing it.

    Definitely Pinning!

    I stopped by from Wonderful Wednesday.

  23. Like you Andrea I joined twitter in 2011 but it was all too hard at the time and I didn’t understand until I became active in blogging. I have been using twitter actively now for a few months and following is growing daily. I do most of your tips but never heard of crowder – guess where I’m n heading now.

  24. These tips are so helpful as I’m just venturing in the land of Twitter. Thanks so much for posting these.

  25. These are WONDERFUL TIPS!!
    I agree with everything here. I love Twitter, it’s so easy to engage with people.
    Thanks for sharing your tips with us at Mommy Monday!
    XOXO

  26. These are all great tips! We are happy to have you as our most clicked link at the Merry Monday party!

  27. These are fantastic tips – I love that you shared them, instead of keeping them to yourself 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to link up with us over at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again this Friday! Feel free to bring a friend 🙂

  28. Ugh I am having a HUGE problem with my Twitter right now in that I cannot post ANY LINKS … They all turn into NUMBERS within 30 seconds of me posting them. Any idea why this could be happening?? it even happens when I RT fellow blogger’s content 🙁

  29. What great tips, I have twitter and have no idea what I’m doing half the time, It feels like it’s meant for he young people to me! I will try some of your suggestions and see if I can get to grips with it a little better. Thanks.

  30. If you are going for best contents like me, simply pay a quick visit
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  31. So incredibly helpful!! Thank you Andrea!!

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