How To Get Started On Twitter

Twitter, now known as X, has transformed how we communicate and connect. As a dynamic platform with over 330 million monthly users worldwide, Twitter allows individuals and professionals to share ideas, engage with diverse communities, and stay informed about the latest trends and news.

Whether you’re looking to expand your professional network, promote your business, or stay connected with friends and influencers, Twitter offers numerous benefits that can enhance both personal and professional experiences.

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However, Twitter can also be a bit overwhelming, so you might have some questions before you begin. This article will tell you how to get started on Twitter, offering tips and answering questions to assist as you navigate the platform with confidence and ease.

Quick Takeaways

• Twitter’s intuitive dashboard and straightforward navigation make it easy for beginners to engage with their feed, discover new content, and communicate with others.

• Key features like posts, reposts, likes, and hashtags facilitate interaction and content categorization, helping users connect with a broader audience and trending topics.

• Following industry leaders, engaging in conversations, and sharing your insights enables a dynamic platform for expanding your professional network and personal connections.

• Twitter is a powerful resource for staying informed about current trends, gaining new perspectives, and enhancing your brand through active participation in discussions relevant to your interests.

How Do You Navigate Twitter?

You’ll need to understand Twitter’s interface to fully enjoy the platform and make the most of its features.

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It all starts with the main Twitter dashboard, where you’ll find everything you need to engage with other users. This dashboard features your Home Feed, which displays a live update of posts from accounts you follow, including news, personal updates, and conversations.

Posts are the core content on Twitter. You can create your own posts to share your thoughts or information with your followers.

When you see something interesting, you can interact by liking the post (to show your appreciation), reposting (to share it with your followers), or replying to it.

Hashtags in posts categorize topics and make them easily searchable, allowing you to discover content that relates to your interests.

Navigating the dashboard is straightforward, with tabs at the bottom of the screen:

• The Home tab takes you to your feed
• The Explore tab lets you search for trending topics and popular content
• The Notifications tab keeps you updated on how people interact with you—who has liked your posts, reposted, or followed you.
• The Messages tab is where you can have private conversations with other users.

Understanding these features and tabs will help you make the most of your Twitter experience and give you a solid starting point when using the platform.

Why Do You Post?

The main reason I post is to connect with some of the smartest people on the planet who are all dealing with many of the same issues as me. Not only that, but many of these people are happy to share their experiences, wisdom, and a small bit of their precious time, so it’s worth a shot.

We live in a social world, and I feel compelled to participate! Because I believe that, especially as a marketer, I need to be part of the conversations taking place. My participation helps to bring an outside-in customer view to business challenges instead of thinking too much from a company perspective.

Whatever your role, the first step to a positive Twitter experience is setting your own personal goal.

How Does Your Company Feel About Social Media Use?

We owe it to our companies to be brand ambassadors, and we also owe it to ourselves as marketers and business professionals to have a voice in the market. Personal branding aims to showcase your unique skills, experience, and perspective on the world. The ultimate goal is to achieve professional success.

But when I succeed in being a positive voice in the market, that positively affects my company’s brand. I suggest people seek out their company’s social media policy and ensure they adhere to it. It’s important to represent your views as personal opinions and not the endorsed views of your company.

And, of course, never share confidential information or talk badly about a manager, a co-worker, a customer, or a client.

How Do I Get Started on Twitter?

Just dive in! All you have to do is create a descriptive Twitter profile and add your profile picture. Never protect your posts because you want people to see and interact with them.

Next, spending time identifying people and following lists is important. Follow the most active people in your company and industry, along with competitors and customers.

Add some major news outlets, industry trade journals, and the most influential bloggers, too. Once you add these folks, simply watch how they behave.

After a few weeks, you should start sharing some of the content you see. A little further from there, you can start adding your comments.

Too often, I see new people sign up for Twitter and immediately start promoting their company’s products or events. I advise against this approach since your message is clearly one-way and promotional and because no one is following you except maybe a few colleagues.

Who Do I Follow Back?

Generally, you want to follow back anyone who gives you the honor of following you AND who appears to be a real person. There are many fake accounts out there with stock photo profile pictures and alluring profiles.

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The first step is to look at their profile and picture to see if they seem real and relevant to you.

Next, look at their last ten posts and see if they are sending out affiliate links to SPAM sites or if they are genuinely sharing and interacting around topics relevant to you.

Finally, I look at following and follower counts to see if this person is just trying to gain as many followers as possible. I may take a closer look if they follow way more people than follow them.

Or if their follower count is high but their post count is low, I will question what approaches they have taken to gain so many followers with so few posts.

Ultimately, it’s a judgment call that ultimately centers around them being someone you want to connect with.

Start Your Twitter Experience

Getting started on Twitter, or X, can open up a world of opportunities for personal growth and professional development. Creating an account and familiarizing yourself with the platform’s interface means you can connect with a diverse range of individuals and communities that share your interests. It also inserts you into a global hub where experts exchange ideas, discuss trends, and distribute news in real time.

As you continue to explore and engage with the platform, you’ll find that Twitter is more than just a social media site; it’s a powerful resource for building meaningful relationships and staying connected to the world around you. Marketing Insider Group can help you fully utilize Twitter’s influence with our Social Media Content and Management Service. Please schedule an appointment with our team to learn more.