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Twitter: A Social Networking Phenomenon

Friends, colleagues, and clients often ask my advice for getting started on Twitter. While my advice might apply to many others, the people I'm advising are typically professionals with a positive outlook and ethical standards.

Since this web site is created for professional coaches and consultants, I'm assuming you would join Twitter for professional reasons rather than personal reasons. If you want, you can legally have more than one account, so do that if you wish to segment your interests.

More on Twitter: Ready to Tweet? | Tweets about Twitter

I love to share inspiring and empowering quotes on Twitter. This is my favorite, as it applies directly to my philosophy of Twitter:

“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song.”
~ Maya Angelou

Getting Started on Twitter

First of all, Twitter is one of many social networks. While Twitter is extremely easy to use, it can seem overwhelming to a newcomer. As with everything, you need a viable starting place.

I think the starting place is to have a clear intention or purpose for being on Twitter.

Finding old friends? Finding new friends?
Marketing? Selling?
Announcing Products? Announcing Services?
Giving/receiving information?
Spreading joy? Reading inspiration?
Helping others? Receiving help?
Getting the news or opinions on events?
Building relationships?
Finding joint partners?
Surveying your niche?
Something else?

Likely, it will be some combination of such things. And your intention/purpose can change. But start with a clear intention and, if possible, a plan. I'm an advocate of creating a good profile and making some tweets before you follow anyone. My reason will be clearer later.

Create Your User Name

Some people choose silly or playful names. If you're on Twitter as a professional consultant or coach, you'll not serve yourself by using a silly name. Most true professionals use their own names. Some use their company name and others use a branding name or slogan.

Fortunately, it's easy to change your user name, so if you feel tentative at first, start with a comfortable user name and then change it to something more professional.

Create Your Profile

With your own unique intention or purpose in mind, create your profile. There are several parts to the profile, but each part is brief and easy. These parts are completed in the "Settings" section of your account. You may find that you create a basic profile and then spend some time looking at other profiles to see what others do. It's important to continue to fine-tune it.

Name

If you've used your first and last names as your user name, you can put your two names here, with a space between. If you've chosen a branding name or company name, here's the place to put your real name.

Location

Some people have concerns about disclosing where they live. Personally, I'm forthright about the fact that I life in Santa Monica. But you can use your state/province or country or two locations. It may seem "cute" to say that you live "in air planes" or "the cosmos," but these designations don't fit a professional image.

Web

Make an active link to your web site. If you have many web sites, choose the one that gives the best information about you. If you have none, consider using your profile at LinkedIn or Facebook or another social network or directory listing. Be certain to use the full link address. For example, I'm now using http://www.JeanieMarshall.com because that's a gateway to all my web sites and some selected articles and other resources.

I strongly recommend that you don't use a sales page, a page with an exit pop up window, duplicated site, or anything that might be perceived as unprofessional (that is, if you want to portray a professional image.) You certainly have a right to do whatever you want, as it's your Twitter profile. However, if you lead with sharing information about yourself without requiring others to give you money or an email address, you're more likely to build meaningful relationships.

Bio

You only have 160 characters for your bio, so let them express who you are. You can do a strong keyword-rich narrative sentence or two. That's what I did at first. Now, I just list my title and a few keywords. Be certain you don't use extended characters in your bio, as they won't be read properly on all browsers. In particular, don't use the ampersand (&) nor a copy and paste from a MS Word document.

Photo

I recommend that you upload a clear, nice photo of yourself. Just you. A studio portrait is not required; just one that is appropriate. Many people, especially those who don't already know you, will opt not to follow your updates without a photo. It's a personal choice, of course, but as a professional, you'll want people to relate to you professionally and personally.

The default "photo" is an ugly brown image with blue characters. It signals someone who has an unfinished profile. Avatars, company logos, beautiful images are all acceptable. I'm finding that more and more, people on Twitter really want to feel they're connecting with a person. A photo of the person helps that connection.

Tweets about Twitter!

I sometimes tweet about Twitter, especially to help newcomers to Twitterland. The idea, of course, is that I post them at intervals from time to time. You may not want to Tweet about Twitter, but you'll find some practical ideas and a process you can replicate on other topics by reading Tweets about Twitter.

Now You're Ready to Tweet!

There's so much more you'll learn by your direct experience. If you have a good start, all those additional pieces of information will come to you. Tweeting can be very informative and lots of fun. It's helpful to have the proper mindset, some strategies, and ways to find and maintain your balance. More on mindset, following, and maintaining balance.

Back to Social Networking  |  More About Twitter  |  About LinkedIn