7 Tips to Get Started on Twitter: The Deceptively Simple Social Media Platform

The problem with the microblogging platform Twitter is that it’s deceptively simple, and this is partly true because each tweet is only 140 characters or less. So while it seems like very little attention is needed to tweet, it actually takes a planned strategy to be effective on Twitter.

But before you dive into your strategy, you should join Twitter if you haven’t already. And even this relatively simple step can be fraught with danger. (Some of you may already be on Twitter and not following one or more of the tips below.)

So, here are my top Twitter tips to get you off to a good start on this social media platform:

Sign up for Twitter only when you’re ready to follow these steps:

1. Post a photo with your biographical summary.

2. Choose a good Twitter username (it can be your name, your company name, or a brand, but not something ridiculous; try to avoid using underscores and numbers; whatever capitalization you enter the username, it’s how your username will appear, although people can write with or without capital letters).

3. Put your real name in the NAME box in account settings/information. (Your Twitter username goes in the username box.)

4. Slowly start watching what other people tweet instead of trying to rack up 1,000 followers in a day and get banned from Twitter for “spamming.”

5. Include a URL if you have a website.

6. Write something interesting in your short bio instead of something silly.

7. Tweet at least two updates as soon as you upload your photo and write your short bio (160 characters).

Of course, there are many more tips for using Twitter in succession, but this will get you started. (If you’re a blogger, note that you can use third-party applications to automatically post your blog feeds to your Twitter account.)

And no matter what anyone else says (and I’ve read the naysayers too), if, and I mean if, you learn to use Twitter correctly and effectively, you’ll come to appreciate just how great this online tool is.