Tweet, what?

I plan to use this blog for storytelling - to tell the story of a Southern girl who's intent on doing-it-all-being-it-all. I'll be honest, sometimes juggling it all does me in. But the challenge is part of the fun. When I launch my new blog, I'll tell you all my entire story. But for now :: a couple of things that have really changed me and the way I operate

Last night, my sweet husband, Bryan, said to me "Babe, I love you . . . But will you please explain all of this tweet-tweet-post-tweet-re-tweet?" I have not laughed that hard in a long time.

Twitter is really foreign to people who dont use it. So, I walked him through my TweetDeck. He's been in sales for YEARS, so he had a hard time understanding why this is important to my business. It's all about CONNECTIONS I told him - about building relationships and keeping up with what's going on in the industry.

Granted, when I started using Twitter a few months ago, I had a hard time understanding exactly HOW to use it. I took the same approach as Bryan - how do I drive sales with this? I posted a couple of Etsy sales I was having or my occasional blog post. But it seemed very ONE way to me. I thought "How do I use this for my business?" It's important to know that Twitter (and alll social media, for that matter) is designed to CONNECT - connect people/people, people/information. The connections made (and relationships built) on Twitter will bring value to your business - as you bring value to others.

It wasn't until I started understanding Twitter's abbreviations/symbols (ie: RT, @) and hashtags (ie: #FF) that I really understood exactly HOW to interact with others. Twitter has a great FAQ page that explains following, mentioning, retweeting, hashtags, etc. But here are a few quick tips for the newbie trying to figure it out:

TWITTER LANGUAGE
RT :: Retweet or repost :: LOVE THIS! RT @Username Guess what! @EmilyLey is designing my invitations!
@ :: Precedes every person’s username :: @EmilyLey
# :: Hashtag – This precedes any topic you’d like to “tag” your tweet with. Hashtags categorize tweets so that they are searchable :: Guess what! @Emilyley is designing my wedding invitations! #weddings” – OR - Guess what! @Emilyley is designing my wedding invitations! #TheyreGoingToBeAwesome!
D :: Direct Message – Send someone a private message by typing a “D” before their name. It will go directly to them and wont be listed in your public timeline of tweets :: D @EmilyLey do you offer square, ivory letterpress invitations?
#FF :: Follow Friday – this is a common hashtag. #FF stands for Follow Friday. Post your favorite people to follow on Fridays :: FF @SkyDiver @LaraCase @Mashable

DON’T

• Post “I’m so hungover” or “Oh no, I left my front door unlocked and we’re halfway to Canada!” – These are not smart or safe things to make public. Keep your reputation (and your valuables) in mind.
• Tweet only to promote yourself. People will lose interest. Interact with others – be interested in what they’re doing, tweeting, etc. Twitter is about building relationships and sharing information.
• Use those crazy “Get one THOUSAND followers now!” services. They require you to follow a ton of other people – and who wants 1,000 random followers who aren’t really CHOOSING to follow you anyways? Eek.

DO

• Thank people for retweeting your posts. Just like you’d thank someone for passing on your information in person. Retweeting is like referring others to you.
• Use the Direct Message feature to have private conversations with friends. Not everything should be aired on Twitter.
• Use free services like Tweetdeck and HootSuite to make Twitter more easy to understand. Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing until I started using Tweetdeck.
• Use free services like TwitPic and TinyURL to shorten your URLs (remember, you only have 140 characters to use) and post links to your photos (note :: TweetDeck & HootSuite do this for you if you use their applications).
• Post links to photos, good blog posts, articles, cool websites and your blog in your Tweets. People want to know more about you than just your 140 characters.
• Promote (by "mentioning" their username) people you admire, who give good service and who promote you as well. Twitter is one of the greatest resources for referrals.

Like anything, getting involved is half the battle. Retweet what you think others would like to read. Reply to others posts. Don’t be shy. One of my favorite bloggers, Liene, of Think Splendid wrote a great post on Twitter for wedding pros. Twitter has (and I’m sure will continue to be) monumental for me. I’ve connected with people I’d otherwise never have the opportunity to “meet” or get to know. Use it right, consistently and with proper etiquette and you’ll find it to be a VERY VALUABLE tool for you and your business. And if you haven’t read it yet, pick up Gary Vaynerchuck’s CRUSH IT. It’s all about social media and how to use it to your advantage to seriously make things happen.