How to Get Started on Twitter? Proven Tips for Beginners

So Twitter has finally caught your interest and you want to know what all the fuss is about.

However, as soon as you log in you are overwhelmed and confused by the pace of Twitter. You are having a hard time figuring out how things. Due to this, you put your Twitter plans on hold to avoid looking dumb.

Just like learning anything new, properly leveraging a new platform can be difficult. No need to be alarmed, with the right tips things can get a lot easier for you.

For this very reason, we compiled a list of various proven Twitter tips that you can use to get started on Twitter. Let’s dive in.

1. Choose the right username

The first step to getting started on Twitter is creating your Twitter account. While you create your Twitter account make sure to choose the right username (Twitter handle). Choose a username that can be easily associated with your brand. This can help you in two ways,

• You can make sure that another user doesn’t take advantage of your brand by using your brand name as their Twitter handle.
• When users search your brand on Twitter, they can be easily guided to your profile.

If your business name is unavailable, use a Twitter handle that still makes sense to your followers.

2. Create a bio to describe your business

Twitter is one of the widely recognized open social media platforms and most of the communication takes place in news streams rather than individual pages or groups. As a new user, keep in mind that no user has knowledge of what your brand is and what it offers. Use the Twitter bio to explain what your Twitter profile or brand is all about. Also, a bit of humor can make it even better.

3. Update your profile picture

Your Twitter profile and header image sections are some of the elements that you can use to convey more information about your brand. For your profile picture, you should probably use your brand logo. As for the header image, you can use it in various ways. You can use custom images to explain more about your brand. You can also use it to inform users what products and services you have to offer.

4. Send your first tweet

As a new user, you must introduce yourself to the Twitterverse as soon as possible. Post your first tweet after you are done creating and optimizing your Twitter profile with all the relevant details. This way you can let people know that you are a genuine user or brand rather than a fake or bot account. Also, as you do not have followers, if you make an unintentional mistake it won’t harm your brand image.

5. Promote your profile

Unlike other social media platforms, building a follower base on Twitter is not easy. So it’s in your best interest to promote your Twitter profile. As your contacts and your employees to follow your Twitter profile. If you have a follower base on any other social media platform, ask them to follow you on Twitter as well.

6. Find the right people to follow

Now that you have decided to promote your brand on Twitter, you need to establish quality connections that can help you increase your social media presence. Look for influencers that are sought-after in your industry. Also, don’t forget niche (micro and nano) influencers, they have can give your more focused target audience groups and a partnership with them won’t leave a massive hole in your financials.

7. Create Twitter lists

Twitter lists are one of the most effective ways to keep track of the content users post that they are most interested in. You won’t miss any updates from the known influencers or accounts that post industry-related news. You can also use Twitter lists to spy on your competitors. Just make a Twitter list and add all your competitors to it to keep track of the content they post. Also, if you don’t want them to find about your Twitter list just make it private.

8. Choose the right tools

Now that you have created your Twitter profile and started marketing your brand, you need to monitor the impact of your strategies. To do so you will need the right tools to measure the impact of your marketing decisions. Luckily Twitter has an integrated analytics platform called Twitter analytics and is one of the best tools for beginners. When you have accumulated a substantial follower base, you can use more comprehensive third-party Twitter analytics tools to give you a better analysis of your marketing efforts.

9. Save searches

Similar to lists saved searches lets you keep track of content that you are interested in. You can do it based on the topics that you are interested in rather than specific accounts. Just go to the discover tab and search for topics that interest you. When you are done adding all the topics, just go back to your Twitter feed and you will find content updates related to your selected topics.

10. Find engaging content

Building an engaging content strategy is difficult even for seasoned social media managers. But one way to find engaging topics is by tracking what your competitors about. Look for tweets that draw the most attention. This can help you find engaging topics as well as hashtags to help increase engagement and social media presence. Use can use Twitter advanced search to do so.

11. Tweet more often

Unlike other social media platforms, Twitter requires a more aggressive marketing approach. You can gain a substantial audience size on Facebook or Instagram by posting twice a day and maintaining that consistency. But on Twitter, you have to post at least 8-10 a day to reach your target audience. The major brands even post 12-15 times a day to keep the users engaged.

12. Use social follow buttons on your website

Your website can also help you accumulate followers for your Twitter profile. Users that visit your website are interested in the products or services you offer and won’t mind following your social profiles for discounts and updates. Implement social media follow buttons on your website so users can easily follow you on their preferred social media channels.

Also, if you run a blog, add follow buttons there as well. Blogs that rank on Google searches can also help you increase your follower base.

13. Use hashtags

Hashtags are one of the most effective marketing tools out there. Studies show that tweets using a hashtag draw twice as much engagement in comparison to tweets without hashtags. Although using more than 2 hashtags can also decrease your engagement. Use a hashtag analytics tool such as TrackMyHashtag to find the most trending and popular hashtags and increase the visibility of your content.

Twitter tips for when you have a large follower base

Now that you know all the necessary things to get started on Twitter, let’s discuss a few things that you must keep in mind when you have accumulated a large follower base.

• Measure performance

Measuring your social media performance is now more important than ever. It can help you measure the impact of your marketing strategies in real-time. While native Twitter analytics is a great tool, it’s not an effective tool for a major brand. You need a more comprehensive tool to gain valuable insights and enhance your marketing strategies.

• Analyze your audience

Analyzing your Twitter audience can help you gain valuable audience insights. These insights can help you better understand your target audience such as their likes, preferences, interests along with their demographics. This way you can develop data-driven strategies rather than trying various marketing approaches that may or may not work.

• Find the best time to tweet

The average lifespan of a tweet in a user’s feed is between 15-20 minutes. After this, your tweet gets buried under the massive volume of tweet updates from other users and brands. This makes it important to post your tweets at the right time to draw the most engagement from your followers. To identify the right time frame analyze the performance of your past tweets or use a Twitter analytics tool to do it for you.

• Audit your followers

Now the only thing that remains is to audit your followers at regular time intervals. Twitter is witnessing a massive increase in fake or inactive followers who do not engage with your account. They only inflate your follower count but that only decreases your engagement rate.

Performing a Twitter audit can help you get rid of these fake followers before they become a problem for you and raise questions about your followers’ authenticity. Followeraudit is an amazing tool that can help you track, analyze, monitor, and audit your Twitter followers for you.

Closing Thoughts

While these tips are aimed to assist beginners, brands of all sizes can take advantage of them as well. We have witnessed social media of established brands make rookie mistakes that draw the attention of trolls. It also raises questions on the capabilities of social media managers. It never hurts to brush up on the basics every now and then and learn new tactics.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!