After writing my blog two weeks ago on Pinterest lingo, I have had several requests to do the same for Twitter. Using 140 characters to get your message across and not knowing the language would make it difficult, but that’s where I come in!

Since it’s launch in 2006, Twitter has grown substantially in popularity. By 2007, there was an average of 60,000 tweets per day. In March of 2013, the Washington Post reported an incredible 400 million tweets per day enter the internet. This is not a market you want to miss out on!

So, let’s breakdown the lingo so you can get started in this tweeting world…

Lingo:

-A Tweet: A tweet is a 140 character message that you as the user sends out. Each tweet is visible to anyone, whether they are following you or not. All tweets are public and stay on the internet for pretty much the rest of eternity (as far as we know).

-User Handle: The user handle is how other users can find you (along with searching your email address) and how you will be recognized on Twitter. You can see my handle above is @MOpitzMarketing. You can search people’s or business’s handles to follow them and/or look at their tweets.

–Private Account: Although all tweets and the profile page of a private account are visible to everyone and anyone, the account holder approves each follower. A private account cannot be followed until the account holder says it is okay.

–Public Account: The tweets and profile page are visible to the public and anyone may follow that type of account.

-Your Profile: Your profile consists of a profile picture, background picture, handle, short description, location, and even a URL. The profile is everything in the dark colored box in the image above.

-Followers: Once a user follows you, all of the tweets you put out will appear in their Home Page news feed. Same goes for once you follow someone; every tweet they put out will appear in your Home Page news feed.

-Mention: To mention someone in a tweet, simply place the ‘@’ sign before you type their handle. Twitter will automatically pull up your options once you start typing. When a user mentions someone, that tweet is viewable to all of their followers, but not to the followers of the company or person they mentioned (unless they happen to be following both!).

–#Hashtags: Just like with Pinterest, hashtags increase the likelihood that your tweet will be found and interacted with.

-Direct Message: There is an option to Direct Message (DM) someone you follow or for someone you follow to do the same to you. This shows up in a personal inbox. These messages are only visible to the user who was DM’d.

-@Connect page: The @Connect page is the user’s ‘personal’ new feed. This let’s them know if they’ve been mentioned, retweeted, favorited, or followed. These are not visible to your followers.

–Retweet, Reply, Favorite: If a user likes what another user has tweeted, they have three options: Retweet, Reply, or Favorite.

Retweet: If a user retweets your tweet, it makes your tweet visible to all of the people that follow that user. It also does the same for things you retweet; now all of your followers will see it as well. *If the account is private there is no option to retweet
Reply: This means you tweet directly back to someone who tweeted at you. This tweet is only visible on that user’s personal “connect” page. The tweet is, however, visible to everyone that follows you.
Favorite: If a user enjoys what they see and want to “bookmark” its place, they can favorite a tweet. Favorites are not visible to anyone except the user that favorited it.

Now that you know the lingo, let’s talk about a little How To:

–Look at the most recent tweets: Simply click on the ‘Home’ button on the top navigation bar to go to your news feed. As it automatically updates, the feed will let you know how many more tweets came in since you’ve last refreshed your page.

-Interact with another user’s tweet: If you hover over a tweet, the green words Reply, Retweet, and Favorite show up. Just click the action you are looking to use!

–Edit profile: To edit your profile, simply go to your ‘Me’ page and click ‘Edit Profile’. This is where you need to go to change your pictures, your handle, your name, your location, and more.

–Check Direct Messages: This also needs to be done from your ‘Me’ page. Once you are on that page, just click on the little envelope next to where it says ‘Edit Profile’

–Follow another user: Simply click on the handle of the user you want to follow. This will pull up a window within your screen (so you don’t loose your spot!) with a white ‘Follow’ button on the page. If the account is private, the button will turn to the word ‘Pending’ once clicked. If the account is public, the button will turn blue and the word ‘Following’ will be visible.

I hope you found this blog to be useful! Please let me know if I missed any lingo or how-to instructions that you’d like to know.

Thanks so much everyone!

~Melissa