What is Twitter?
Part 3: Twitter Network + Track Tools

Following on from Part 2 – How do you Twitter? where you personalised your Twitter page, we are now in a position to begin building your Twitter community.  Here you will find tips on how to build and create your own community along with tools to monitor and analyse your progress on Twitter.

3 very important steps help you get up to speed on Twitter very

John and Dave were very impressed with their shiny new Twitter Tools

quickly:

1. Create Your Network

   • Obtain followers and start following. Add your Friends and Family. If you haven’t done so already you can import your contacts from various webmail accounts into Twitter, you can see who is already on Twitter and can also send contacts an invite via e-mail.
   • Search for thought leaders in the area you wish to target. You can use the find people link at the top of the page. You can use their username, first name or last name and in the righthand bar it is possible to send an e-mail invite.
     Once you have found the person you would like to follow, then look at their followers. To do this click on the small images on the right side of the page. Read their bio and page content to see if they are relevant and if they are click follow.  You can then look at people who are following them and repeat the process.
   • Check for people searching for the same topic as you or for the same keywords that you optimise your website/business.  Type search.twitter.com in the address bar. Here you can input your keywords and search the trending topics.
     Another way is to use Monitter.com, this lets you type in up to three searches simultaneously and monitor in real time the interactions on Twitter. Type your searches then click on people or topics you find interesting. Twitterfall.com also offers a similar service with added functions.

2. Engage with your Community

   It is easy to talk about yourself on Twitter or broadcast information about products.  The key to getting real value out of Twitter is talking to your community, not just broadcasting but discussing and conversing.

   • Find conversations you find interesting and get involved, you will gain followers and more trust if you engage.  Replying to questions and asking your own questions is a great way to start.  By replying other people can see what you are saying and join in.  Be careful if the topic is centered around just two people it may be best to use the direct messaging method.
   • Add blog updates. If you have a blog and it is relevant why not use a service like Twitterfeed.com which will update your Twitter page whenever you update your blog.  After updating your blog you can track Twitter to see if anyone is talking about your blog subject or retweeting, then try to interact with them.
   • Add a photo music or video to your Twitter Account. This can be done using a tool called Tweetdeck.  It has so many more features see below.
   • See Twitter for Business for more tips on engaging customers.

3. Stay Organised and Review Your Progress

   If you are a business you will certainly want to track your links and performance on Twitter but you may also wish to do this for personal use.  By staying organised you can track and keep up to date with your progress.
   The best method is to use an application like Tweetdeck which has so many features, incorporates other applications and can allow you to control everything you do on Twitter in one place. Tweetdeck is a fantastic tool with which to use Twitter.  View TweetDecks features. There are additional Tools in Twitter for Business and Twitter tools.When tracking and reviewing your progress it helps to look at and use the following:

   • Number of followers – If you have a high number of Followers you have a higher chance of getting your message out there and it shows you may have post information people feel is important or interesting.
   • Number of @ Replies – this shows how busy you have been on Twitter corresponding with other users.
   • Number of Tweets – The number of Tweets you submit shows others how often you tweet and how dedicated you are.
   • Your Links – You can track any URL you have shortened using services such as bit.ly or tinyurl.com this will show how popular certain topics were.
   • If you have a website you can track your Twitter account using your analytics software (e.g. Google Analytics) to see how many referrals your website received.  This can be tracked over time and compared with the amount of time you spend on Twitter.

If you require more information on Tracking Tools and methods visit Twitter for Business and Twitter Tools to find additional information and resources.

If you would like to follow me Brian Cee click any of the Twitter logo’s on this page or @BrianCee1