The most popular searched phrases on our website are always for help with how to use Twitter - so we have decided to combine a few of our previous posts in one location so you can find all the answers on how to use Twitter like a pro!

BEFORE YOU START:

1.    Sign Up To Tweet.  If You haven't already signed up for a Twitter Account.  Visit www.twitter.com/signup to get started.  Enter your details where provided, Full Name, Email, Password and a Username.  The username is what you want your twitter account to be called.  E.g, ours is bluebirdim (www.twitter.com/bluebirdim).

THE VERY BASICS:

2.    Search For Your Friends. In the top right hand corner you will see a search box.  You can search for your friends here either by their full name of their username if you know it.  Then Click Follow once you find who you are looking for.  Depending on your friend's settings, you will either become a follower straight away or a request for approval will be sent to the friend.
3.    Where To Write Your Tweet.  Click on the Home Page, located on the top left hand side of your screen.  You will then see your username details on the top left hand side.  Underneath this there is a section that says Compose New Message.  Click in this box and type away.  Twitter only allows 140 characters in its tweets, so keep it short!
4.    How To Use the @ Sign.  To Make mention of your twitter friends or someone you follow in one of your tweets simply press the @ symbol before typing their username.  The user will then see your tweet in their mention's list, pretty much the same way that tagging works in Facebook.
5.    How to ReTweet (RT).  There are two ways of Re-Tweeting.  The easiest is to use the new Twitter Tool by hovering over the post you want to re-tweet and clicking on the RE-Tweet Button under that post!  Easy.  Alternatively you can re-tweet a post that you love by simply copying and pasting the tweet but type RT@username before the tweet to give the original writter credit for their content. Then post to your page. Ensure that when you do this you have allowed for less than 140 characters.  Using the Re-Tweet Button seems the easiest way to go in 2013.
6.    Share Pictures on Twitter.  Twitter is more about text than pictures, but uploading pictures is possible easily.  To upload a picture to twitter, simply go to the Home Page and click on Compose New Tweet (located on the top left just under your username details).  When you click in this box it gives you the usual option of writing text, but below the text box you will see a small camera icon.  Click on this to add an image, select your image from your computer and then click on the Tweet Button.  More about starting with Twitter here...

#HASH TAGS - HOW TO USE THEM:

7.  Hashtags are created by users and businesses as a way to follow tweets on a particular subject. People use the hashtag symbol # before relevant keywords (no spaces) in their tweet to categorize those tweets and help them show more easily in a Twitter search.  You can click on a #hashtagged word in any tweet to show all of the other tweets in that subject.  Hashtags can be placed anywhere in a tweet, at the beginning, middle or end of the post, it doesn't matter. 
Using Hashtags are a great way to present topics and participate in group discussions.  The #hashtag is often used for large group chats, special events etc for discussions that take place in real time, you may have noticed this being mentioned in forums and television current affairs shows.

When creating a new hashtag, take the time to check it first by going to the Discover Tab on your Twitter Page, then entering the #HASHTAGNAME in the search box at the top.  Creating an original tag can often be a creative process! View our Full article on hashtags here..


MY TWITTER HEADER LOOKS BLURRY:
So you have gone to the effort of changing your Twitter Header Background Image but have discovered that once the image was loaded, it didn't look like your original picture or design and you can't work out why?

Here are the main reasons why your Twitter Background header Image will look different to your original picture:
1.  Twitter Header Backgrounds are displayed at their best if they are sized at 1252 x 626 pixels.  This will avoid your image being stretched to fit the space and distorted.
2.  When your header is uploaded, Twitter adds a black/grey gradient layer to your image despite your image colouring, so you will need to account for this.  Pale images will show this gradient markedly.

Other Tips for your Twitter Header Image:
1.  A Darker coloured Header Image allows the white Text to display more prominently.
2.  If your Twitter Page wall paper is vibrant, a more plain styled header background will compliment it, rather than adding to the busy appearance of the page.
3.  Twitter allows "Calls to Action" on Header Images, meaning you can have an Arrow pointing to the follow button if you wish.
4.  Header Backgrounds can be changed easily and as often as you like.  Many businesses choose designs to compliment their existing logos or branding, but the Header image can really be used to showcase your business.  For Example: Real Estate Agents may want to change their header picture to display the view or interior of a property they are currently selling etc.

HOW TO CHANGE THE BACKGROUND ON MY TWITTER PAGE:

1. Firstly, Sign in to your account. Go to your Settings and click on the Design tab.
2. Scroll down to the Customize your own section.
3. Click on Choose file to upload a background image. Images justify to the top left of the screen. You cannot stretch your image to fit. It will display as the size you uploaded (file must be smaller than 2MB).
4. If you want your picture to repeated across the background click the Tile Background Option.
   
5. You can choose to change colours and make overlays all in this one section.  Remember to click Save when you are done making your changes.
6. To change your background to a premade theme supplied by Twitter Go to your Settings and click on the Design tab.  You will see a Pick a premade theme menu, select a premade theme by clicking on the design you would like to use.  Alternatively you can also choose to upload your own image for a background.  However Background images must be in PNG, GIF, or JPG format, smaller than 2MB
7. Click Save changes at the bottom of the page when you're done.  View our full article on twitter headers here...

CAN I PRE-PROGRAM MY TWEETS?

As of October 2013, Twitter does not have it's own option to schedule tweets or pre-program tweets as Facebook does with status's.  Tweets can be pre-scheduled using a third-party website or app such as Hootsuite or Twittmer though and you can plan your week of tweets well in advance to be published at a time and day that suits you.

MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT TWITTER?
Contact Us if you have any further queries about Twitter.

Blue Bird Internet Marketing

Originally when I first started using Facebook in 2006, the only options for businesses or community groups were Groups or by using a Personal Profile in the incorrect way.  Luckily Facebook introduced the Pages option making it a fabulous free tool for businesses.  The groups option is still available and is perfect for private groups, or community discussions.  Some people find however that they have' out-grown' their facebook group and would like to transcend to a Page option instead for the added benefits and insights available.  

Unfortunately there is no conversion tool supplied by Facebook to convert your Group into a Page.  The best way we have found is to go ahead and set up your business Page professionally and completely and publishing it for everyone to see.  Then copy the URL link and copy this to your group or send to all group members explaining the change over.  Give all members a reasonable amount of time to change over to the group, as not everyone logs onto Facebook Regularly.  Two weeks to a month should be be enough time.  It can be a long process and you will possibly lose followers in the process which can be rather dissapointing.

I had to do this for a Wildlife Conservation Group that I had operated since 2006 and chose to painstakingly remove members from the group once they had Liked the facebook page and with 1600+ members this was a painful time consuming process. This is of course not necessary, but I didn't want members who had allready gone over to like the new page to be continuing to receive messages on the group format about the change over and become annoyed by it.

All Photos will need to be copied and re-added to the new page along with any discussion notes.  Allow yourself a period of time to complete this change over process before advertising the new page to group members - it is always best to have it set up as professionally as possible before sharing the link.

Once you are happy the members that have signed over, you can remove your group or change it to secret if you choose.

All the best with your change over!

Judi
Blue Bird Internet Marketing