Well, it’s Twitter.
Most of us use social media on a regular basis as entertainment. But what if the occasional post unexpectedly becomes your job? How many of us know how to use Twitter immediately? If you would have asked me a few months ago, I would have been just as clueless. Over the last few weeks I have been diving headfirst into the world, inching forward through the jungle that is Twitter.
As this task is not something I have studied or expected, I had to learn how Twitter worked. Having an account did not really help me in this case, since I have never taken the time to really explore the Twitter world. My knowledge is purely based on what I have heard and read over the last few years. Just in case you are in need of some basic information, I am more than happy to share my small pool of knowledge.
So here goes nothing. Twitter is a social media platform that allows you to write messages, also called tweets, and post them to your account. Tweeting is basically the exchange of messages no longer than 280 characters. This restriction is a real challenge for someone like me who loves to talk and use lots of words. The tweets have to be brief and catchy, best paired with a great picture or short video. Messages on Twitter have to be different and noticeable or they will go under in the sea of tweets. Remember, this is a jungle after all.
Catchy posts are not the only important thing in the business world. Success is also measured in followers. The rule of thumb is: you should have to follow as few accounts as possible, while having lots of people follow your account. I have to say that I get a kick out of seeing the follower numbers increase. It is very exciting to see that people are interested in what you have to show or say. Or I may just be a bit competitive.
Due to the high volume of tweets every day, tweets have a very short lifespan. A post is relevant for about 20 min before it is being pushed down the line too far to be seen anymore. This platform allows users to reach lots of people in a very short time. Twitter has lots of information in a compressed form on its platform. If you are interested in a specific topic you can use hashtags to search for it.
And here we have arrived at, what I think, is the most fascinating aspect of Twitter, hashtags. Hashtags, also known as the old # sign, can help or hurt your tweet. But what is a hashtag good for you ask? A hashtag is a label for content. It helps others who are interested in a certain topic quickly find content. For example, if someone is interested in birds, they can search #birds and find an abundance of posts and pictures with birds. Today, the hashtag is often misused as a message within a message, and people love to make them up to fit just about any post they make. That is not what it was intended for.
As I said before, the world of Twitter was a complete mystery to me as of a few weeks ago. Today I can find my way around the platform tweeting happily away. Don’t get me wrong. I still have a lot to learn, and I am looking forward to it.
Andrea Conyers Communications Assistant with the Liberty County Chamber/CVB
The Right Blend Blog is written by two different authors employed by the Liberty County Chamber/CVB. As we are able, we rotate weeks and each writes about our individual experiences, opinions and let our writing reflect our personalities and creativity. All content provided on The Right Blend blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.
