tweet Archives - Nimble Quotes

Oct 20 2015

Twitter 101: How do I Compose a Tweet?

So you’ve finally taken the plunge and created a Twitter account. Congratulations! Twitter can definitely open up great possibilities for your business, and I’ll walk you through the basics of what you need to get started.

First off: let’s compose a tweet.

How to compose a tweet

Composing a tweet is actually pretty simple. Just log into the Twitter website (or open the Twitter app if you’re on your phone) and look for this screen.

This is where you’ll put down whatever thought or content you want to share. Just click on that field and start typing. Twitter only gives you 140 characters to build a tweet, so you can’t afford to ramble. You need to be concise and direct.

As you write your tweet, keep in mind that even though nobody’s in front of you that very moment, your tweet is meant to be talking directly to another person. So refer to them often by saying “you.”

If you want to share something, like an article you wrote or a video you find interesting, copy the URL and paste it into the tweet field. Use a link-shortener like Bitly so that it doesn’t use up your allocated character limit.

Don’t just put the link, though—say a little bit about what the content is about. You can either share the title of the content, or tell people why they would find it really interesting.

How to get people’s attention

You can mark your tweets with a hashtag, which is a short phrase prefaced by a “#” symbol, like #TwitterBasics. Anyone who follows that hashtag will be able to see your tweet. Keep the hashtag relevant to your topic.

If you want to talk to someone directly, you can mention them by typing in their Twitter handle. A twitter handle is their “name” on Twitter. Mine, for instance, is @jenkellyjen. They will get an alert that you mentioned them in your tweet.

Tips for great tweets

But the best way by far to get your tweet noticed is to make your tweet stand out. There are a few ways you can do that:

Great writing. The best tweets are short and to the point. Long tweets tend to get ignored. It also helps if your tweet is funny, inspiring or insightful. If you’re not any of these, then you can always quote someone who is.

Add images. People are very visual. By including a photo with your tweet you can increase engagement by 33%. It’s just as simple as including an image in your tweet as an attachment. But it has big results!

Be honest. What I mean by this, is make sure that the article you are mentioning on your tweet is the same one people see when they click the link. No bait and switch! People will get very annoyed at you and you’ll actually lose potential followers.

So try sending out a few tweets and getting the hang of how Twitter works. Look at other people on Twitter and see what kind of tweets they’re posting, and see what lessons you can pick up. You’ll be steaming along in no time!

Getting started on Twitter can be made easier by using Nimble Quotes to supplement your own tweets with inspiring and motivational quotes. Choose from 60+ categories that are all written for you. Sign up for your 30-day free trial now.

Aug 25 2015

How Hashtags On Twitter Will Help You

Did you know you can search Twitter a similar way as you search on Google? Did you know using hashtags on Twitter when you tweet can help your tweet show up in Twitter searches?

Hashtags are also very powerful tools for connecting and building a network on Twitter.

What Are Hashtags On Twitter?

Hashtags are keywords or phrases that begin with the hashtag symbol (#). Hashtags are used to categorize tweets. On Twitter, when you click on a word or phrase with the hashtag symbol before it, you will be taken to a page with a list of tweets that contain that same hashtagged word or phrase.

If you use a hashtag in one of your tweets, someone who doesn’t know you but is interested in that topic can see your hashtagged tweet. It’s a great way to generate more interest in what you post and more awareness for you and your business.

Hashtags On Twitter Help

Hashtags create a wonderful opportunity to build a network. Twitter allows you to search for millions of different topics, so you can look up hashtags specific to your work and interests. And Twitter shows you all of the tweets pertaining to the hashtag, not just the tweets of those you’re following. This way, you can get into conversations, follow, RT, or favourite tweets from people you don’t even know yet. What a great way to meet and get exposed to more people, companies, charities, conversations and events. Learn more with these 5 ways Twitter hashtags help you engage and get noticed.

Try It Out For Yourself

So take advantage of hashtags on Twitter and get searching. You’ll find interesting topics for discussion and new people to interact with. Here’s how to start.

To search on Twitter:
Go to https://twitter.com/search-home

Type in the hashtag of the topic you’re searching for information about. If you are not sure there is a hashtag for your topic, start typing and you’ll see the hashtags that are currently used for that topic.

In our example, we’ll use #SmallBiz.

Here is a screen shot of the most recent tweets with #SmallBiz. We’ve circled in red the hashtag #smallbiz in each tweet. This is why these tweets were brought up in the search.

Creating your own hashtag is also a great way to get your business into the conversations where your customers, clients and colleagues are, as well as potential customers, clients and colleagues. Find some more information on using Twitter hashtags for your business tweets by Stephanie Buck.

Try Out Quotes With Hashtags

Using quotes is a great way to interact with your Twitter audience. With the Nimble Quotes service, you can try 1-8 inspiring quotes per day automatically tweeted from your Twitter account. You’ll also get the option of adding hashtags to your tweeted quotes, making your tweets even more engaging. Try us out today – we offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Once your trial is over, it costs about $1/day or about $1/week to continue. Check out Nimble Quotes in action on @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing. Not ready for a trial just yet? Sign up for the Nimble Quotes newsletter instead.

Aug 18 2015

Who Sees My Tweets?

When you send out a tweet, just who sees it? Can anyone see your tweets, or just your followers?

Can Anyone See My Tweets?

Once you’ve tweeted your update, those who are following you will see it appear in their Home timeline. The Home timeline is the first page seen once someone has signed in to their Twitter account. It’s where you can see all the recent tweets of the accounts that you’re following.

Your tweets also appear on your profile page. This is where anyone from the public can view your tweets – if your account is public, then anyone can look up your profile and see what you’ve posted. So people don’t necessarily need to be following you in order to view your tweets.

Your tweets won’t appear in the timelines of those who are not following you, but they can search for them. (Except for your direct messages – these cannot be viewed by the public.)

What About Hashtags?

Hashtags are keywords or phrases that begin with the hashtag symbol (#). They are used to categorize tweets. On Twitter, when you click on a word or phrase with the hashtag symbol before it, you will be taken to a page with a list of tweets that contain that same hashtagged word or phrase.

Click here for some helpful information from Twitter on using hashtags in your tweets.

So, whether you use hashtags or not, many people can see your tweets. But using hashtags will boost your potential audience!

The Nimble Quotes service posts famous and industry-related quotes to your Twitter feed as if you’ve tweeted them yourself. We offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. You’ll get to try 1-8 thought-provoking quotes per day automatically tweeted from your Twitter account, with the option of adding a variety of hashtags and specific timing for your audience. Once your trial is over, it costs about $1/day or about $1/week to continue. Check out Nimble Quotes in action on @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing. Not ready for a trial just yet? Sign up for our newsletter instead.

Aug 11 2015

Where Do My Tweets Go?

Are you new to Twitter? Have you been wondering exactly what happens when you send out a tweet? How do you know who will see it?

How Do I Post a Tweet?

First things first: how do you post the tweet? Make sure you’re signed in to your Twitter account. There are a couple of ways to begin posting: if you are on the home screen, you can either go to the box at the top of your timeline and type the tweet in there,

or you can click on the tweet button at the top right of the screen.

A box will pop up where you can type in what you’d like to post.

Then you just click on the Tweet button and you’re done!

Twitter has instructions you can check out here.

What Happens After I’ve Tweeted?

Once you’ve posted your tweet, you’ll see it appear on both your profile page and your Home timeline. What’s the Home timeline, you ask? That’s the feed you see when you sign in to Twitter, where you can look at the recent tweets of everyone you’re following. And that’s also where your followers will see YOUR new tweet appear. Here’s the difference:

This is my profile with a screen shot as I write this:

And this is my home screen as I write this (note that between the time I pulled up the screen and took the screenshot, 5 more tweets were posted. Don’t worry about posting too much with that kind of volume! But tweet frequency, that is another story.)

What If Someone Retweets Me?

Once you’ve sent out a tweet, there’s a chance one or more of your followers will retweet it. Just what is a retweet? It’s when someone re-posts your tweet onto their Twitter feed. Through this feature, they can share your tweet with all of their followers. This is great – it means that something you’ve tweeted struck a chord with one of your followers, and they decided to share it with their audience. They even have the option of adding a comment along with it.

But how do you know if someone has retweeted you? Easy – just go to the Notifications section by clicking on “Notifications” in the bar on the top of your screen. There you’ll see if any of your tweets have been retweeted.

Here’s an example of a notification I got when Tina Gaisin of Fill The Room, and a fellow CAMP member, retweeted one of my tweets.

Here is what a retweet looks like in the timeline. In this example, I follow WQW, and they retweeted a tweet by an account I don’t follow.

To learn more, here is the official information from Twitter on retweets.

Try Tweeting, Try Retweeting

Over to you. Get sharing the excellent information your followers and those you follow are tweeting. Good luck and if you need any help, tweet to me @jenkellyjen or email jen[at]nimblequotes[dot]com.

Try Tweeting Quotes About Work and Goals!

If you’d like more RTs and follows, why not try tweeting uplifting quotes? Nimble Quotes, which has inspiring quotes about work and the joys of going for your goals, offers a 30-day free trial so you can try them out for yourself! You’ll get 1-8 thought-provoking quotes per day, automatically tweeted from your Twitter account. Once your trial is over, it costs about $1/day or about $1/week to continue. Check out Nimble Quotes in action on @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing. Not ready for a trial just yet? Sign up for our newsletter instead.