Twitter

Well, where have you been.. lol, Twitter would have to be the fastest growing site on the web today.

It is taking the internet by storm and there are around 10,000 new users per day signing up to participate in this internet revolution.

Twitter is best described as a micro blogging platform. You're limited to 140 characters each time you do an update, which initially, may seem a small amount.

However, as you become more experienced, it's just amazing what you can fit into 140 characters.

Obviously Twitter is much, much more than that.

It is like one huge global chat room, but then again, it doesn't have to be. It all depends on how many people you follow on Twitter. If it's in the thousands, then you'll be running fast and furious with everything that's coming in.

If you're only following a few hundred, or even less, then things are much easier to keep up with.

Twitter is also a great way to meet new people online, particularly those with similar interests to you. I'll show you how to do this more as we progress...

Traffic, microblogging and blogging go hand in hand!

Are you missing out?

If you keep hearing about social media and Web 2.0 and how you must get active to get ahead...if you're feeling stuck, confused and overwhelmed, read this short twitter guide.

If you're brand new to hubpages or even if you've been around for some time, you'll find out how to use twitter for targeted free traffic to your blog or hubpages and open the floodgates to more new subscribers.

Blogs have totally changed the way that people communicate online and it should be an
integrated part of your overall marketing strategy.

Twitter is free to join, you can get set up in a matter of just a few minutes.

Many other social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook, Twitter has two main components so you can add followers and follow other people as well.

They'll receive your updates and you'll receive theirs. Your messages are limited to 140 characters, which is why some people call twitter a microblogging tool.

You keep messages brief and too the point it might be a challenge to get the point across in the allotted space, yet it also leaves room for a lot of creativity.

Coming up with ways to say what you have to say is in context part of the fun of Twitter.

Before you set up your account, let's go over a few of the ways that you can use Twitter as a blogger:

1. Getting traffic to your blog posts with a simple post to Twitter, you can have lots of readers come to your blog.

Even though blog feeds do the same, you can often find new readers on Twitter or remind current readers to revisit your blog.

2. Connecting with your readership when you blog, you're speaking to your readership from a distance. You write your post, edit it and then post it, and you're removed from your audience.

You use Twitter to communicate, so it becomes a conversation.

You can show more of your personality to your followers and truly communicate with them on a different level. This can get them more interested in you and your blog, which will build more traffic over time.

3. In order to stand out from other blogs and Twitter accounts online, you want to develop a persona for people to connect to and identify with. You can accomplish this through your blog or you can further your branding by using a Twitter account.

This is called building your brand...

You want to figure out what makes you unique in your niche and then extend these differences between you and others in you Twitter posts. Decide what your persona or approach is, and then make sure your Twitter posts reflect that.

4. Twitter is a powerful tool for researching your target market. It can be at your fingertips. You can research their interests, ask them about their needs and automatically get ideas for your blog posts.

Now that you know some of what Twitter can do for you, it's time to get your Twitter account set up. If you don't already have a Twitter account, head on over to www.twitter.com.

You register by using your e-mail address and picking a user name.

If you want to use Twitter in conjunction with your blog, you should use a user name that reflects your blog.

For example, if your blog is www.dogtraingtips.com you want to leverage the user name of "dogtrainingtips." If the name of your blog is taken as a user name on twitter, try to find something that reflects the theme of your blog.

Once you've registered, you'll want to upload a picture to use as your avatar. You can use a picture of yourself or an illustration that reflects your blog as your avatar.

Make sure it's a clear picture and one that will show up well in a column with other pictures surrounding it.

On Twitter, you can search for other users and then request to follow their updates. Once someone approves you to follow them, most of the time they will choose to follow you as well.

You can build your followers list by searching for keywords on the Twitter site that relates to your blog.

This way you can build a list of followers that are interested in your topic. Once you start posting updates on Twitter about your blog, you'll automatically get more traffic.

When you join, you'll probably get follow requests as well from other users who are using the search tools.

You can choose to follow these people if they seem like they could be potential traffic for your blog. Make sure that your follow list doesn't get too crowded.

Twitter works best when you can actually communicate with the people that you are following, and vice versa.

If you crowd your list with thousands of people you may initially get more traffic but you'll lose out on many of the other benefits of using the site.

Before you get started with posting Twitter updates, you need to decide your primary purpose for using Twitter.

If you're focused before you get started, you'll be able to produce better quality posts and get the right kind of traffic to your blog or hubpages.

There are many different ways you can use Twitter, and everyone uses it a little bit different.

Consider these different ways of using the platform when you decide how you're going to use it:

• Build your expertise and your authority in a niche
• Drive more traffic to your blog
• Brand yourself
• More personal with your readers
• Make your blog more of a community experience

You can do all of this and more with your Twitter account, or you can choose just one aspect and run with that.

Keep in mind though that if you decide that you're going to use it just to post links to your blog, you're going to be a disappointed.

Since Twitter is a social networking tool, people will quickly unsubscribe from your updates. On Twitter, people want to know more about you and see a more personal side of you.

This is why it's such a powerful way to drive traffic to your blog or hubpages.

There are a few different ways of posting on Twitter that you need to know about...

First, there's a regular post. When you type in a message to Twitter and hit "update" it will be viewable by all the people who are following you.

The next type of post is a reply. When you type in a regular message, people may reply to your post. You'll see your user name with the symbol @ before it when someone replies to your message.

You can respond to other people the same way.

You simply type @ and then their user name directly after that. Replies are viewable by everyone who is following you or the other person you are replying to.

Finally, there' a direct message. If you want to send a private message to someone that no one else can see, you can send a direct message. To do so, simply type the letters dm with the person's user name.

You'll receive messages from others on a special page of Twitter and be notified via e-mail when someone direct messages you.

The most basic way of using Twitter to build traffic to your blog or hubpages is to post updates on Twitter whenever you make a blog post. There's so much more to Twitter than that.

The Twitter site has one question and one question only - "What are you doing?"

How you answer this question is completely up to you. A lot of people simply post about what they are up to. You'll see a lot of posts like "watching a movie" or "working on a project."

You'll also see a whole lot more.

If you're having trouble answering the question "what are you doing" try thinking of it in terms of "what are you interested in" or "what has you attention."

To start out with, you'll want to post things that are related to you personally and not your blog directly. Remember, first and foremost Twitter is a social networking utility.

People have a low tolerance for blatant advertising.

Here are some ideas for non-blog post related Twitter posts:

• Share information. You can post links related to your niche, or just interesting things you find around the Internet.
• Ask questions. You can increase relationships with your followers by asking questions. Ask people what they ate for lunch, what they think of the latest news story or their opinion on a topic.
• Share your opinion. You can post links to recent news stories, especially those related to your niche, and offer your opinion.
• Post tips related to your niche. Add to the value of your twitter feed by sharing tips that aren't on your blog. 140 characters are a great space to share a short, helpful tip.
• Share links to other people's sites and explain your view.

When you do post a link to your blog, make sure to add more to your Twitter post than just the link. Explain what it's about and tell your audience what is coming next on your blog.

This way you won't just be spamming your link all over the "Twittersphere."

As previously mentioned, using Twitter allows you to connect with your readers in a new way. You can also gain new blog readers as well.

When you use Twitter, you'll be able to tap into parts of your existing market that you weren't aware of before.

The first step in using Twitter to improve your blog is to "listen" to other people by reading their updates.

A lot of new Twitter marketers make the mistake of posting too much about themselves and not responding or paying attention to others.

As long as you keep in mind that Twitter is a social tool and not just a traffic machine, you'll be able to keep things in perspective and pay attention to others. Interact with other people, answer their questions and ask them questions back.

This way you can become part of the community. There's also another good reason for paying attention to what other people have to say on Twitter.

If you add a lot of people to your follow list who are in your niche, pay attention to their problems, their questions and the type of things that they share.

This can all be part of your niche research and you can incorporate what you find there in
your blog or in the form of a new product. You'll find that your Twitter account can be a treasure trove for blog post ideas.

You can use the information that you find on Twitter to create blog posts that meet the needs of your readership.

You can also address specific questions or concerns. You'll be surprised at what a great brainstorming tool your Twitter account can be.

You'll read someone's update and then it will get the wheels turning for a blog post, or even a series of blog posts.

The next step to using Twitter effectively is to be useful to your followers. The information that you post should be relevant, helpful and interesting.

Set yourself apart from the pack by finding interesting news stories that relate to your
niche. Post tips related to your blog.

Remember you want to be personal and connect with your followers. If you just burned
your lunch, feel free to share it! You may start an interesting conversation.

Be sure to ask lots of questions! When you ask questions of your followers, you'll get a chance to hear what they have to say.

Asking questions is a great way to source information for blog posts, or just to get to know those who are following you. Sometimes Twitter functions like a water cooler at work.

Don't be afraid to have fun with your questions.

Another benefit of asking questions is that when people respond, it's like free advertising.

They will reply to your question with the @ symbol and your user name. Other people who are following them but not you will see your user name and may join your followers list.

Finally, make sure that you get readers from your blog to follow your Twitter feeds.

There are all kinds of widgets that you can add to the sidebar of your blog, and you can remind people in your posts to follow you on Twitter.

All social networking sites have a certain etiquette that you need to follow, and Twitter is no different.

Before you Tweet be sure to keep these rules in mind:

• Don't be a spam twit. When you post nothing but your blog posts, or posts to your other sites, your followers will lose interest fast. Don't spam your followers.

Be sure to talk about something other than yourself so that you don't come
across as a spammer.

• Respond to all replies. When someone replies to your message, make sure to respond to them to let them know you got their message.

Since messages move so fast on Twitter, especially when you have a lot of followers, it can
be difficult to keep up with replies.

• Twitter has a handy function that will track your replies for you. Just keep in mind that if your replies start to take on an overly personal tone, make sure to use the dm function.

You don't want to clutter up your follower's update feeds with your personal prejudices, opinions or rants!

• Don't use all caps in your updates. This is one of those general online etiquette tips that applies to Twitter as well.

Check in from time to time with your account. Don't start a Twitter account only to check in with it every few days or once a week.

Make it a part of your daily routine so you can connect with your followers.

• Don't post the same link more than once. If people are really interested in your blog and your links, they'll visit it the first time you post it. You don't need to post your link multiple times.

Twitter is a great way to get social networking traffic to your blog or hubpages. I hope you try it out yourself. It's free and easy to use.

You'll be glad by how much traffic you'll build from this simple tool. In fact there's a tool you can use right now to get you started on autopilot called TweetPOPULAR.

In conclusion: Twitter, a free service available at www.twitter.com.

Its a combination of a microblogging tool and a social networking site.

Twitter is a fantastic way to get more traffic to your blog or hubpages to build a relationship with your readership. Feel free to follow me on Twitter.

P.S. Social Networking is a valuable marketing tool, customers are all about the relationship and testimonial. When you establish happy customers you'd be wise to add testimonials in the form of text, video or audio...

A newsletter about your business can include text testimonials. Audio and video testimonials are perfect for website promotion and email marketing too.

Customers will remember the face and the voice of those who are truly happy with your service, so don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials!

Personally I'd be interested in your thoughts as to the real value of Twitter because after all this time, I still don't see much in the way of business revenue being made by the average person using social media.

So, do us all a favor and join this discussion. If you've got any feedback, opinion, comments, feel free to include them here, I'm eager to hear what you have to say one way or the other!