KELLER REALTY WILLIAMS. Getting Started on Twitter. Brought to you by Keller Williams Realty

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Noreen Lane
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1 KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY 101 Getting Started on Twitter Brought to you by Keller Williams Realty

2 What are you doing? This simple question has been the basis for the phenomenon known as Twitter. A Website in the social networking community, Twitter is often referred to as a micro-blogging platform. Think of it as a small blog where you have only 140 characters to make your point. On the Website or through various Twitter applications, you update what you are doing by posting text or links to articles, videos and photos. There are many reasons to join in the conversation on Twitter. It has the power to drive traffic to your blog, help you stay on top of current trends, build relationships, answer and ask questions, as well as share local news and learn from others with similar interests. Essentially, Twitter gives you the opportunity to communicate directly with potential clients and establish your real estate expertise. In this guide, you ll learn about Twitter and how to do the following: 1. Build your image 2. Build your network Twitter Quick Facts: Twitter s Website attracted a total of 44.5 million unique visitors worldwide in June 2009, according to comscore. Half of Twitter users use applications like TweetDeck, not the Website to read and publish tweets. Research showed that at one point more than 600,000 people joined Twitter every day. 1

1. Getting Started on Twitter A. How to create and edit your Twitter account Go to (www.twitter.

When choosing a username, make sure you choose something that you want to continue to use, because this will also be your customized URL (www.twitter.

3 1. Getting Started on Twitter A. How to create and edit your Twitter account Go to ( click on Sign Up Now, and enter in your contact information and create your username. When choosing a username, make sure you choose something that you want to continue to use, because this will also be your customized URL ( username) to direct people to Twitter. B. Edit your settings When you are logged in, click on Settings along the top tab to edit your photo, Website and profile. When you add a photo, keep in mind it is best to choose one that is professional and that you use on other sites like Facebook, to create a consistent image. Once you have uploaded your photo, it is time to create your bio. Twitter only provides 160 characters for your bio, so choose wisely. This is what most people looking at your page will see about you, so think about the audience you are trying to reach. 2

C. Learn Twitter lingo Tweet: Your 140-character update Follow: When you want to add someone to your network to see their updates, you follow them. People who want to see your updates will follow you.

Proper re-tweet etiquette is to say RT @username: Their message or use the re-tweet feature.

4 C. Learn Twitter lingo Tweet: Your 140-character update Follow: When you want to add someone to your network to see their updates, you follow them. People who want to see your updates will follow you. Re-tweet (RT): When you come across a tweet you like, find interesting or want to share with your network, you re-tweet it. Proper re-tweet etiquette is to say Their message or use the re-tweet feature. Hashtag: When you want to participate in a specific conversation or event, include in your tweet #message topic. For example, KWRI used #kwmc in our tweets during Mega Camp. Trending Topic: Twitter displays the top 10 mentioned words included in the most tweets that moment. Popular ones are TV shows, newly released movies, celebrity news, social media news and political hot-button When you see a tweet that you want to respond to, username and your reply. Direct Message (DM): This is a message you send or receive directly to or from a person. It is not public for everyone to see; it is private between you and the sender or receiver. D. Privacy settings Twitter offers two options for privacy settings: protected or not protected. Protected means no one can view your tweets unless you accept that individual as a follower. Not protected means that anyone can see your tweets and can be Note that your account is automatically Not Protected, so to change this, go to Settings, then click on Account. To make your tweets protected, click on the box named, Protect My Tweets at the bottom of the page. We recommend you keep your profile public so that current and potential clients can see your updates. 3

com); or download a free background from Twitter Image (www.twitterimage.com). How do you change your background on Twitter?

5 E. Customize your Twitter background Customizing your Twitter background is a great way to brand your page and stand out from the crowd. There are many options for customization: download a free KW-branded image on mykw. kw.com (go to the Marketing tab, then Social Media); purchase one from Twitter Backgrounds ( or download a free background from Twitter Image ( How do you change your background on Twitter? Once you log in to your Twitter account, go to Settings, then Design, then Change background image. Next, click on Browse, then select the file you want to use and save. 2. How to Use Twitter Day-to-Day A. Tweet regularly and engage your followers There are a variety of ways to communicate on Twitter: tweet, reply, re-tweet and direct message. You can also participate with a comment on a trending topic by adding a hashtag and keyword to your tweet. When you tweet, share valuable information you come across. Suggestions of things to tweet about are as follows: Interesting articles Facts or statistics Your business Local events or news A link to a new listing on your Website A new post on your blog 4

Remember, just as with all social media avenues, Twitter is about being a part of the conversation, so it is great to also add in personal tweets (a movie you saw and if/why you liked it; asking a

6 Remember, just as with all social media avenues, Twitter is about being a part of the conversation, so it is great to also add in personal tweets (a movie you saw and if/why you liked it; asking a question, for example, where is your favorite burger spot in your city). Most of all, you will share information without being overly self-promoting. Always remember to focus on quality. Want to see what the public will see when they visit your page? Log in and click on Profile. Want to see the tweets of people you follow? Log in and click on Home. B. How to build a following on Twitter Follow others A great way to start your following on Twitter is to see if anyone you know is on it. To do that, the first thing you need to do is log in to Twitter and click on Find People. Below are several ways to find someone on Twitter: Find on Twitter where you enter a first name, last name, Twitter username or business name Find on Other Networks where you enter in your , like AOL or Gmail, to find your contacts quickly Invite by where you can invite your friends or coworkers to join Twitter Suggested Users where you view an auto-populated list of people and companies to follow You can also use the Search feature to find a person by name or anyone who mentions real estate or Keller Williams in their bio. Once you find people you want to follow, click Follow when viewing their profile to get their tweets to dislay on your home page. Note that they will be notified when you click Follow. 5

7 How to search Twitter search is a great way to find keywords, monitor your competitors and even catch a conference. When you log in to Twitter, you will see the top trending topics on your home page on the right-hand side. C. Twitter lists Twitter lists allow users to organize the people you follow into groups. This allows you to filter tweets from your Twitter stream to just view these tweets. People can subscribe to follow your lists, or you can follow theirs. How to create a list: Go to your home page, and on the right-hand side under the search bar, you will see the area to manage your lists. Create a list by clicking on New List and then then give a name and description. You will also have the option to make the list public, so that others may follow it, or private, so no one can access it. Next, add people or companies to your newly created list. To do this, you can either search for a username or company name, or use your follower list. You do not have to be following someone to add them to a list. If someone has added you, it will show up under your bio (with the number) as Listed note that if someone has added you to a private list, it will not show up. If you add someone to your list publicly, it will notify them by adding it to their list count. You can click on Listed to see who has added you to the list and the list s name, along with whom else is on it. 6

8 3. Tools to enhance your Twitter experience There are many tools to enhance your Twitter experience, like Tweetdeck, a desktop application, or Twitpic, which allows you to easily share photos on Twitter. Popular Twitter tools: Desktop applications: TweetDeck, Seesmic Mobile applications: Tweetie, TweetDeck Web sites: Tweetmondo, Twellow Before using Websites that are not affiliated with Twitter, do your research, because on many you must enter in your Twitter username and password to access the site. You always want to ensure that the site is legitimate when doing so. And read the fine print! Some Websites, like Tweetmondo, send out a tweet from your account upon registration promoting their site. 4. Where to find Keller Williams Realty on Twitter KWRI: Jay Papasan, vice president of publishing and executive editor: Cary Sylvester, executive director of technology: Bryon Ellington, chief products officer: Ellen Marks, director of marketing and communications: 7

Twitter Quick Start Guide

Twitter Quick Start Guide Twitter Quick Start Guide 1 So, you want to expand your business by using Twitter, but you re not sure where to start? Well, the first thing is that you need to sign up for a