Twitter can be your professional best friend, or your worst nightmare. Interacting with social media opens the doors to networking opportunities and exposure that can transform your online presence and help you develop your personal brand. Before you post your next Tweet, consider these five ways to optimize your allotted “140 characters or less:”
1- Network. Social media enables two-way communication with the top PR practitioners and the largest organizations. Follow the brands you admire, people you aspire to be, and reach out to them via Twitter. You’d be surprised; you might even get a personal shout-out back.
2- Post to Facebook. With social media’s advancement, you can now cross-post that interesting article you just tweeted about to Facebook as well. This means that everything you Tweet will stream to your Facebook wall. You can enable cross-posting settings by clicking on your profile settings, and scroll to the bottom to activate this feature.
3- Explore the “Discover” page on Twitter. Even though this page is often overlooked, the Discover page is a great way to keep your Twitter newsfeed flowing with fresh content. Here, you can discover new accounts to follow by browsing specific categories that interest you. You can also find friends where it will search through your Gmail or Yahoo account to find people who you already know as well. This section also presents the top stories on tweeted about on Twitter so your feed will always be updated with the latest information.
4- Understand the importance of a hashtag. Hashtags are used to link your tweet to a specific topic or event that can be searched. Instead of using the long, drawn out hashtags that nobody is ever going to search, consider keeping your hashtag simpler. Less is more.
5- Think before you Tweet. I had to throw this one in here- because so often college students will mindlessly send out that misspelled tweet late at night, without realizing the repercussions. Save your personal brand and reputation by simply putting your phone away if you have a tendency to send these carefree yet destructive Tweets.
-Kimberly Teschemacher
Kim is a junior interpersonal communication major with minors in advertising and organizational leadership. She is a PRSSA-UD member and a sister of Sigma Kappa sorority. Follow Kim on Twitter, @Kim_Tesch.
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Reblogged this on The UD Blog Squad and commented:
We thought that these Twitter tips were excellent pieces of advice! Twitter is your friend and can be used as a strategic tool when applying for jobs or internships. Develop your social media presence and check out these 5 ways to help you along the way!