Twitter Sign-up

Following someone on twitter simply means receiving their Twitter updates. When you follow someone, every time they post a new message, it will appear on your Twitter home page. New messages are added to your home page as people post them, so you always get the updates in real time.

Twitter sends you an email when someone new follows you. You can set up your email preferences to be notified when you when you have a new follower. The followers’ link on your profile page or home page's sidebar will also tell you how many followers you have.
Sign up for your twitter account at http://twitter.com and click “get started.”
For username you may use your own name, your business name or create a unique username. Your username can be changed later without affecting your old or current tweets.

The Basics

A tweet can be up to 140 characters if you want to include links in your tweets, you may need to shorten them. Use http://bit.ly/ to shorten and customise URLs.

Social Networking

Twitter is about conversation. Twitter gives you the power to read other people’s thoughts and eavesdrop on conversations.
Everyone can read your tweets (unless you have secured them so that only followers can read them.) You are able to send direct messages to an individual by clicking on the Direct Message tab on the right hand side of your account page.
You can use twitter search to find people who live in your area. You can search for friends, clients, events, news, conversations and do research. If you enter any word/s for example skin care, you will discover links to articles, posts and products relating to the topic.
You can follow industry leaders, competitors, trendsetters, celebrities, friends, family, brands, products, and everyone and everything of interest.
Twitter is often used to broadcast the latest happenings; however the purpose of twitter is to be a discussion medium. It was originally used for brainstorming.

How do you get Twitter Followers?

Be interesting, be conversational and follow relevant people.
Share information and ideas. You can talk about how great your salon and spa treatments and products are – BUT it’s advisable to keep the bulk of your tweets personable and interesting. Winning tweets are entertaining or informative. You can intersperse some promotional tweets with mentions of product deals, new treatments, discounts, vouchers and sensational treatments. Show your personality, share your humour and establish relationships. Be conversational, show the real you by posting personal updates. This goes a long way towards building relationships.
How Often Do You Need to Tweet?
The general “rule” is about 4 -5 times per day and at the minimum a few times per week. There is no real rule; work out what works best for you. 

Beware of Auto Direct Messaging

When you send Direct Messages relating to promotions and offers it sounds like spam and is spam. It is the quickest way to lose followers. Don’t spam anyone or you could have your twitter account suspended.

Encourage Click Throughs

Share links to your website or blog and link to interesting information you find online. Tell your followers about remarkable stuff you find. To encourage click-throughs write a compelling introduction to the blog post, picture or article you are linking to. 

Tweeterific!

The great thing about twitter is the fact that it generates new visitors to your website or blog.
You can publicise your recent tweets on your website or blog by uploading a twitter widget http://twitter.com/widgets
You can automate posts to preschedule messages. Try http://tweetlater.com
You can create a custom background to strengthen your brand.
Sharing valuable information and useful tips on twitter and interacting with your followers helps you build a strong web presence and gain visibility with your clients and potential clients.

Twitter is fun! Use it as a publicity tool, to keep in touch, ask for feedback, make new friends, notify clients about exciting news, get ideas, find prospective clients and direct traffic to your site.
You can follow me on twitter, and say Hello! http://twitter.com/SalonProfit

© Belinda Meyer publishes information for the Salon and Spa industry. She offers helpful information relating to health, beauty therapy, spa treatments, skin care, hair and more. Want to know more? Visit http://www.salonprofit.net