Tweet, Retweet, Hashtags: The new language of Social Media

Twittering is all the rage lately. Even if you are watching TV or listening to the radio you will hear the mention of Twitter, Facebook or MySpace as a way of following the moment to moment thoughts of TV stars and entire news channels. Everyone is jumping on the Twitter train and if you are not yet an expert you better get started. Social Media marketing is a beast all of its own and learning the intricacies of how it works can be similar to learning a new language. A few of the terms you will need to know to get started on Twitter are tweet, retweet and hashtags. There are tons of Twitter terms already in existence and new ones are created all the time. Twitter can keep you connected to customers 24 hours a day 365 days a year so you can keep them informed of things like new products or sales events, but it must be done in 140 characters or less.

First, we will discuss who a tweeter is. A tweeter is a person that posts messages on Twitter. So anyone that puts down a thought on Twitter has the title tweeter. There are currently over 14 million US visitors on Twitter alone from Joe the Plumber to rockstars like Bono. You can keep track of what they are doing and what they think is important enough to share with their followers. Twitter is an amazing networking tool if used correctly. Remember, people have to follow you and if you are not keeping them interested you are sure to lose their interest quickly. Which brings us to our next Twitter term, tweet. A tweet is simply a posting on Twitter. Now, Twitter tweets are limited to 140 characters or less so you have to get your point across quickly. Fast and furious is what Twitter is all about. You need to become an expert at getting your point across in a few words and in an intriguing way.

This marketing tool can really make your business soar to new levels. You have the power of viral marketing right at your fingertips. Think about it, you tweet a message to your followers and if they think it is interesting enough, they can comment on your tweet to their followers or simply retweet your message. Then the followers of those tweeters will do the same, over and over until thousands of people have seen your message within minutes. Think of the power of that, not only are you reaching potentially thousands of people, you are doing it for free. Not one penny of your marketing budget is being spent, that is a truly powerful marketing tool. So, in case you didn’t catch it, a retweet is simply to repeat or quote another person’s tweet. In order for a retweet to be seen by the masses it is important to put some type of notation before the @name of the person whose tweet you are retweeting. Many people write retweet or R/T or simply RT before the original tweeters name to show that they are retweeting a message. Retweeting is one of the highest compliments you can pay a fellow tweeter. It means that you think that their tweet is important enough to share with your followers. It is also a common courtesy to thank the person that retweeted your tweet.

Lastly, I wanted to mention hashtags. Hashtags are an important tool for serious tweeters because they give you a way to add additional context and metadata to your tweets by simply prefixing a word with a hash symbol, #hashtag. A hashtag is a way for others to find information about your keywords even if they are not following you, yet. It is a great way to get new followers that are interested in your topics and can give you even more exposure. Hope these Twitter tips help you get start on Twitter. It really is an important part of your internet marketing strategy, so go get some followers!