Easy step by step guide to getting started on Twitter.
What’s Inside…
Part One How to Create Your Free Account
Part Two How to Setup Your Profile
Part Three How to Start Following People
Part Four How to Start Tweeting
Part Five Basic Twitter Lingo
Part Six Easy Formulas for Awesome Tweets
BONUS How to Send a Tweet From Your Phone
Glossary
2. What’s Inside…
Part One How to Create Your Free Account
Part Two How to Setup Your Profile
Part Three How to Start Following People
Part Four How to Start Tweeting
Part Five Basic Twitter Lingo
Part Six Easy Formulas for Awesome Tweets
BONUS How to Send a Tweet From Your Phone
Glossary
3. Ready?
Let’s do this.
If you’d like help along the way...
email marketing@blueleaf.com
or Tweet @BlueleafAdvisor
5. How to Create Your Free Account
1. Go to http://twitter.com/signup
2. Enter your name and email
address
3. Create a password
4. Choose a Twitter username
i.e. @BlueleafAdvisor
• A Username should represent you or your
firm. It should be easy to remember and
quickly recognizable, and easy to spell so
other users can send messages without
typos.
• You’re not locked into this username forever
– it can be changed!
5. Quickly check to make sure your
name, email address, password, and
username are all spelled correctly
6. Click ‘Create My Account’
7. 7. From the Twitter home page,
click on the ‘Settings’ link. You
should be on the ‘Account’ tab.
Set the timezone to match yours.
8. Don’t check ‘Protect My
Updates’. If you do, your tweets
are hidden from the public. This
shuts people out, discourages
engagement, and will hinder
your Twitter success.
9. From the ‘Profile’ tab, upload a
picture.
http://michaelhyatt.com/the-beginners-guide-to-
twitter.html
How to Setup Your Profile
9. 10. Fill out the rest of your basic
information: Location, URL for
your website/blog, and a brief
bio.
11. When you are finished, click
the ‘Save’ button.
http://michaelhyatt.com/the-beginners-guide-to-
twitter.html
How to Setup Your Profile
13. 13. Build your followers. As you get more savvy in the Twitter
world, you’ll build a base of followers. You can do this by following
more people, which encourages them to follow you back, sending
out clever tweets that people who aren’t your followers may see, and
just continuing to be an active tweeter.
Tips To Get More Followers
• Integrate your efforts to extend the engagement
• Work with others to reach more Twitter users
• Learn more about our users and what they like
• Delight your followers with behind-the-scenes access
• Wow them with exclusive content and promotions
• Let your current followers help you spread the word to new ones
• Get more followers with paid Twitter Ads (This shouldn’t be
necessary
https://business.twitter.com/attract-followers
How to Start Following People
14. 12. Find people/brands you know
via search and via Twitter’s
suggestions. Twitter will present you
with a list of popular people to follow.
Click at least five people to follow and
press ‘Next’ when you’re done. You’ll be
presented with another list tailored to
the people you chose, and you’ll be asked
to choose at least five more. You can
always skip this step by skipping forward
on the prompts given.
You can always ‘Unfollow’ an account
later, so don’t over-think each Follow. If
their tweets turn out to be boring,
irrelevant, you can Unfollow them.
http://www.wikihow.comGet-More-Followers-on-Twitter
How to Start Following People
16. How To Start Tweeting
14. Just Tweet it. Now that your account is set up, you’re ready to
go! Start sharing your short-and-sweet thoughts with the world. Just
type a message and press ‘Tweet’ when you’re ready.
17. How To Start Tweeting
15. Attach a photo. Tweets with
images get 150%+ more engagement.
From Your Computer: Go to compose
a new tweet, as you normally would, and
click the small ‘camera’ icon and select
the image you want to tweet from your
computer files. Add some text and press
send!
From Your Smartphone: Go to
compose a new tweet, as you normally
would, and tap the small ‘image’ icon.
Select the photo from your camera roll,
or take a photo (selecting ‘Use Photo’
when you’re happy with it), and add
some text and press send.
23. To help you up your Twitter game,
here are some Twitter “formulas” –
just make the below changes to
each one. Each audience is
different, so you may find that
some of these formulas work better
than others to grow your following.
• Fill in the ‘blanks’ where the
[BRACKETS] are
• Edit the hashtag with the actual
hashtag you’d like to use (e.g.
#Blueleafing)
• Replace @TwitterHandle with a
person’s real Twitter handle
(e.g. @BlueleafAdvisor)
http://blog.hubspot
Tweet Formulas
blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tweet-formulas-to-get-you-started-on-twitter
24. #1 – The Basic Shared Content Tweet
[ARTICLE TITLE] – http://url .com #hashtag by @TwitterHandle
This go-to tweet style is the easiest to execute, but many times people forget to include a relevant
hashtag and author’s Twitter handle. The hashtag could get your tweet more exposure to people
following that hashtag. And always credit your information source (the author or the site you got
the post from) on social media. It’ll show appreciation to the original content creator, and they
might return the favor by sharing some of your content with their followers.
Example: Harry Connick Jr., Skittles, & Advisors You Want to Punch – hub.am/1njSwla by
@BlueleafAdvisor
#2 – The RT With Commentary
[YOUR OPINION] #hashtag – RT @TwitterHandle [ARTICLE TITLE] http://url .com
Typically when you want to retweet someone’s tweet, you can simply click the retweet button and
share the content with your followers. But if you want to get people to notice you on Twitter, you
may want to add some commentary to your retweets. In this case, when you retweet, copy and
paste their tweet, preface the tweet with RT @TwitterHandle, and add commentary to the
beginning. If you modify their tweet at all (e.g. to make the tweet a bit shorter), use MT – stands
for “modified tweet” – instead of RT.
Example: #4 is important but often forgotten – RT @BlueleafAdvisor “It’s Time to Rethink the
Standard Email Newsletter” hub.am/1qa5jvC by @CorinneDeCost
Tweet Formulas
blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tweet-formulas-to-get-you-started-on-twitter
25. #3 – The Problem/Solution Tweet
Don’t let your [ASSET] [NEGATIVE RESULT]. Find out how to [GOAL] here - http://url .com
#hashtag
Fear is a powerful motivator. Nobody wants to suck, or fail, or flounder, or fall short, or whatever
[negative result] you use. And if they do, they want to learn how to remedy the situation, fast. That’s
where you can help them. Also, if there’s a relevant hashtag you can use here, don’t forget to include
it!
Example: Don’t know what to post, so you’ve lost all your readers? Check out these “4 Hot Topics
and 12 Specific Blog Post Ideas” – hub,am/1i4rYXP #blogging
#4 – The Stat or Fact Tweet
Did you know that [STAT]? http://url .com #hashtag
Don’t just find any old data point here – find something that will really intrigue your target audience.
Once they get this little preview, they’ll want to read the full story to understand (1) why this data
point is true, and (2) what they should do about it.
Example: Do you know the online research tool 81% of financial service pros neglect? hub.am/
1nw6Zfr #Blueleafing
Tweet Formulas
blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tweet-formulas-to-get-you-started-on-twitter
26. #5 – The Endorsement Tweet
I loved this article by @TwitterHandle about [TOPIC] http://url .com #hashtag
Lots of valueable info on [TOPIC] in this article by @TwitterHandle – http://url.com #hashtag
This tweet can take many forms, but instead of tweeting a basic shared content tweet, you’re
adding your endorsement to the tweet, and possibly including info on why you enjoyed the piece.
Example: I loved this article by @CarolynHeard about how to stand out from other Financial
Advisors – hub.am/1kXH1Bw #Blueleafing
#6 – The Question Tweet
[QUESTION] #hashtag OR [QUESTION] – http://url .com #hashtag
Twitter, like all social media, is a two-way conversation. You should regularly ask your followers
questions. These can be tied to an article you’ve read or could be something a little more random
(though still tied to your brand). Not every tweet needs to drive traffic to a website page.
Example: What kind of billing system do you prefer? #Blueleafing
Tweet Formulas
blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tweet-formulas-to-get-you-started-on-twitter
27. #7 – The Tip or Advice Tweet
[YOUR OWN WORDS OF WISDOM] #hashtag
[QUESTION] #hashtag 1. [ANSWER 1] 2. [ANSWER 2] 3. [ANSWER 3]
Tweeting bits of advice that obviously aren’t traffic drivers is a great way to build credibility.
Tweets like this are tweeted frequently and can get you more engagement and followers, so don’t
look at it as a sacrifice.
Example: Do you pass re-share test? Be valuable as a #blogger 1. Provide information 2. Provide
analysis 3. Provide assistance 4. Be entertaining
#8 – The Inspiring Quote
[ARTICLE TITLE] – http://url .com #hashtag by @TwitterHandle
The hashtag could get your tweet more exposure to people following that hashtag. And always
credit your information source (the author or the site you got the post from) on social media. It’ll
show appreciation to the original content creator, and they might return the favor by sharing some
of your content with their followers.
Example: Advisors You Want to Punch – hub.am/1njSwla by @BlueleafAdvisor
Tweet Formulas
blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tweet-formulas-to-get-you-started-on-twitter
29. Twitter is even more convenient if you can
connect it to your cell phone. You can
receive updates from those you are
following as well as send your own
interaction alerts. It can all be done via
text message or the Twitter app.
For the App:
• Download the free app through your
smartphone’s App Store.
• Once the app has downloaded onto your
mobile device, open it up. Enter our
account information on the login
screen, and you can get started!
How To Tweet from Your Phone
30. For Texting:
• Twitter doesn’t charge anything for this
service, but your phone carrier might. It’s a
good idea to check with them and make sure
you are on an “unlimited text messaging
plan”, since you don’t want to be surprised
with a big phone bill.
• Under the ‘Settings’ link, click on the ‘Mobile’
tab. Enter your mobile phone number and
click on the ‘Start’ button. Now take your cell
phone and text message the code Twitter gives
you to 40404 (the number will be different if
you are outside the U.S.). Be patient.
Eventually, Twitter will confirm to you that
your device is registered.
• Now, while still on your phone, set up a
contact named “Twitter”. For the mobile
phone number, use 40404. Anytime you want
to send a Twitter update, you will text it to this
contact name.
How To Tweet from Your Phone
32. Twitter Glossary
@Mention– You direct public messages to other Twitter users by inserting an “@” sign
immediately followed by their username. For example, “@BlueleafAdvisor Nice article!”
DM – DM is short for “Direct Message”, a tweet-like message sent in private between two Twitter
users. Unlike the public @Mentions, DMs are private and do not appear to anyone except the
specified recipients. You can send a DM to anyone who follows you.
Engagement – Engagement on Twitter refers to the practice of responding to and making
conversation with your followers and other people on Twitter. Most of the businesses that are
successful on Twitter make this a priority.
Feed– A “feed” is any constantly-updating list of tweets or other updates, usually sorted
chronologically with the most recent updates appearing at the top. Your home page is a feed of
tweets from people you follow and your profile page is a feed of your tweets.
URL Shortener– Tweets are limited to 140 characters, so many users will choose to shorten
website links in order to better fit in the character limit. At Blueleaf, we like to use the free service
Bitly.
Trending– When a term is extremely popular on Twitter at any given moment, it’s “trending”.
The home page offers a list of trending terms. Be forewarned – the Twitter community is fickle and
trends often evaporate as quickly as they appear.
33. Congrats!
You’ve completed the beginner
Twitter training for Financial Advisors.
NEXT:
Send a tweet to @BlueleafAdvisor to tell us how it’s going!
‘Follow’ @BlueleafAdvisor to get even more helpful resources
for building and growing your advisory business.
Visit www.Blueleaf.com/advisor to see what we do. (It’s cool.)