14 Advanced Twitter Tips
Twitter Like a Pro
The last two articles Tweet or Not to Tweet and Tweet Tweet Nonprofit should have gotten everyone up-to-date on the basics of Twitter.  Now that you have your twitter account set up and hopefully following a few people as well as being followed I wanted to take this space to give you some tips to get you tweeting like a pro as well as being well mannered in the twitter arena (etiquette). Read on to get some more advanced Twitter tips.
1. Hashtags
Hashtags (#) are a way to create or follow a stream on Twitter. By typing a word with a hashtag in front of it (#airplane), your twitter message can be followed and added to by anyone who is also interested in that particular subject. Thousands of hashtags are already established and are easy to join into or add to conversations about a particular topic or industry. For example, if you’re interested in fundraising, #fundraising is a hashtag you can add into your twitter message and can be followed easily by anyone else interested in fundraising. The same goes for thousands of topics. Many times fast breaking news can be followed more closely on Twitter than even news channels. Because millions use twitter, eyewitnesses can tweet details, pictures or information quicker using Twitter than it takes for a news crew to get to the scene of the story and get information to the TV or internet. The way you follow hashtags is either by creating a search on tweetdeck with the hashtag you want to follow or following it on http://search.twitter.com , http://twemes.com/ or http://hashtags.org/
You can create your own hashtag to tweet about your live fundraiser or event so that others can follow the developing story from anywhere in the world. You need to make sure the hashtag you create is unique and not already being used or else your tweets will be mixed into another ongoing conversations. This way everyone can stay up-to-the-second connected to what is happening at your event.
2. Following Keywords
To follow topics you are interested in, it is not necessary to even find a hashtag for the subject. Many times you can go to http://search.twitter.com and type in the subject or word (i.e. giants, newborns, etc.) and instantly see all the tweets that happened around the world that include those words and subjects.
3. Etiquette
This is a huge topic and to my knowledge there is no definitive guide to the etiquette on twitter. There are some things you should and should not do as a manner of politeness and to make Twitter a better experience for everyone. I will list a few obvious ones below.
Ongoing Real Conversations- Twitter is meant to be a tool to facilitate real-time ongoing conversations. Engage in getting to know those you follow and let others that follow you get to know you. Twitter can be very fun and engaging; however, if you follow too many people there will be no way to keep up with all the conversations. A good rule is to follow 250 or fewer people and to keep your posts and replies real. Your posts should be like you’re having a conversation, not like your posting billboards. The reason you want to keep who you’re following down to a number of people you can actually know is because think if all 250 people all posted one tweet during the day, that’s 250 tweets you have to keep up with. Follow some people you find interesting and if you find later they are not interesting, unfollow them and follow some that are. Your tweets do not have to be profound, instead make your conversations and tweets like real conversations. Imagine you answered the phone and your friend asked you “What are you doing right now?”
No spam- Keep your conversations real and try hard not to always be focused on getting your message in everyone’s face. Once you build some relationships there will be plenty of time to let them know how they can help. Sometimes it is unavoidable to send people to your web site or info if they ask for it. It is important they know what you do and why you do it, just don’t plaster them with that type of information. Remember, Twitter is supposed to be a social conversation and many are following you because they want to get to know you and even your nonprofit.
Following and Being Followed- Do some searches on http://search.twitter.com for subjects that you are interested in. Find those that seem interesting and follow them. As you get involved with conversations others will follow you. Above all enjoy the conversations. Make it a habit to tweet several times a day and let people know (what you are comfortable with) what you’re doing, thinking, information you found interesting, etc.  Don’t worry if those following you, unfollow you. They simply moved on to other conversations. Another way to find interesting people is by looking at the profiles of the people that follow you to see who they are and might be interesting to follow.
Virtual Water Cooler- Remember that Twitter is like a virtual water cooler. You don’t have to camp out at it all day spouting off everything that is going on in your life and listening to everyone else. It is a good way to take breaks throughout the day and talk with a few people. It is also a great way to ask questions about things you need answers to. For example, “Where is the best place to eat in Dallas?” People will let you know what they think. Throughout the day I tune in for a couple minutes as I am taking coffee or water breaks to see what everyone I follow is up to, then it is back to business.
Here are 101 great dos and don’ts from Lauren Rothwww.laurennroth.com/?q=node/227″ target=”_blank”>
4. Twitter Clients
There are a lot of Twitter apps that can make your Twitter experience a lot more pleasant and you may want to take a look at each of them and decide it they are for you. I will briefly go down a few and let you make your determination on whether they are helpful to you or not.
Tweet Deck- This is one I highly recommend. Once you begin using it I believe it will make the whole twitter arena more interesting and manageable. 
In a future post I may do a video of how to use TweetDeck. Tweet deck will even translate tweets in other languages if you have friends in other countries.
Twirl- another desktop app for Twitter. Very simple but keeps you from needing to go to the web to tweet.
Twitpic- is an app that is quickly accessible in TweetDeck or on its own. It allows you to share pictures of anything on a tweet.
5. Tweet From Your Mobile Phone:
iphone:
Twitter Mobile- straightforward interface
PocketTweets – robust application
iTweet- good straightforward application
Hahlo 2.0- Great robust application
Blackberry
Twitterberry- Hands down the best on the blackberry (if you can’t afford an iphone)
6. Posts, Replies, and Direct Messages
When you post a tweet, the tweet goes out to everyone that is following you and can also be searched by searching your username on sites like http://search.twitter.com. Likewise when you reply (@scottringo), the message still goes out to the public but the person you replied to will receive it as a reply. If the recipient is using TweetDeck, they will get the reply in a separate window that is easy to identify.
However, there is another way to send and receive messages that are not so public- Direct Messages. If someone is following you and you want to reply to their tweet only to them and not in a public way you can Direct Message them. This is accomplished by putting a “D” in front of their user name (D scottringo). If the recipient is using TweetDeck, the Direct Message (DM) shows up in a separate window from public messages or replies. Many have their DM messages set to also come into their email or phone. So a good rule of thumb is only to DM if it is confidential or urgent. This way your conversations stay more public, but if you need to get a sensitive message to someone, you can.
7. Search
There are a lot of ways to search topics, subjects and messages on Twitter from the web. If you use TweetDeck, the search can be done right in the application. By far one of the easiest searches is done on search.twitter.com; others are twitscoop and twemes.com. Play around with the searches and see what you can find.
Twitter Search – search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Twitscoop -search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Twemes -search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Some other searches to explore:
TwitterFall- TwitterFall is the coolest way to read all or filtered posts on Twitter like a waterfall. BEWARE addictive
Retweetist - the freshest, most often Retweeted items
Twitt(url)y – Twitturly counts links posted on Twitter and then ranks the content.
Tweetmeme – shows Blogs, Images, Video and Audio that are linked to popular tweets
TweetLists - the most popular links over the last 24 hours
Twitter Search – most popular way to search for anything Twitter
8. Twitter in FaceBook 
If you are a FaceBook fan, you can automatically update your Facebook account through Twitter which keeps you from going back and forth between accounts. By updating your Facebook account with Twitter, your friends on FaceBook will know what you are doing throughout the day.
9. Blogging for Nonprofits
If your nonprofit has a blog, which I highly recommend, http://oceangrand.org/top-10-reasons-nonprofits-should-blog/, you can post your blog articles automatically to your twitter account using twit_this and then also updates your FaceBook profile. That’s three “birds” with one stone.
10. Upload All Your Friends
Twitter is way more fun if all your friends, supporters, donors, board members, etc. are on Twitter so that you can tweet back and forth. From your Twitter settings, click on “Find Friends”. Once there, you have the option to find friends who are already on twitter by typing in their name. With the next tab “Find on Other Networks” you can upload you address book by first importing your address book to gmail if it is not already there and then Twitter will check that against all the people in your address book. Once found, you can add who you like or everyone. With the third tab, “Invite By Email”, you have the option to invite all those you know who are not already on Twitter by entering their email addresses. Adding your friends to Twitter will make Twitter a blast and easy for you to keep everyone you know and those interested in your nonprofit up-to-date.
11. Pace Yourself on Your Posts
Too many posts promoting yourself, your organization, or your nonprofit and people will get turned off. Also, spending too much time on Twitter can wreck havoc on your work ethic. Take it easy and find your groove on Twitter. Beware- it is addictive.
12. Retweet
Retweet (RT) is a way to tweet again a post that someone tweeted that you think is interesting. By putting a RT in front of the tweet either by copy and paste, or if you’re using TweetDeck, there is a button that automatically fills it all in, you can retweet others’ posts. People love it when you retweet their posts. It is a way to gain people’s affection and loyalty.
13. Spend Time on Your Profile 
Spend some time on your profile and make it interesting so people will want to follow you. You might also want to get a customized Twitter background on your profile which will give you more room to give people information, plus it just makes you look cool.
14. Have a Blast!
So now you have some advanced techniques and how to get the most out of Twitter. This is certainly not an exhaustive list of ways you can use Twitter, but it is a good start. Above all, have a blast and don’t get overwhelmed. Twitter is a powerful application that when used consistently and with moderation can get you well connected to those you love and those you may not yet know you love. Once you get connected, follow us at @scottringo and let the games begin.
Subscribe to our RSS feed or email subscription to learn more about how to start, fund, and run a nonprofit successfully. We will be giving you some tips in the coming weeks about how you can do a “Tweet Up” as a fundraiser for your nonprofit.
Other Articles on “How to Be a Social Media Pro:”
Tweet or Not to Tweet
Tweet Tweet NonProfit
10 Reasons a NonProfit Should Blog
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