K, don't judge me, I know this is the big craze these days but here I go: Can someone give me a very *basic* run down of what twitter is? I just don't get it! Is "tweeting" really just like posting a facebook status? And is that all there is to it? I've created a personal account just to see what the fuss is all about but I just don't get it! Maybe I'm overthinking it. I tried to follow some of my favorite celebs, but I don't understand why their pages are full of replies other peoples' questions that I can't see. ??? I'm so confused....

Also, if I decide to do this for my business, how do I get the right people to follow me?

I look at Face book as a simpler version of MySpace and Twitter as a simpler Version of Facebook. You are correct. Twitter is like posting a FB status. Twitter was originally created for text messaging so think of it like a text message. The only people that can see your status are the people following you. The only thing you can see from the people you follow is their status. If someone wants to send you a direct tweet they tweet @ and your username. The way to see what other people said to a person is to search @ then the person's username. It takes some getting used to but when you get the hang of it you will see that it is a very useful tool because you don't have to wait for people to accept friend requests you just click follow and are instantly following them. It's a great way to connect to many people around the world. Hope I Didn't confuse you more LOL

Also keep in mind that Twitter is not useful for everyone's business. I do not plan on using it for my business, actually. (I might change my mind later, though!)

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Chela Lucia
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Hi Jessica, not to worry, Twitter can be perplexing when you first jump on the site.
I'd say that a good start would be to scan the Social Media Marketing section of VAF, the Twitter-related threads specifically.

There was also a chat here at VAF some time ago that you might find useful All Things Twitter - Archived chat with Kyle Lacy, CEO of Brandswag

There's also a Twitter 101 for Business Guide you should take a look at.

Hope that helps!

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What you might be seeing is 'retweets' and they will usually have RT: at the beginning of the tweet. This means the person you are following has 'retweeted' (think of retweeting as sharing, or forwarding a message on) somebody elses tweet, perhaps because they thought it to be a particularly interesting tweet!

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This is all very helpful, thank-you!

I am so glad you asked that question, I have been trying to figure that out myself but didn't want to say anything because so many use it and love it. I have an account for both FB and Twitter and I also do not understand how these can help my business. I am looking into hiring somone to "mentor" or "coach" me on social networking since that is definately NOT my niche.

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just Kate, VA

Personally, I feel I benefit from using social media in several ways:

• Connecting with other people, potential clients or not. I learn something new everyday just by reading people's posts/tweets. I try to give back by providing useful information or simply brightening their day.
• It's basically free advertising, you never know who may become a potential client.
• It makes me think about my message and brand. If I want to attract the ideal potential client I need to be mindful of what I say. It's good discipline.
• I post daily quotes. It takes just a few minutes to find something inspirational and it's a positive way for me to start my day.

Playing around with a personal account is probably a good way to get your feet wet. I have learned the basics just by watching others, and googling anything I'm not sure about. Good luck.

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Linda
Clockwise Virtual Assistance

I ALSO am so glad someone asked the question...because all of this is very overwhelming when you're so new and not certain of what direction you're going in and feel that you have to learn everything overnight!

Thank-you Linda for listing the ways you feel Social Media has been helpful. I really like the idea of posting an inspirational quote every morning. Can anyone answer my question about how you get the right people to "follow" you on Twitter? Thanks!

Chela, I agree with you 100%. Not all businesses work with all forms of social media. You have to consider what type of work you do and your target audience. If your target audience doesn't frequent a type of social media, then you're probably wasting your time there.

In an attempt to find out where (or if) my target audience was on social media, I spent hours and hours during the summer searching the big three--FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn--for all the people I work with now (including my contacts at the larger businesses) and past clients. LinkedIn won, FB second, and Twitter last by a long shot. Most of them I didn't find on any of these three.

And how to get the "right" people to follow you on Twitter for business? Haven't a clue! Except for one to two people, those who follow me are either in the same line of work or connected with me on a personal level.

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