TWITTER BASICS. TYPES OF MESSAGES There are three types of messages you can send or receive a tweet, a reply and a direct message.

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TYPES OF MESSAGES There are three types of messages you can send or receive a tweet, a reply and a direct message. Note: Twitter places a maximum of 140 characters per message.

1 TWITTER BASICS Twitter encourages frequent updates, engagement and retweeting content. It is advisable to login to your Twitter account at least once per day so that you may post and respond with immediacy. TYPES OF MESSAGES There are three types of messages you can send or receive a tweet, a reply and a direct message. Note: Twitter places a maximum of 140 characters per message. This character count applies to all letters, numbers, spaces, links and hashtags and all types of messages. As you type your message the number of characters will automatically be counted in the message box the number shown will count backwards from A Tweet: A tweet is a public message directed to no one in particular, and everyone sees it. Simply click the quill feather icon in the upper right-hand side of your computer screen, smart phone or tablet, type your message and click/tap the TWEET button and everyone who views your profile, and anyone who follows you will see your message. You can also compose a tweet on the left of your computer screen just below your profile image on the HOME tab. or 2. A Reply: A Twitter reply is sometimes called tag or mention. Specifically, a reply is a public message directed toward someone specific, but this message is still viewable by anyone who visits your profile and anyone who follows you. Replies can be made directly to a tweet by clicking the by clicking the REPLY icon directly below a message. 3. A Direct Message: A direct message is frequently referred to as a DM. DMs are private messages sent through Twitter from one user to another and other than the person who sends the message and the person who receives it, no

A DM may also be sent by clicking the envelope icon in the upper right side of your computer screen or on the bottom bar of your mobile application. or WHERE TO READ YOUR MESSAGES 1.

Every tweet published by a person you follow will appear in reverse chronological order on your homepage at http://www.twitter.com/yourusername.

2 one else can see it. A direct message can be composed within either of the compose a tweet options by typing the letter D followed by a space, followed by the name of the person to whom the message will be sent. A DM may also be sent by clicking the envelope icon in the upper right side of your computer screen or on the bottom bar of your mobile application. or WHERE TO READ YOUR MESSAGES 1. Tweets posted by people you follow will be visible on your Twitter profile HOME tab also referred to as your timeline. Every tweet published by a person you follow will appear in reverse chronological order on your homepage at The more users you follow, the more messages that will appear on your timeline which can sometimes prove to be challenging to track tweets. 2. Replies: are publicly viewable messages, replies to your tweets will be visible on your timeline just like any other tweet people you follow send. Depending on how many people you follow, and how often they tweet, it is highly likely that you will miss replies because they are hiding on page 2 or 37. The easiest way to see your replies is to view your NOTIFICATIONS tab. This tab is located on the upper-left side of your computer screen or on the bottom bar of your mobile app.

When using Twitter on your computer you will be able to filter your tags in two ways by anyone who @replies you or by @replies by only those you follow.

3 When using Twitter on your computer you will be able to filter your tags in two ways by anyone you or by only those you follow. Anyone who has a Twitter account can tag you, not just your followers or people you follow. Using Twitter from your computer also allows you to filter your notifications from your mentions. Notifications are actions done by other users to your tweets, i.e. favoriting or retweeting. The mentions filter will simply show you a list of It is good practice to check your NOTIFICATIONS tab on a regular basis for two reasons: Someone may be asking you a question and awaiting an answer. Someone may be commenting on something you said and you might want to consider a response. 3. Direct messages sent to you can be viewed by clicking the envelope icon found on the upper right side of your computer screen or on the bottom bar of your mobile application. Unlike replies and tags, only those users you follow AND who follow you back can send you a DM. HASHTAGS On Twitter (and other social media outlets) a pound sign or hash when put in front of any word or phrase automatically turns that groups of words into a searchable link. This allows the content posted to be trackable and organized by those keywords. If you click a hashtag within Twitter, you will be able to see all posts refrencing that topic if the hashtag was used. Hashtags are a great way to foster dialogue. #HashtaggingTips! Spaces and puncutation are not supported in hashtags. Even if your hashtag contains multiple words, group them altogether no spaces and no punctuation including ampersands. Instead of spaces, use capital letters to distinguish between words. Using capital letters will not interfere with the searchability, organization and/or trackability of hashtags. #UDenver150 is categorized the same as #udenver150. Multiple hashtags can be used in one tweet. It s best to use no more than three hashtags in a single tweet.

You may retweet content posted on Twitter whether the user follows you or not, and whether or not you follow that user as long as said accounts are publlic.

4 If you create a hashtag, publicize it. Include it in your marketing materials, signature and Twitter profile. RETWEETS Retweeting is simply sharing tweets published by other users that you find interesting on your own profile. You may retweet content posted on Twitter whether the user follows you or not, and whether or not you follow that user as long as said accounts are publlic. There are two ways retweeting can happen directly and indrectly. 1. Direct Retweets: Directly retweeting is the simpler method of the two ways to retweet. Direct retweets are done by simply clicking the RETWEET icon at the bottom of any tweet. Once you click the RETWEET icon, you will be asked if you want to send this message to your followers. Once the RETWEET button is clicked, the message is automatically posted publicly on your profile. Note: The number of times a post has been retweeted will be indicated adjacent to the RETWEET icon at the bottom of the tweet. 2. Indirect Retweets: Indirectly retweeting is simply copying and pasting a message into your own compose box. To give credit to the orginal publisher of the tweet, RT is put in front of the message. This type of retweeting is sometimes useful when replying to messages and you want to retain the orginal content and/or conversation stream.

FOLLOWERS Any Twitter user may follow any public Twitter account. This means as long as your account is public, anyone can follow you and you may follow any public Twitter account.

5 FOLLOWERS Any Twitter user may follow any public Twitter account. This means as long as your account is public, anyone can follow you and you may follow any public Twitter account. When it comes to following, follow accounts that interest you. There are several ways to find people to follow on Twitter: Use Twitter s WHO TO FOLLOW feature. This is located on the right hand side of the computer screen. You can also find follow suggestions within mobile apps. Follow other followees. If there is a user that you enjoy, look at who they are following and see if any of those accounts interst you. Use the search feature on Twitter to find users and topics that interst you. You can search by Twitter handle, name, hashtag or topic. The search bar is located at the top of the screen on your computer and within the magnifying glass icon on mobile devices.

How to Set-Up a Basic Twitter Page

How to Set-Up a Basic Twitter Page 1. Go to http://twitter.com and find the sign up box, or go directly to https://twitter.com/signup 1 2. Enter your full name, email address, and a password 3. Click Sign