“HOW TO” SIGN UP FOR TWITTER

This is Part 4 of my blog series featuring Hubspot’s AWESOME eBook   

“Using Twitter for Business: An Introductory Guide”   

http://bit.ly/HubSpotTwitter4Business   

So let‘s get started with Twitter! The first thing you‘ll need to do is get signed up for an account!

Before signing up, decide whether you want a personal or a business Twitter account. Both are good for a company to have, but each serves different purposes.

Company account: 

Represents the company as a whole. Use this type of account to:

• Keep your customer base up-to-date on your events
• Promote recent blog articles or news
• Update your consumers about products/services
• Give real-time updates at conferences and events
• Offer customer service and support

Personal account: 

Used by an individual employee at the company. This account type is more personalized, can be used to talk about non-company related things, and is better for direct relationship building. Use this type of account to:

• Act as a liaison to the public for your company
• Update people on what you‘re working on
• Share tidbits about your personality
• Expand your company‘s network and make connections

To get your own account, go to http://Twitter.com and click  “Sign up for Twitter”

Clicking this button will bring you to a page where you will select your username and password.

Your username is very important. This name will be how people refer to you on Twitter and potentially how people will acknowledge you if you ever meet any of your Twitter followers offline. Think of your username as your personal brand name. That‘s how important it is.

Ideas for Twitter Usernames:

1. Your full name (JamesDean)

2. A variation of your name (JDean)

3. A combination of your name and your company (CompanyJane)

4. A combination of your name and your industry (MarketingJane)

Making your Twitter username as close to your name as possible will make it easier for people to recognize you at offline. That said, sometimes people will even put their Twitter handles on their nametag at events to avoid confusion.

Using your real name on Twitter helps you look like a real, authentic person if someone stumbles upon your profile.

If you will be the only person representing your company on Twitter—and you do not plan to make a company Twitter account—why not use the third option, and make your username a combination of your name and company? Don‘t feel obligated to do this; you will have the opportunity to indicate the company you work for in your profile (explained in the next section).

Twitter Handle DON’TS:

1. Don‘t make your Twitter handle something completely random (TigerMan). This is a lost branding opportunity for you and your company.

2. Don‘t use numbers (Joanne123). Unless there is a reason for the specific numbers, it looks juvenile. It also conjures the old AOL chat room days. It gives you the appearance that you aren‘t putting thought into your username, and it looks unprofessional.

3. Don‘t use an underscore (PR_Max). Using an underscore won‘t hurt you, but be aware that it generally is never done, and you‘ll be at risk of seeming unaware of the “Social Norms”

After you choose your username and click “CREATE MY ACCOUNT” Twitter will launch a screen that gives you the option of choosing people to follow based on your topics of interest. We actually recommend that you personalize your profile.

The next step in the Twitter setup process will ask you to check if any of your email contacts are already on Twitter. This is not a required step, so fee free to skip it if you desire. That said, if you have Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, or LinkedIn accounts, you can check to see if anyone you know is already signed up for Twitter, which can be useful when searching for people to follow.

If you do decide to check, be aware that Twitter will ask if you‘d like to invite these contacts to Twitter. This will send a message all your contacts. Only do this if you want to.