Twitter Tips for Beginners Everyone Should Know

If you’re just getting started with Twitter, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed by the platform. You may also be wondering how to use it effectively to stand out and grow your brand. Well, if you’ve been feeling that way, you’re in luck!

I’m sharing a few Twitter tips for beginners to help you make a splash and build a community of people who love you and what you do. Let’s dive in!

Twitter Tips for Beginners Everyone Should Know

While these tips are designed for those who are new to Twitter, it’s still great advice for those who have been on the platform for years. These tips will help you with crafting engaging tweets, making new connections, and more.

1. Fully Complete Your Profile and Keep It Updated

First things first… You need to make sure you’ve completely filled out your Twitter profile upon setting it up. This means you need a nice headshot, not that silly egg graphic! It’s also important to have a great bio that clearly communicates who you are and what you do. When people stumble upon your profile, they want to know what you’re all about so they can determine if you’re the kind of person they want to follow. Don’t forget to add a link to your website so people can learn more about you. And you can even sneak an extra link into your bio if needed.

My Twitter header.

You’ll also need an eye-catching header image. This is another place to share what you do since it’ll definitely grab your audience’s attention. The other essential element is having a pinned tweet. You can pin a piece of evergreen content that you know will appeal to your target audience or pin your most recent blog post. It’s totally up to you… Just keep everything fresh and updated.

2. Be Consistent With Sharing New Tweets

If you want to find success with Twitter, the key is to be consistent when it comes to posting new content. You have to be present in order to build a community, so you don’t want to let your account become inactive. Make sure you’re posting multiple times per day and using relevant hashtags to increase your chances of gaining exposure to new people.

3. But Don’t Go Overboard With Posting

Even though you should be posting frequently, it is possible to go overboard. Tweeting too much in a short timeframe can really annoy your followers if you aren’t careful. This post from CoSchedule reveals that 15 tweets per day is the recommended amount. You just have to be smart about when those tweets are posted. Space them out throughout the day so you hit multiple time zones and can therefore reach a wider array of people.

4. Schedule Tweets to Make Posting Easier

The good news is, you don’t have to log onto Twitter throughout the day to share new tweets. You can schedule some in advance so you can focus on other important tasks without getting distracted by social media. There are plenty of great automation tools out there to help you get the job done. See my favorite ones in this post.

Twitter tools, Buffer

Scheduling tweets inside Buffer.

You can schedule shares of your own blog posts and curated content to ensure your account stays active. But the one thing you should never do? Automate your engagement. Avoid doing any auto DMs or replies because that kind of communication with your audience should be genuine and done by you, not a third-party service. Just make it a point to check-in on Twitter a couple times a day to reply to any tweets or DMs you receive.

5. Get Creative With Different Kinds of Tweets

Don’t risk boring your followers by sharing the same kinds of tweets over and over. If you’re only posting links on your Twitter account, it won’t look that engaging to those who are coming across you for the first time. Instead, you need to switch it up! You can share link posts, but don’t be afraid to share plain text tweets, graphics, and GIFs. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different formats to see what appeals to your audience. For instance, I love motivational quotes and so does my community. So you’ll see a few of those in my feed each day.

6. Connect With Your Audience Through Twitter Video

Another way to get creative with your tweets is by sharing video content. By now, you probably know I’m all about sharing videos on Twitter. I’ve even written a blog post all about it, along with eight video ideas you can film as soon as today! I’m also really passionate about my #VideoReplyDay initiative as a way to develop a stronger relationship with my community.

The great thing about video is that it’s not as frequently used on Twitter, so it’s going to help you stand out from the crowd. Plus, video is really powerful for connecting with others because they get to see and hear you, as opposed to just reading your tweets. Think of some video ideas that your followers would be interested in and start filming!

7. Focus More on Providing Value

One important lesson we should all keep in mind from Gary Vaynerchuk is from his book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. Basically, Gary says that you need to throw a few jabs before you come in with the right hook. That means you need to focus on providing value and building a relationship with your community before you start pitching your product or service.

If you’re constantly promoting your own offerings, it’s going to come off as salesy and turn-off your followers. And there’s a good chance they won’t want to stick around if all you’re doing is promoting yourself. This is why most of your tweets should be adding some sort of value based on your expertise and the interests of your community. Then, you can sprinkle in tweets about your offerings here and there. Even though this is one of my Twitter tips for beginners, it’s something that even seasoned Twitter users should keep in mind.

8. Take Advantage of Twitter Lists

Another feature of Twitter that I feel people just don’t use enough is Twitter lists. When you start following a lot of people on Twitter, your feed can start to become a little overwhelming. With so many tweets being posted, you can miss out on new content from the people you’re most interested in. That’s where lists come in handy.

Some of my Twitter Lists!

Lists essentially provide a way for you to segment those you’re following on Twitter. And when you access a list, you’ll see tweets only from those who are on said list. You can create a list for people who are local to you, ones based on interest or area of expertise, and so much more. It really depends how you like to use Twitter! To help you get started, read my ultimate guide to Twitter lists.

9. Join Twitter Chats

As a Twitter chat host myself, there’s no way I could leave this off my list of Twitter tips for beginners! I firmly believe that joining Twitter chats is one of the best ways to stand out on the platform. Chats provide an opportunity for you to form new connections because you’re able to meet so many people from all over the world in the span of one hour. Plus, they’re a fantastic place to learn new things with everyone sharing their expertise.

The key is to find Twitter chats that are relevant to your niche and start participating. You can share your knowledge with the other participants, thus positioning yourself as an authority. Just make sure you aren’t only responding to the Twitter chat questions. You need to take the initiative and reply to others as well.

I have a post all about why you should join Twitter chats and how to make the most of them. Read this before joining your first one!

10. Pay Attention to Analytics to Improve Your Strategy

To maximize your success on Twitter, it’s important that you’re keeping an eye on your analytics. As you start using the platform and sharing content, you’ll want to see which posts are performing the best because it’ll show you what your audience is interested in. Pay attention to the topics that generate the most engagement, as well as the tweet formats your audience seems to really enjoy. Then, create more of what they like to truly shine on Twitter. You can find your analytics here: https://analytics.twitter.com

11. Don’t Obsess Over Your Follower Count

And one of my best Twitter tips for beginners is to stop stressing about your follower count. When it comes to social media, it’s not about how many followers you have. Instead, it’s about the quality of your followers. Having 500 Twitter followers who reply, retweet, and click your links is so much better than 10,000 followers who aren’t engaging with your posts. So, don’t let your follower count get you down. Instead, just focus on sharing valuable content and connecting with your community. Growth will follow.

Call to Action:

  • Take a look at your Twitter profile and give it a refresh if needed. You can update things like your profile photo, bio, header image, and pinned tweet to ensure you’re appealing to your target audience.
  • Review your analytics to see where you can make improvements. Should you be posting more often or less? Are there topics and formats that really resonate with your audience that you should be posting more of? Use this information to shape your Twitter strategy.
  • Start posting and engaging with others. The key to Twitter success is by being active on the platform, so make sure you’re present to increase exposure and build relationships.