Like any social scene, there are rules to properly behaving in the social media world.  For many new to Twitter, discovering these rules as well as understanding the cultural vernacular can be challenging.

The DM (Direct Message)Twitter might be confusing at first... but you'll get it

Direct Messaging is just what the title implies; it is a private message between users only viewable between the sender and receiver.  DMs are increasingly worthless due to automated responses from users to their following.  Unfortunately many DMs are lost as their intended target may get hundreds of self-promoting plug messages each day.

The RT (ReTweet)

ReTweeting is an opportunity for users to promote good content from another Twitter user to one’s own following.  The RT is a prime example of how social media is GOOD for business, and allows word of mouth advertising to shoot through the roof.  Now, this does not mean that users should continuously shout their promotional plugs into the either and hope that somebody RTs; rather it’s a way to support remarkable content – if your content is remarkable… inevitably it should catch on.

The @Response

With countless users engaging in “auto-responding” DMs, the @response is the new form of direct Twitter communication.  One can @respond somebody by simply typing @[username] and then the message – for example tweeting: “@garyvee you rock and I loved your book!”  @Responses are public, and this should be taken into consideration when communicating through them, which means your following will be able to see with whom you are interacting and how those interactions take place.

The # (Hash Tag)

Hash tags are used to promote a public conversation; if several people are discussing the same topic and users want to follow a specific topic rather than individual users, then hash tags are the way to go.  To start a conversation or get involved users must simply include #[onewordsubject] – for example “#oilspill” is a common topic for May, 2010 – my thoughts on the topic will be promoted in the existing discussion stream with a tweet like this: “Ugh… I wish we could do more about the #oilspill in the Gulf right now.”

The #FF (Follow Friday)

Somewhere along the Twitter historical time-line, somebody start using Fridays as an opportunity to promote other users to their following.  It is not mandatory, but seems to be reasonable etiquette.  Users can effectively do this by personalizing the tweet as something like, “Hope everybody has a great #FF!  Check out @garyvee, @chrisbrogan, @scottsmeester  and @thesullybear they are helpful”

Smeester & Associates knows that deciphering social media can be an issue; we offer solutions to help manage your social media while educating and empowering you to do it yourself.

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