In order to create your Twitter account you need to have a valid email address. If you wear more than one hat, or your company has more than one division, you can set up multiple presences on Twitter. If you have your own website domain then the solution is simple, just create different email addresses on your domain. But if you don’t have your own domain, you will need to set up various email addresses on email services such as Gmail, Yahoo etc.
Follow these steps to set up a Twitter account :
1. Launch your favorite web browser and navigate to http://twitter.com. The Twitter Home page appears.
2. Click Sign Up Now button near the center of your screen The Sign Up page opens. The page refreshes and Twitter wants to know who you are, so you need
to full out the following sections:
. Full name : Type your full name in the Full Name text box and your desired Twitter username into the Username text box. Next, enter the password you want
to assign to your account and a unique email address. Your username doesn’t need to be the same as your full name. Your username is the name that
appears at the end of your unique Twitter URL and is the name used to identify you to other Twitter users. Take some time to choose it carefully.
Twitter checks to see the availability of the full name and username you have entered.
. Username : Use your own name with no spaces. If you need to add your company use something like ruth@newlife. You need to remember that using your
company name eats up a lot of your 140 characters per post. Use all lowercase letters as users of portable devices have to switch between screens
and entering your user name takes longer for them.
. Password : Don’t use an obvious password that anyone could guess. Use a combination of alphabetical characters and numbers, but don’t use your initials
and birthday. Eg. Rbt?_735T.
. Email : You must have a functional email address. Use one that’s connected to your web server. The email address ruth@newlife sounds much more
professional than ruth@yahoo. Accept the default option to let other people find you by using your email address. Then existing contacts and
customers who have your email address can easily find you on Twitter.
3. Click Create My Account. A screen with a Captcha image appears. You have to enter the phrase to prove that you’re a human and not a computer robot
setting up Twitter accounts. Type the weird looking letters and then click Finish. After you click Finish, the Find Sources That Interest You page appears.
Where you can search Twitter directories for like minded people and people in your profession.
Twitters terms of services can be read at: http://twitter.com/tos.
SETTING UP YOUR TWITTER PAGE
When you set up your Twitter page you add bio information or the URL to your web site, upload a picture, or change the design.
To set up your Twitter page, follow these steps :
1. Click Settings from your Twitter page. The Account settings for your Twitter page appears. In this section of the settings, you can change your email
address, username, enable geotagging, and more. You can also protect your tweets from the public.
(Your goal should be to have your tweets seen by as many people as possible). The settings on this page are self-explanatory, as are the settings on
the Password page.
2. Click Mobile. The Mobile Settings appear. You can change settings in this section to use Twitter with text messaging from your mobile phone.
3. Enter your mobile phone number. You also have the option to let other people find you by using your mobile number, but unless you have an unlimited data
plan, this strategy can lead to some costly phone bills.
4. Click Start. Twitter verifies your phone number.
5. Click Notices. The following options are selected by default:
. New follower emails. Be automatically notified by email whenever you have a new . Direct text emails. Be automatically notified by email whenever
someone sends you a direct message.
. Email newsletter. Receive the Twitter newsletter by email.
6. Accept the default email notifications of deselect the ones you don’t want and then click Save.
7. Click Profile. This page gives you the option to add information to your profile, which is blank at the moment.
8. In the picture section, click Browse. Browse for a photo on your computer. You can upload an image in GIF, JPG, or PNG format. The file size of the
image must be less than 700k. Use a head and shoulders image of yourself or a close up of your smiling face.
9. You should have already entered your real name. In case you didn’t do it do it now. Use your real name. People on Twitter will find out who you are, if
you use an alias and you become popular, someone may set up an account in your own name.
10. Enter your location. This step is important, especially if you have a bricks and mortar business. Local Twitter users may follow you because you live are
in their area, and they may become customers.
11. Enter the URL of your web site.
12. Enter a bio. Twitter now becomes generous, and you can use 160 characters for your bio rather than the 140 allowed for a tweet. Put on your
thinking cap and create a bio that tells as much about you and your business as possible while keeping within the character limit. Check out the
Twitter bio’s of other people in your industry before writing yours.
13. Click the Save button and then click the Design tab. Twitter Design page appears. This is your chance to personalize your Twitter page.
14. Choose a theme you like. If you don’t like a theme, you can change it later.
15. Click the Save Changes button. After you set up a Twitter account, you have a very basic page. With a basic Twitter page, you’re ready to start
communicating with tweeple.
ADDING/CHANGING YOUR BACKGROUND IMAGE
Twitter offers various default back grounds to choose from, if you like them, if not, you can add your own customized personal background.
To be able to do this stay on the Design tab and scroll down to “Change Background Image”. You can then choose a wall paper from your own computer hard-drive. Pick the one you want, decide if you want it “tiled” or not (tiling means the image will be repeated over and over on the page) then click “Save Changes”. After refreshing your Twitter profile, the new background should be there.
You can also use MyTweetSpace to make a better looking background if you are tired or unimpressed with the page backgrounds that Twitter offers.
CREATING A CUSTOM TWITTER BACKGROUND
Creating a custom background is a wonderful thing. You don’t have any limit on the amount of text you can put in it. In fact, if you want to, you can create a document that is very tall and puts lots of text in it. However, the user will have to scroll to see all of the text.
Your Twitter background should be 1600 pixels x 1200 pixels with a resolution of 72 pixels per inch, have a file size smaller than 800KB, and in one of the following formats : JPEG, GIF, or PNG seems to be the best if you have a combination of text and images for your background.
After you create the custom background, your next step is to get it into your Twitter page. To replace the standard background with your custom background do the following:
1. Log into your Twitter account.
2. Click Settings. The Settings page appears.
3. Click Design. The select a Theme Page appears.
4. Click Change Background Image. The Browse button appears.
5. Click the Browse button. The File Upload dialog appears.
6. Navigate to your background image and then click Open. After the image uploads, it appears in the thumbnail window.
If the image you want to use in your Twitter profile background is small, you can select the Tile Background box on the image will repeat in a tiled pattern.
When you create a custom Twitter background, be sure to include your contact information. Web sites URLs, and any other information that you want to promote in order to show people more about you, your business, and so on.
You cannot create clickable links in Twitter backgrounds, so be sure to include full URLs, email addresses and so on.
FINDING A PREMADE TWITTER BACKGROUND
If you have no image editing application, or aren’t artistic. You can still include the essence of a cool once on your Twitter page. Check out just a few sources for custom Twitter backgrounds :
. COLORlovers : www.colourlovers.com/themeleon/twitter.
. LimeshotDesign : http://limeshot.com/2008/twitter-backgrounds.
. TwitrBackgrounds.com : www.twitrbackgrounds.com.
. TwitBacks : www.twitbacks.com.
. twitrounds : http://twitrounds.com.
. Social Identities : www.custombackgroundsfortwitter.com.
. MyTweetSpace : www.mytweetspace.com.
. Free Twitter Designer : www.freetwitterdesigner.com.
MODIFYING THE COLOR SCHEME OF YOUR TWITTER PROFILE
No matter what background image you use in your Twitter profile, you can always change the color scheme of the text that appears in your Twitter stream and sidebar. Changing the text color is particularly helpful if you upload a custom background using colors that don’t match the default text color scheme in Twitter.
The following steps teach you how to change your Twitter profile color scheme to make it match your background and preferences.
1. Log into your Twitter account at www.twitter.com click the Settings tab in the upper-right navigation bar.
2. Click the Design tab on the navigation bar in the center of your screen below your user name. The Design page opens with thumbnail images of
the available background options to choose from.
3. Click the Change Design Colors link beneath the thumbnail images. A new section of the window opens.
4. Enter codes to change the colors in your Twitter profile or use the color picker to select new colors.
5. Click the Save Changes button. Your new colors are automatically visible in your Twitter profile.
Make sure the colors you choose work well with your background and are easy to see. Most importantly, make sure it’s easy for people to see linked text.
CREATING A CUSTOM TWITTER AVATAR
Spend a bit of money to have a professional shoot your portrait. You can use it for not only Twitter but also your other marketing efforts.
To be used as an avatar, your photo must have;
. A JPEG or PNG format.
. A measurement of no more than 200x200 pixels.
. A file size no longer than 700k.
After the image is on your computer, follow these steps to replace the standard Twitter avatar:
1. Log onto Twitter. Your Twitter page opens.
2. Click Settings and then click Profile. The web page changes and displays your profile settings.
3. Next to the current avatar, click Change Image. The Browse button appears.
4. Click Browse, navigate to the image file, and follow the prompts to replace the image.
5. Click Save. Your new avatar is on your Twitter page.
ADDING YOUR PHOTO
To add your photo, just go to Settings → Picture. By going to Settings once again in the top right hand corner of the page, you can add some pertinent information about yourself. At the same time you can add your website URL, or if you have a blog or a personal website drop the link in there. You can also add your location and a one line bio about yourself.
YOUR TWITTER PROFILE
Your Twitter profile explains who you are to the world, it also allows other users to find you and learn about you.
Your name is your real name, not your Twitter username. Use your real name if you want people to find you using the Twitter search feature.
Your location is your geography
Your web link lets you link to one webpage. You can link to your website, your blog, or you can develop a special Twitter landing page that tells people more about you, your business, and how you use Twitter.
Your bio gives you 160 characters to give people a flavor of your personality and explain your business.
You can edit all the above settings at any time under the Settings/Profile option.
WRITING YOUR PROFILE DESCRIPTION
After you create your new Twitter account, it’s essential that you take a few minutes to create a complete profile description. Writing a comprehensive profile helps build your credibility among other Twitter users because they understand not only that you’re a real person but also that you have expertise and options to bring to the table also if you tweet for professional reasons it’s absolutely essential that you take the time to brand your Twitter profile page, just as you brand your web site, marketing materials, and so on.
The more you use Twitter and view other people’s profiles, the more you’ll notice custom backgrounds. They’re often more memorable and can create a perceived image of the Twitterer in your mind before you even read a person’s tweets. That’s the same goal you should have for your Twitter profile.
Follow these steps to create a complete Twitter profile:
1. Visit www.twitter.com and click the Sign In link in the top-right corner of the page. A fly-out window opens and here you can enter your Twitter
username and password.
2. Click the Sign In button once you enter your username and password. Your Twitter account home page opens.
3. Click the Settings link in the top right navigation bar. Your account page opens.
4. Enter the information requested in the boxes provided. The information provided in this form appears at the top right of your Twitter profile page.
Everyone who visits your Twitter profile sees this information, so take some time to enter it and create a compelling biography. The one line Bio text
box allows you to enter only 160 characters or less. Make sure you write your bio in a manner that allows you to stay within the character constraint.
5. Select the check box next to Protect Your tweets if you want to keep your Twitter updates private. By selecting this check box, only people who
request to follow you and that you approve can see your Twitter updates. Otherwise, anyone with internet access can view your tweets.
6. Click the Save button. Your new profile information is immediately visible in your Twitter account sidebar.