The whole point of Twitter is that it is all about the conversation. You don't want to just post a tweet about the latest update on your blog. Follow people that follow you - and others that might be of interest to you. Make sure you talk with them, just don't just post updates!
You're using Twitter to build your personal brand. YOU are what your clients are buying when they hire you - everything that they get, including your stunning photography, is an extension of you. So always remember, if you don't want something attached to your personal brand (the details of the party you went to on Saturday, your rant about someone or something) -- then don't post them to Twitter, or really anywhere else online!
You can always just use the regular web browser for reading and posting to Twitter - lots of people do that. But why limit yourself to just that when there are some other really cool software options out there?
I use Twitter a LOT, and I keep up with a wide variety of people - wedding photographers, children photographers, other wedding vendors, friends in my area, and knitters. To make it easier to keep up with everyone, I use Tweetdeck. The coolest feature of Tweetdeck? I can sort people into groups! That makes it so easy to keep up with what is going on in my different circles of friends! Note: one big tip for using Tweetdeck? When you first set it up, it takes awhile to populate with everyone you're following and all of their posts. Don't worry, as people update, they will update in Tweetdeck too. (PC, Mac - Free)
When I'm away from my computer and want to post to Twitter, my tool of choice for the iPhone is Hahlo - which actually runs through the web browser. It has a nice, clean interface, easy to use buttons, and my favorite? When people respond to a post on Twitter, you can see what they are responding to - right in a nice, streamlined interface! (Web browser based, great for mobile phones - Free)
Twitterific is another very popular application for Twitter, available for both Macs and the iPhone. It is a nice, clean, easy to use interface. (Mac, iPhone - Free)
Before I discovered Tweetdeck, I used Twirl, which runs on Adobe Air (like Tweetdeck), so it will run on both PCs and Macs. It also has a very nice, clean interface with some customization options. Sometimes I switch back to using it if I want something smaller on my desktop. (PC, Mac - Free)
Other applications that are highly recommended - but I haven't tried them out yet!
- TwitterFon (iPhone - Free)
- Twinkle (iPhone - Free)
- Tweetie (iPhone - $2.99)
- Twitterberry (Blackberry - Free)
- TwitterFox - Firefox add-on (requires Firefox. PC, Mac - Free)
- TwitBin - Firefox add-on (requires Firefox. PC, Mac - Free)
- Twitterlicious (requires .NET framework to be installed. PC only - Free)
What is your favorite, most used Twitter application? I would love to hear all about it!
Christine Tremoulet is a Houston, Texas Hot Mama Boudoir photographer and wants you to have a Business of Awesome. She also runs Wholly Matrimony, a destination wedding blog. She is a creative geek, having blogged since 2000 at BigPinkCookie. When she isn't taking photos or knitting, she is busy devouring all the info related to Marketing & Social Media and its powers that she can find online. Follow her on Twitter.
Thanks for sharing all this Twitter tools. Very helpful!
ReplyDeleteThe Twitter Summizer for the iPhone is also great tool to see what conversations are going on outside of your circle. You can save search criteria like "wedding photographer", "boston wedding", "wedding engagement", etc. and it will tell you when a new tweet with those search terms has been posted. So you don't have to keep checking back. Someone asked about good wedding venues in Boston and I was able to respond.
hey thanks for sharing the great twitter articles. i've been using twitter for a while, and facebook and twitter must be in together because when i update one, the other is updated too, anyhoo I am using this new tool as well from http://brightkit.com/ it seems ok, haven't really figured out what I am going to do with it yet, but it is free for a while so would be interested to see how others are using it. I don't want to get too inundated with different twittering apps.
ReplyDeleteI love Twinkle. The location aware feature is fun to read.
ReplyDeleteGreat article Christine. I must admit that I'm still getting to grips with twitter.
ReplyDeleteWordPress offers to notify twitter when I publish a post but my SEO tutor (been attending an SEO course at night school :) says that's spamming. He says you can post questions and friends (followers) may come back with an answer.
Twitter "how to" video says you just post what you're doing, which I try and do but can only realy use twitter from home in the evenings so it's a bit sparadic.
Guess it will make more sense as my community of friends increases :-)
My favorite iPhone twitter app is Twittelator Pro - tons of awesome features for iphone users! http://www.stone.com/iPhone/Twittelator/
ReplyDeleteAnyone know a Twitter app for the G1?
ReplyDeleteKatiemac,Twidroid is for all Android phones, so it works on the G1! (I didn't know this, but it was the fast answer I got when I posted to Twitter to find out!)
ReplyDeleteOn my desktop, I tend to use Tweetr - I like the interface a LOT more than Twirl. Sometimes TweetDeck is just too much and takes up too much screen real estate.
ReplyDeleteOn the iphone/ipod touch, I currently like Twittelator Pro because it has some nice features, though I don't think it's perfect. I started off with Twitterfic Pro, but I think there are a lot more twitter apps out there now that have more features and are cheaper. Twitterific is one of the most expensive apps and while the GUI is one of the nicest, they have yet to release a significant update in months. And I think it's high time they offer just as many features as some of the free or cheaper twitter apps.
Summizer is a an app that just does trends/searches and it saves them. I realized later on Twittelator does nearly the same thing, but the Summizer saves the searches a little nicer. And it's icon is cute, so I keep it around. :)
My boyfriend swears by Tweetie, but I haven't used it much yet. We also played with Twinkle for awhile, and it's pretty neat, but I don't like that you need a Tapulous account to really use all the features on it.