If Oprah is Using Twitter Shouldn't You?

Collage by: Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten

The New York Times wrote an interesting piece last week "All You Need to Know About Twitter."  It's an interesting article and I suggest you check it out (after you're done reading this blog, of course!)

I thought it would be valuable to write a blog about the top ten ways to get started on Twitter.  So I called up my recruiting buddy Amybeth Hale (@researchgoddess) and we put together a list for you.  I highly recommend you follow her on Twitter and check out her blog.  So here goes:

1) Create your Twitter profile and include links to your blog, LinkedIn profile, etc.

2) Search for thought leaders (recruiters, etc.) in your industry and follow them.

3) Download TweetDeck and add a few keyword searches for very specific phrases: "public relations job" or #Jobs, #JobAdvice, etc.

4) Register and complete a profile on www.twellow.com.

5) Follow @MrTweet and find the influential Twitterers in your space.

6) Contribute to the conversations in which hashtags are used: Amybeth "I always see a huge uptick in followers when I do so (usually 15-20 new users per moderated hashtag discussion)."

7) Be generous: @ respond to people frequently and RT good articles (be sure to read them first!).

8) PARTICIPATE: Amybeth "You cannot expect to glean value from a "social media" tool if you aren't social (that means, if you're only talking AT people) - you must engage in two-way conversations."

9) Use www.tweepler.com to keep your contacts organized.

10) Use bit.ly, ow.ly, bud.url, or cli.gs to shorten and track traffic to your URLs.

We'll throw in one extra!

11) Other interesting Twitter applications include www.twittertise.com and www.tweetlater.com (to post-date tweets) and www.twitterfeed.com to tweet links from your blog or other favorite RSS feed.

What other tips or Twitter applications do you recommend?