How-to-guide for X (Twitter): Tips for beginners

How-to-guide for X (Twitter): Tips for beginners

Are you tired of your everyday use of Facebook and Instagram? Is John’s chat getting boring on Facebook and is engaging with people on Instagram unbearable too? Let John try a new app! Here comes Twitter! Let me take you through the use of Twitter.

Introduction

Twitter was created in March 2006. It is a popular social media platform for blogging, social networking, marketing and promotion of goods, entertainment, and many more. Twitter was later changed to X after it was purchased by Elon Musk in October 2022.

How to Sign Up on X(Twitter)

Signing up for Twitter is as simple as eating pizza. That is, you do not need to go through rigorous exercises to access the application. Here are steps to take to ensure the full success of the application use.

  • Make sure your device is compatible with Twitter: Use a compatible phone, not all phone has access to the app.

  • Download Twitter: You are probably wondering how you can download it right? Follow my helpful tips. Go to the Apple store for IOS users or the Play store for Android users, search for Twitter, and then press download.

  • Sign up: Immediately you download, you sign up. You sign up with your name, email account, and your valid date of birth. A verification password will be sent to your Email, once you receive and input the password, Voila! You will be able to log in.

N/B: It is compulsory to have a working email that you can easily access. Your date of birth will not be shown to the public.

  • Set up your Profile: Setting up your profile is important because it's how people get to find you in that space. You set up the username you want to use, and it's better to use a unique username and a unique password that you can easily remember. I use @Justisime as my username because it's a combination of my name and a unique word that is very easy to remember and not many people use it. While setting up your profile, the following steps are important.

    • A profile Picture: Just like any other social media app, setting up a profile picture is necessary though it is optional.

    • Select Any Interest of Your Choice: This means while surfing on the app, you have the opportunity to choose what you want to see, things like entertainment, sports, gaming, business, and culture. Anyone with the same interest as yours will be visible for you to follow.

    • Follow: For you to fully start tweeting, you will need to have at least one person, you can search for anyone that interests you and follow the person and be followed back.

    • Your Bio: It describes everything about you, you are allowed to describe yourself in 160 characters, make it smile-worthy.What makes you different from other people, tell us in 160 characters.

    • Private or Public: You can choose to leave your account public if you are a person who owns a business and privatize it if it's a personal account. By making it private, only the account you follow and follow back will be able to see whatever tweet you make.

Twitter Diction: Some slang or terms

Twitter as a social media is a little more complex than other social media, some terms or slang explained will help you find your way around the app.

The @sign: It is a very important sign on Twitter. From the beginning, starting with your name, the @sign is added. It makes it easy to search for someone’s name when it is added.

Hashtags #: It is used to classify keywords on Twitter. For example, if I am to write a tweet about food, after writing I will need to #tagfood so that someone who has an interest in food can join your community and use your tag. You can also use it to search for relevant accounts and tweets.

Handle: When someone uses the term handle, it simply means your username, don't get confused or lost.

N/B: The username can be changed at any time.

Thread: it's a series of connected tweets from a person. A thread by someone you follow will automatically be on your timeline. You can create a thread by following these tips:

  • Tap on the +icon to compose a post.

  • Tap on what is happening.

  • Type whatever comes to mind.

  • There! You have your first thread!

Private Messages: Just like every other application, you can send and receive direct messages. It is a useful tool for those with businesses.

Twitter Spaces: You can have live audio conversations with your friends and other socialites. Spaces are public, you do not have to be a follower to join a space of your interest. If you are in a space, your followers can see the space you are in and choose to join you. You can have a host and two cost hosts, few speakers, and many listeners in a space.

Added Features on Twitter

We have some features on Twitter that make the app very juicy and interesting to use. Check out the following:

Monetization: To be eligible for monetization on Twitter, you need to set up a subscription, must be verified, and be a creator.

Premium: A premium subscriber is subject to paying 52,900/yearly. It comes with a verified blue checkmark when approved, you get to post longer videos than a regular Twitter user, and your conversations become highly ranked.

Tweet Pin: Whatever tweet you pin on your page is what a person sees when they visit your page. You can pin it as long as you want to.

Bookmark: You can save a tweet you don't want to lose by bookmarking it. The good thing is that bookmarks are private, no one can see them except you. Everything you bookmark is confidential.

Twitter has some advantages that will be listed below:

  • For business owners, it’s a tool to build your brand and your brand community.

  • For students, it can serve as a tool for research.

  • It helps to stay informed in real-time.

We can list many many advantages that Twitter serves us, but we also have to check its disadvantages.

  • Twitter is addictive!

  • We have troll accounts, those that hide behind their keypads to harass others.

  • You are limited to posts. 140 characters per tweet.Unlike other social apps.

  • It also takes time for one to gain followers.

Conclusion

Twitter is the best social media platform for business and social meetings. It allows users the opportunity to share their thoughts. As a beginner, Twitter might seem a little difficult, but these tips will put you through.