Thanks to @primarybs on Twitter for the idea for this blogpost.

When you start using social networking sites it’s a good idea to link up the things you post so that the various groups of people who follow you all receive the same information, and you spread your news as far as possible.

Status updates
You can set up Facebook to automatically update your Twitter status using a third party applications, there are different ones available (try searching Facebook or look through the help pages). If you don’t want to use third party apps then simply copy and paste your Tweet into your Facebook status update window on the home page when you log-in.

Blog to Twitter to Facebook
When you write a blogpost browse the specific page on your blog to find the specific web link for your article. (Click the title and it will usually be displayed in  your browser on it’s own page with the link in the address bar of the browser.) Post this link using Twitter to promote your blog. If the link is long try using a shortening service like www.Tinyurl.com or www.bit.ly so it fits the Twitter character limit. You can also post your links on your Facebook page using your wall or on your Facebook Fan page wall. Once you have updated your status or fan page the news will appear on the home page of all the people you are friends with or who are fans of your page.

There is also code that you can use to include a Twitter feed on your website or blog. This code fetches and displays your tweets so that they can be seen by visitors to your website or blog without them needing to visit the Twitter site at all. (If you would like some code to do this please contact Create Design Studio on 01962 737989.)

Share your photos using Facebook photo galleries and Twitter
When you create a Facebook photo gallery you can share the gallery, even with those who don’t use Facebook. Click on the ‘Edit photos’ link when in your photo page and at the bottom of the page you will see a link that you can paste into Twitter, or use on your blog, to share your gallery with your followers. This is great for photos of your office, your products or to show photos from events you have attended.

Ecademy to Twitter
Parts of your Ecademy profile can be posted on Twitter, use the button next to the ‘likes’ link at the top of your profile page to give the Ecademy website permission to acess your Twitter account. If you don’t want to formally link the accounts together you can simply post the weblink  to your Ecademy profile page using your Twitter account.

Don’t forget to promote your social networking by conventional means
Use your email signature to promote your Twitter profile and your Facebook page by adding links to them. Your can also mention your presence on your business card, letterhead, promotional leaflets and on your invoices.

Create Design Studio: 01962 737989

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This article was written for the Networking group MBG  for their February 2010 newsletter.

Typical Twitter Page

1. The Page Background
You can set the background design and colour of your page by clicking on the ‘Settings’ menu tab (at the top right of the page) and then click the ‘Design’ menu tab on the page that appears. You can also design your own background or take a photograph and place it on your profile background. The background could display your photo, your company logo and a description of what you do or what your organisation does. It could also display your contact information.

2. What’s Happening?
Type in your tweets using this box.

3. Main area
Here are all the tweets of the people you follow arranged with the most recent at the top of the page.

4. Main Menu
You can view and alter your profile using this menu as well as change your user name, and search for people you know.

5. Following/Followers
These two numbers show you how many people you are following and how many others are following you. To see a profile picture and a description of them just click on the words and a list will be displayed in the main window.

6. Lists
Using a list allows you to group together people who you follow on Twitter so that you can view only their tweets. For example all the people who write about the subject of motor racing are in a list and by clicking on the list name only their tweets appear in the main window. Other people can include you in their lists and you can view all lists you create or are included in by clicking the ‘Lists’ link.

7. Home
Clicking here will refresh the main screen and show you the latest tweets from those you follow.

8. @username
Click on this heading to see all the tweets where your user name is mentioned.

9. Direct messages
If you want to privately message someone then click here and your message will not appear on the main time line.

10. Favourites
If someone sends you a tweet that you’d like to save then click the little star icon on the left of the tweet text on the time line and it will be saved in your favourites, click this link to view them all.

11. Retweets
When you rebroadcast someone else’s tweet add an ‘RT’ to the front and include their user name with the ‘@’ symbol at the front. Any of your tweets that are rebroadcast will be displayed under this heading, as are those retweets you make and retweets made by people you follow.

12. Search
Type in a name or any other search term to find tweets that contain that term.

Linking up
The most popular use for Twitter comes about when it is combined with your website or blog. Whenever you write a
blog post or update your website or e-commerce store you can promote it to your twitter followers by including a web link in your tweet to encourage them to visit your blog or website.

Using web links
Long web links really eat into your character limit when making a tweet so use a specialist link shortening website to help you cram more into each tweet. (Try www.Tinyurl.com or www.bit.ly). These sites allow you to past in a long web link which it will then shorten for you. Simply copy and paste the shortened link into your tweet.

Automatic updates
Facebook and Linked-in can now be set up automatically to update from your Twitter status. Most social and business networking websites have a gadget that allows you to set this up. Once your Twitter account updates all your social or business networking profiles it means that you only have to type in your links and promotions once for them to be rebroadcast to all the people you have connections with, however they keep in touch with you.

There is also code that you can use to include a twitter feed on your website or blog. This code fetches and displays your tweets so that they can be seen by visitors to your website or blog without them needing to visit the Twitter site at all.

Facebook Fan Pages
These are an extension to the personal profile that you can build in Facebook and are useful for business because they
have space for galleries of photographs, useful for portfolios of work or to show pictures of your office and how to find it. There is also a place for your address and opening hours, customers can write on your wall with testimonials or you can place special offers, news stories and events on there to keep your ‘fans’ interested.

Create Design Studio have covered Facebook Fan Pages in this blogpost.

If you would like to use social networking sites to promote your organisation please call Create Design Studio on 01962 737989 and we can help you set up your website or blog and create profiles using social networking websites as well as guiding you on linking them together effectively.

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