Tweets, retweets, hashtags. What does it all mean? At first glance, Twitter is very intimidating. But, before you write it off, let’s go through the basics. Stick with me and I promise you will have a clearer view of Twitter and its benefits for you as a personal trainer.
Tweets
Twitter is a micro-blogging site. It is referred to as this because it only allows for users’ messages to be 140 characters or less. These messages are called “tweets”. Tweets are like statuses on Facebook, except with the 140-character limitation. Tweets can be sent to certain people or they can be to your general audience of followers.
Retweets
“Retweeting” is just what it sounds like. You are tweeting something that someone else tweeted. When you retweet someone else, you are saying you like what this person said so much that you want it to be repeated to your entire audience.
Followers
There are your “followers” and those people whom you are “following”. You can receive other users’ tweets by following them. This is essentially the same concept as becoming someone’s friend on Facebook. You will see their status updates in a news feed, just like on Facebook.
Trending Topics
Twitter keeps track of “trending topics” by using “hash tags” (#). When adding a hash tag in front of a word(s) Twitter automatically turns it into a clickable link. This link will bring you to the latest posts with that certain hash tag in front of it to show you everyone who is partaking in that certain conversation. This is a key component to Twitter because it let’s you join into conversations that others are a part of.
This is not just a medium for you to force information out to your followers. In the world of Twitter, conversation is king. You need to engage and interact with your followers. Next Monday we will be talking about some good Twitter practices for you as a personal trainer.
Ryan Farrell started working with the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT) in 2012. As NFPT's Marketing Coordinator, Ryan is responsible for aiding company reputation by building brand awareness and establishing strong working relationships among NFPT, its affiliates and industry partners.
