Everyone was new to social media once. While some people are born into the world of Twitter, other people come across Twitter later in life. There is nothing bad about that at all. In fact here at Creative Content Company we are often giving social media training in Peterborough to newbies. In this article we look at Twitter for newbies, so if you are Twitter newbie then this is the blog post for you.

We have put together a list of common terms and words that you will come across on Twitter. Our explanations should help you understand exactly what they mean.

  • Tweet – a tweet is like you post or update on other social media platforms. It is a 280 character message that you post on Twitter.
  • @Username – your username is like your name on Facebook. It is also known as a Twitter Handle. It is how you are identified and known on Twitter. For example ours is @HazelLCottrell
  • @ – this is the ‘at sign’. This is how you can tag or identify others in your tweet. For example, if you were saying thank you to use for the Twitter for Newbies tips then you would ‘tag’ us in your tweet by putting the ‘@’ before our name.
  • # – This is the hashtag and is really popular on sites like Twitter and Instagram. This can be used if you are at an event and they have an event hashtag. It can be used to tweet if you are commenting on a topic, or used for a comedic strapline. We tend to use our hashtags for comedy or attention.
  • Follower – A follower is someone that follows you on Twitter. This is like a friend on Facebook. You can follow people on Twitter by searching for them and clicking the ‘follow’ button. This means their tweets will then be seen in your Twitter feed.
  • RT – this is an acronym for retweet. If it is in a tweet then people are asking you to share it with your audience by pressing the retweet button (it’s like a rectangle with arrows round it). If you want people to share your tweet with their audience then you add ‘Please Retweet’ to your tweet, or ‘Please RT’.
  • The heart – you click on the heart if you like a tweet someone has posted. This may be a picture or quote you like, or a tweet you agree with.

If you need help posting on Twitter then give us a call. We are always happy to help.