A Basic Guide to Twitter

Twitter is fast turning into the latest web phenomenon. It is essentially a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters. With celebrities such as Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry spearheading a recent surge in popularity, we thought we would explain what all the fuss is about. Here is our guide of how to get started, as well as some recommended Twitter etiquette.

Firstly, get yourself registered.

Next, work out why you are using it - for work or pleasure. If it’s for your brand then outline what you would like to achieve through the platform. It is important to have clear objectives to maximise the potential of your twitter page. These can include:

• Making your brand more personable
• Active engagement with a certain target audience
• Driving traffic to your business
• Driving traffic to your website/blog

Next, ensure you build a successful business profile online, this can be done by using this checklist:

1. Claim your company, product, and appropriate brand names by registering your unique brand URL early.
2. Keep the profile honest.
3. Create a link between your Twitter profile page and website.
4. Be a helpful member of the community by answering other people’s questions.
5. Keep the tone true to your brand, whilst taking the opportunity to have fun and show some personality.

You can use Twitter to talk about your brand, but for it to really work you need something interesting to say. Ideally, if you have a ‘fan base’ of sorts, this will be a great tool for you to keep them hooked with tidbits.

An application called Mr. Tweet helps you to build relationships by looking through your network and your tweets. Mr. Tweet will regularly suggest good people and followers you are missing out on, recommend you to enthusiastic users who are relevant to you, and regularly update useful stats about your Twitter usage. It’s a valuable tool that will help you make the most out of Twitter.

Finally, and most importantly for marketers are the stats - Twitter Friends is a brilliant way of keeping abreast of Twitter friend numbers as well as how many followers your page has had over the past month.

All there is left to do is get twittering…

World Cinema Awards 2009

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the anuual BBC FOUR World Cinema Awards. Held at London's British Film Institute, and presented by none other than Jonathan Ross, it was a fantastic event celebrating the achievements of foreign language film over the past year.

The cermenoy is a great example of how an awards show should be organized - simply two awards (one for 'best film and one for 'achievement in film') clocking in at just over an hour long, leaving you satisfied but not bored stiff. Even Jonathan Ross limited himself to only a couple gags about his well-publicised recent misdemeanors.

The overall winner was a film called 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; a tense drama set in 1980s Communist Romania. While German director Werner Herzog was recognised for his achievement in international film-making.

Overall it was a brilliant night, topped off with the bonus of free drinks at the end!

Check out the awards website for details of when to catch all of the nominated films at the BFI.