5 Tweetable tips to help you use Twitter like a boss By Kim Komando

Twitter isn't just a place where people post Throwback Thursday photos. With over 170 million active users, it has become a major source for news and real-time updates around the world. In 140 characters, or less, Twitter users are able to spread ideas and trends like wildfire.

When you first start wading through your Twitter feed, there are certain aspects that can seem overwhelming. But thankfully, Twitter has been around long enough that some "best practices" have finally been established. So, here are five totally tweetable tips to help you use Twitter like a boss.

1. Learn the lingo

Beyond the basic navigation functions, Twitter is the place where a lot of new terminology was born. So, to communicate effectively, you'll need to understand it. Right of the top, you'll first need to know the following:

• Tweet: Messages on Twitter are called "tweets”
• Timeline: As you tweet, your messages will show on your timeline
• Follow: Tweeting interesting and relevant content regularly will attract followers

Beyond those basics, there also several symbols and acronyms you'll see often in Twitter. I've created a quick guide to help you understand them:

Although these are some that you'll see most often, there are others that might stump you if you're not ready for them. Here are some extras to watch out for:

• b/c = because
• BFN = bye for now
• BTW = by the way
• EM = email
• FB = Facebook
• FTW = for the win
• FWD = forward
• FWIW - for what it's worth
• HTH = hope that helps
• IRL = in real life
• J/K = just kidding
• LMK = let me know
• LOL = laugh out loud
• OH = overheard
• TMB = tweet me back
• TMI = too much information
• YW = you're welcome
• CX = correction
• TL;DR = too long, didn't read

2. Customize your header to create your own brand

You don't have to own a business to create your own personal brand, and customizing your Twitter header is one of the easiest ways to do it. Use your header to show off your personality, but still look professional. And, if you don't feel comfortable creating your own graphics, use a site like Canva that has hundreds of designs that will work for you.
To update your header image, follow these steps:

• Log in to your Twitter account.
• Click "Edit profile"
• Click "Change your header photo"
• Follow the prompts to upload your photo, click "Open"
• Adjust the position and scale of your photo, then click "Apply"

If you'd like to personalize your profile even more, be sure to include a profile photo, personal bio and a link to your personal website. You can also customize your theme (or Twitter background) in your profile settings.

3. Search for things happening locally
Twitter has so many users that it's now being used to report illness outbreaks, and even earthquakes. And while that's pretty impressive, it also means that on any given day, there are millions of tweets to sift through.

But you don't need to be a super computer to find out what's happening locally. You just need to use this clever search trick.

To find local content on Twitter, type the following when you search:  

near: "[city] [state]" [search term]

Here's an example: near: "Phoenix Arizona" music

Using this search trick will cause Twitter to return results of tweets from nearby Twitter users about the topic you've specified. The results from my search "near: 'Phoenix Arizona' music" pulled up local bands, event listings and even a musician looking for a new lead singer.

You can also search locally by typing in your search term, hitting "Enter," then clicking on the "More options" drop down. There, you'll find the option to filter your search results by clicking "Near you." It's a great way to stay on top of what's happening in your community.

4. Use keyboard shortcuts to save time

To make navigating the site easier, Twitter has included several keyboard shortcuts for you. But, chances are, you haven't learned them all. Using these shortcuts reduces the amount of time it takes to complete tasks on Twitter, because you don't have to jump back and forth from your mouse to your keyboard.

Here are some of the best keyboard shortcuts to use:

• j = next tweet
• k = previous tweet
• Enter = drill down into, or close a selected tweet
• Space bar = page down
• Shift + Space bar = page up
• / = jump to search box
• . = jump to top of page
• g + h = go home
• g + r = go to your mentions
• g + p = go to your profile
• g + m = go to your direct messages
• g + u (then search) = view any user's timeline
• f = favorite a tweet
• r = reply to a tweet
• t = retweet a tweet
• m = send a direct message
• n = compose a new tweet
• Escape = cancel
• ? = pull up a cheat sheet with all of these keyboard commands

5. Shorten links to save space in your tweets

One of Twitter's key features is the 140 character limit on all tweets, and while this limit does save us all from excessive Twitter rants, it also means there's not much space. And, if you'd like to share a link in one of your tweets, that means your character count is even lower.

To combat this, rather than copy and paste links directly into your tweet, paste links into a link shortener first. Link shorteners do exactly as they say, they take long links and shorten them. The links will still take you to the same place, they'll just be reworked into a compact form.

Here's an example:   Full URL: http://www.komando.com/tips/337309/top-5-money-tips-of-2015 Shortened: http://bit.ly/1mdVVIm

To create this link, I used a free link shortening site called Bitly.com. With Bitly, you simply paste your link into the shortener and a shorter link will be generated in seconds. You can also create a free account to keep track of each shortened link you create. This is beneficial because Bitly then tracks the traffic, and you can see how many people clicked your link.

Other services like Bitly include Ow.ly and Google's URL shortener. And, even social media scheduling platforms, like Buffer, will shorten your links automatically.

Alright, now you've learned how to use Twitter like a boss - but there's still one thing left to do. When you start using Twitter, before you get caught up in the tweets and the hashtags, take a few seconds to follow @KimKomando.

Posted in: Social Media