In the last post about how to use Twitter, I explained some basics, the first being how to make connections. Now, I am going to show how I use the powerful application TweetDeck and some directory sites to manage all the people I follow.

Tweetdeck is one of the most popular applications out there for handling a large amount of followers. You can sync it to your iPhone as well so you’ll always have your entire Twitter universe wherever you go. Among its many functions, the best thing about Tweetdeck is how easy it is to manage all the people you’re following into groups. This is useful if you simply just follow different groups of people and want to be able to read about one group at a time or if you’re using Twitter as a marketing tool.

As I explained before, you can use sites like TwitDir and WeFollow to find new followers. I’ll show you how get your followers from both sites then and how to simply add them to Tweetdeck and group them at the same time.

Finding people using TwitDir

As you can see, TwitDir lets you find people in many different ways. You can find people in “NYC” or maybe people who have the term “artist” in their description. Once you decide how you want to search, you’ll get the following page:

You’ll get the most popular results, plus stats on each user. From here, I do the following to add them to categories on Tweetdeck:

1. Open a user’s account in a new window.
2. Read their description. It’s best to double check to see what each user is about. Just because MTV is from NYC and has a lot of followers, you won’t be able to market yourself to MTV, right? Make sure you follow people you can actually interact with if you’re using Twitter for marketing.
3. Copy their Twitter name from their page. It’s located right next to their picture.
4. Open Tweetdeck.
5. Click the Group button to add a new group for your category. If you already have a group you want to add a new member to, in this case my NYC group, just click on the group title on it’s column on Tweetdeck.

6. You’ll see the list of your group name and a giant list of everyone you’re already following on Twitter. From this list, you can check off people to add to that group. If you’re adding a new member to an existing group, paste their name into the Filter field. When you do that, it will tell you that you are not following that member and that Tweetdeck can automatically follow that person for you. Click follow and then click save group and that person will be followed by you and will be added to your group of choice.

Finding people using WeFollow

In some ways, WeFollow can be more accurate because its directory is based off tags that Twitter users input about themselves. So if you search for “NYC” you will get results like this:

All these Twitter users added themselves to WeFollow and put in tags about who they are themselves. It then ranks them by the amount of people that are following them. You can also browse how many new followers they gained lately and what their other tags are, amongst other info. Again you can simply copy a user’s name once you decide you’d like to add them and input them into Tweetdeck the same way.

I hope this expands on how you can use Twitter much better. I prefer Tweetdeck because it gives you everything you need in neat columns with tons of options. You have groups, @ mentions and direct messages all in one shot, browsable altogether in one application. More importantly, you can take it mobile on your iPhone and I happen to think the interface is much cleaner on their mobile application. All your actions sync to your Tweetdeck account so any changes made from your desktop or iPhone will be saved throughout both.

What do you think? Do you have any more tips to add? And feel free to add me on Twitter, I’m @ohjefframos.

And don’t forget to add my Facebook Fan Page to keep up to date with all my postings, links and discussions!

Related posts:

1. DO MORE: Learn How To Use Twitter! Part One!

What’s Twitter? Google has over 194,000,000 posts to answer that question. But, instead of reading tons of blogs and watching tons of videos, I’ve researched some of the best tips on learning what Twitter is, how to use it and how to maximize its use!

The Twitter.com support page actually uses this Howcast video to explain what Twitter is. And I have to agree, it explains it quite well:

Howcast video link!
(embedded video removed, seems to be messing with RSS functionality?!)
Well, now that you know what Twitter is, now what?

Make Connections

Once you’ve set up a username that suits you, it’s time to actually find people. Twitter has its own built in “Find People” function right at the top of the page that will help you out as explained in the Howcast video. But to dig further and with more purpose, I suggest the following sites:

TwitDir
WeFollow

These are two popular Twitter Directory sites that will assist you in finding more than enough followers. Of course, once you have a ton of followers, you might start to get overwhelmed. Thankfully, other Twitter users have developed desktop applications that will help you manage all your new friends. Some people suggest Seesmic, however my Twitter desktop app of choice is Tweetdeck. While it may not have the best interface and it may even slow down some older computers (depending on what settings you use), the companion iPhone app is amazing (and is cleaner than its desktop brother.) It will allow you to set groups so you can make it easier to read the tweets of all the people you are following.

Maintain Connections

Now that you’re following hundreds of other people using Twitter, it’s time to get the conversation going. Before you even get started, you might get confused by all the symbols and sayings that are plastered all over Twitter. Twitter’s support page once again has all the answers you need, but here’s a run down of the ones you’ll see the most:

@: You’ll see “@someone’s user name” A LOT. Whenever you see that, that means the tweet you are seeing is a reply directed at someone. Sometimes they will be out of context and part of another conversation, but sometimes they could be directed at you, so pay attention! Tweetdeck and the Twitter.com page allow you to see @replys directed at you for your convenience.

RT: This mean “Re-Tweet.” A retweet is the process of passing along someone else’s tweet. Apps like Tweetdeck will allow you to instantly retweet someone else’s tweet at the click of a button. Twitter is about sharing and retweeting is always a good way to share even more information and build good relationships with others using Twitter.

DM: Means “Direct Message” which is self explanatory. You can send these from someone’s profile page on Twitter.com or via whatever app you’re using. Bare in mind, DMs are also limited to Twitter’s character count!

Now that you’re following other users and know the lingo they’re all using, it’s time to tweet! While you may feel compelled to Tweet about your observations, but it’s best to not pollute Twitter with information not worth sharing. You most likely followed a bunch of friends and maybe even some people who are interested in the same activities as you. You’re no doubt following a celebrity or two, blog or book authors, people who share similar interests and maybe even some comedians and musicians. Why not tweet something that will entertain or enlighten some of those people? Being part of a social and active community is about sharing information, ideas and experiences. Sharing funny and interesting links. Showing people what you’re working on or what you’ve been doing lately. Or even engaging in conversation.

Once you’ve followed enough people (and once you have enough followers), the uses of Twitter will become more apparent. It can simply be a soap box for you or it can be a place where you can communicate with millions and make a change! Whatever you can get out of Twitter, make it something beneficial and worthwhile! It can be a place to learn, a place to share or a place to communicate and have fun. Like most things, Twitter is what you make of it.

In the next post, I’ll expand on what you can really do with Twitter and show you some of the applications, websites and businesses that are out there that make Twitter a powerful social tool. And feel free to add me on Twitter, I’m @ohjefframos.

And don’t forget to add my Facebook Fan Page to keep up to date with all my postings, links and discussions!

Related posts:

1. DO MORE: Learn How To Use Twitter! Part TWO!

I love social media and I love to use it. I love sharing info with friends and I love seeing what things people send my way. It would be great if more people got on the boat, but I realize, not everyone realizes how to use social media. Many of my friends still don’t know what Twitter is and even less really understand how to start a blog and how to get more people involved! Some use Facebook to connect with friends but do they know how they can maximize it to promote themselves and what they do?

So here’s my question to you, what would YOU like to learn more about? I have a wealth of knowledge in different social media tools and I learn more every day! There’s many great tools out there just to communicate with friends, peers and even people who are doing what you do! Those same tools can be used to communicate with others just like you and to share the things you do for the world to see! I’m going to be doing a series of “Info Blogs” but I’d like to start on something that’s in high demand. What would you like me to start with?

- Twitter?
- Blogs?
- Maximizing Facebook?
- Something else?

Let me know and I’ll get started ASAP! There’s a whole world out there to show what you do! Let them know! See what they do too! Get inspired and DO MORE!

ALSO: Send me your links so I can add them to my blog roll!

Related posts:

1. DO MORE: Learn How To Use Twitter! Part One!
2. Seth Godin Talks about Dunbar’s Number