Stay connected with companies and friends
It's hot and just getting hotter: these days, everyone seems to be using Twitter, the free social real-time messaging utility. Twitter is also becoming a popular way for consumers to reach out to their favorite companies and brands for information and assistance. You can get started on Twitter with these easy tips.
What is Twitter?
Like Facebook, Twitter is a community platform that you can join by creating a personal account online. Twitter is often called a micro-blog because it helps people stay connected through the exchange of tiny text blurbs that are no more than 140 characters. You enter your message into a text box on your Twitter home page, and anyone who is "following" you will receive your message instantaneously.
What is "following"?
"Following" is how you interact with Twitter. You follow other people's messages, which are called "tweets", and they follow yours. After creating an account, you can search for people (or companies) to follow. Simply click "follow" under any profile picture that appears when you search. You can also visit the website of a business you wish to follow and click the Twitter logo. You see the updates from everyone you're following on your Twitter homepage when you log in. You can also receive tweets on your mobile phone, if you like. You can enable this function from your Twitter home page.
What is a direct message? (DM)
With Twitter, you can send followers private tweets that are known as direct messages. Only the author and the recipient can view the message. Simply begin your message with "d" and the intended recipient’s user name, separated by one space.
What is a hashtag?
Hashtags organize Twitter content. They're similar to other kinds of tags used to categorize content on the web. Users add them to their tweets so that other users can find their content. They often go at the very end of a tweet, and are usually a single word preceded by the pound or hash symbol #. For example: #BofA_Help or #BofA_Careers.
How do hashtags work?
For any public account, if the user adds a hashtag to their tweet, then anyone searching for that hashtag from their Twitter homepage will find that tweet. You can also click on the hashtag and view every tweet containing that tag. You can invent your own hashtag, or search the many commonly used ones. Make sure the hashtag you use relates directly to the topic.
Public or private?
The default setting when you sign on to Twitter is for a public account. This means that anyone can see your profile page and your stream of Twitter messages.
If you like, you can make your account private. Tweets from protected profiles will not appear in search results. As well, you will receive a request each time someone wants to follow you, and you will have the option to approve or decline the request. A private account is a good way to start, and you can always switch your account to public at a later time.
How is Bank of America using Twitter?
Bank of America has established two Twitter accounts that you can follow: BofA_Help and BofA_Careers.
BofA_Help
In January 2009, Bank of America joined Twitter with BofA_Help, a new way customers can contact the bank for assistance. BofA_Help currently has almost 8,000 followers. If you have questions regarding Bank of America product or services, simply tweet us, and we'll respond to see how we can help.
BofA_Careers
To assist you in your job search, Bank of America has created BofA_Careers. Join today and you will receive tweets regarding job opportunities, job fair events and seminars. You'll also receive responses to your personal messages.
Even if you've never used Twitter before, getting started is simple, and it can be another way for you to stay connected with friends, family, and companies.
What's next? Mobile Banking
