How to Create Your Own Twitter Account

A few minutes is all you need to set up a Twitter account for your business. If you already have a personal account, it's a good idea to create a separate account strictly for your business so you can keep your business activities and your personal activities separate. If this is the case, however, be sure you have time to manage both accounts. Twitter is most effective for businesses that are regularly active. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day engaging on Twitter. You can split this into 15-minute intervals in the morning and the evening if that works best for you.

To create your account, follow these steps:

• Step 1: Go to the Twitter homepage and click on the button that says "Sign Up Now."
• Step 2: Begin the sign-up information by providing your username, date of birth, and your choice of an email account or phone number. Your contact information and date of birth will not be public. Stay away from cute usernames, things that are hard to spell, or just plain silly. For a business account, use the name of your business or a word or phrase closely associated with your business. Shorter is always better, so don’t get hung up trying to use all the spaces you are allocated. Click on the button that says "Next."
• Step 3: Choose how you want to view ads. Click on the button that says "Next."
• Step 4: Click on the button that says "Create Account." A verification code will be sent to your email address or phone number. Enter the verification code once you receive it.
• Step 5: Create a password. It will need to be at least six characters.
• Step 6: Add your picture. At the top of the settings page, you will see a "photo" tab. Click this and add a photo of you. For a business account, you can add your logo or an icon.
• Step 7: You will be given the option to import your email addresses from your Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook email accounts. It is a great way to get started in following current contacts.
• Step 8: Complete the rest of your profile information. This is where you can provide a brief summary of your business, list your website, and more.

Employee Accounts

In addition to establishing the main business account, you might want to allow employees to create business-related accounts as well. For example, if you own Widget Co. and your Twitter handle is @widgetco, an employee named Kate might have the handle @widgetcokate or something similar.

Having employee accounts can be a good way to build followers for your brand because employees might bring your tweets to the attention of their own connections. It's still important to have a clearly defined company policy for how employee accounts should be managed and what types of tweets are appropriate or not appropriate. Even though employees are tweeting as themselves, they still are representing the company with such accounts.