There are so many great twitter tools out there, that it makes it difficult to know where to start first. So in this post I simply want to give you 4 great tools to get you started.
URL Shorteners
You might have noticed that you only have 140 characters to make an impression with your twitter status. What’s
even worse is your username is @tyrannosaurusrexrocksyestheydo! I know! Why didn’t they tell you that your user name eats into your 140 characters? Grrr…
OK, maybe things aren’t that bad, but there is a great way to make the most of your tweets when you want to share a URL with the world.
URL shorteners do just that, they shorten your URL. There are a few great services such as bit.ly, tinyurl, and bud.url. They all do the same thing, but bit.ly and bud.url also track the performance of your url, so you can see how many people clicked through your link, how many retweets you have had and where in the world your tweets reached.
Friend or Follow
If you want an easy way to find out who you are following, who follows you and your mutual followers? Friend or Follow is a great tool.
You will be able to see an avatar (photo) based grid of followers allowing you to review and add or delete friends and followers.
Please be aware that the more followers you have the longer it may take your computer to load your friends and followers.
Search.Twitter
Search. Twitter is Twitters very own search engine. Allowing you to search any keyword and find the most recent tweets that contain that keyword. This is a cool little tool to help you find people and topics that you are interested in.
Don’t overlook this tool as a valuable source to network with people. I also use it to find answers to questions and trending topics. You can also use it search hashtags making it possible for you to find people and groups which are associated to a particular movement or trend.
Twellow
Twellow is the Yellow Pages of twitter (hence the name). It is another great tool to help you find other individuals, groups & companies who you might want to network with. 
Twellow works by sorting twitter profiles by keywords. You are able to search twellow profiles by name, location, category and trending topics.
Be sure to search for yourself on Twellow, once you find yourself; contact Twellow to claim your profile. You will need to prove you are who you say you are. But once you have done this, you will be able to edit your profile and bio; enabling likeminded tweeple to find you!
#Ad Did you know that you can get paid for tweeting? Check out Sponsored Tweets
Yours In Success,
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
August 30th, 2010 at 1:32 am
Thank you for posting this. I have been looking for something like Friend or Follow for a while now! I didn’t know about the following / followers ratio and I ended up following so many people that I wasn’t allowed to follow more. This tool makes it so easy!
Thanks again!
Stacy´s last [type] ..My First Free E-book- Blogging Basics
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August 30th, 2010 at 2:48 am
Hey Beth!
Good stuff. I didn’t know about that Twitter search engine tool. That is really interesting! You can find all sorts of people with a tool like that.
To the top,
-Gregory Elfrink
Gregory Elfrink´s last [type] ..How to Find New Prospects for Your Business in 53 Seconds or Less
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 9:47 am
You certainly can!
Beth
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August 30th, 2010 at 2:57 am
Great post Beth I use 3 of the 4 tools you mentioned on a regular basis. I actually like to use the twitter search more than twellow for finding people to follow, just for the fact that they are a lot more active twitter users than a lot of people listed in the twellow directory.
Darin Graf´s last [type] ..Attraction Marketing- What Draws People to You
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 9:46 am
That is a great point Darin, I love search.twitter too.
Beth
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August 30th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Hey Beth
I love your Twitter posts, as you know im not the savviest but making a lot of head way with all your suggestions!
I did come across something called Blast Follow, where you do a twitter blast based on hashtags. No sure if you have heard of it or used it, I tried it out once to see what it was like. Again i’m not the savviest with Twitter so don’t really know that pro’s and con’s of doing things like this yet!
I have also used Just Unfollow to do a clean up of those who don’t follow me back. And there is a new one that I was trying to find the details for that I used over the weekend, it was kinda alot like Social Oomph. I don’t remember the name or details but when I do I’ll Skype you!
thanks for the great tips again
cheers
Nat
Nat´s last [type] ..KeywordLuv and Do Follow How I’m Rewarding Commentators On My Blog
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August 30th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Hi Beth,
thanks for sharing. I haven’t been familiar with all of these tools, so I am really grateful to be it now, after reading your post, especially Search.Twitter seems to be cool.
Take care
Oliver
Oliver Tausend´s last [type] ..Lessons From Robert Kiyosaki’s “Cashflow Quadrant” For MLM Network Marketing Pt 3
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August 31st, 2010 at 3:32 am
Hey Beth
Some great tools you recommended. I have to admit I do not engage much on twitter, just syndicate.
But I have to start somewhere
Peter
Peter Fuller MBA´s last [type] ..Just Smile
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August 31st, 2010 at 6:50 am
Hey Beth,
Great post. I use Twellow myself and it has been very convenient for me. Thanks for sharing these tools
Sherman
Sherman Smith´s last [type] ..A Great Way To Attract More Qualified People To You
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August 31st, 2010 at 3:15 pm
this is a very very helpful article beth. thanks a million
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August 31st, 2010 at 3:18 pm
These are great Twitter tools, thanks Beth. I use Twellow and URL shorteners regularly and they’re so helpful. I used Friend or Follow only once and it was kind of overwhelming. Even though I could see the avatars, I wasn’t sure if they were someone I wanted to follow even if they weren’t following me back! I wish it showed their bio…do you know of any way that can happen?
And then the search function is something I knew about but have not explored. Will definitely do so, thanks!
Beth Allen´s last [type] ..Are You Living Out Loud
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September 1st, 2010 at 1:15 am
Beth,
Twitter is one animal I haven’t done alot with yet. I’m glad for the information you’ve provided here. Gives me a great starting point!
Val
Val Wilcox´s last [type] ..Are Competing Commitments Holding You Back
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September 1st, 2010 at 1:23 am
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the list. I really like the twitter search tool and especially twellow. I had some issues with my twitter for awhile where I wasn’t able to add followers for some reason and that’s what I used in the interim (twellow). I haven’t checked out the friend or follow yet so I’ll have to do that
Thanks, Laura
Laura Paulson´s last [type] ..Cool Tip On Masking Your Affiliate Links
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September 1st, 2010 at 8:10 am
Hey Beth,
This is a great post..
I like using the twitter search button to find people who I can help and connect with..
thanks for sharing
talk soon
Hector
Hector Cuevas´s last [type] ..How To Create An “Ideal” Lead Generation Process On Your Blog
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September 1st, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Hi Beth,
thank you for the great description of those tools.
I am gradually getting used to using more of the Twitter options.
It seems like there are so many layers and trick.
Cheers,
Yorinda
Yorinda´s last [type] ..Blog Website WordPress
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September 2nd, 2010 at 5:50 am
Hello Beth,
Some really great info here about the many Twitter tools one could use.
I will have to use twitter more than I do. And now since you gave me some education on it I now have some directions…Sweet!
Keep up the great work here on your Blog and I’ll be back for more.
Wishing you all my best:)
Larry Bilich´s last [type] ..Article Marketing Strategies That Will Get You More Traffic
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September 2nd, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Hi Beth have to agree with the list of useful resources on your post – Twitter is a beast that many are battling with -whether to automate – quit – follow only those of interest – build the biggest following on the planet- and then perhaps figure out a way to monetize?!!
Wondering where its all heading…..I also like Just Unfollow for those that care about such things has a limit of 50 per day – but childs play
Thanks for sharing Cheers Kiaran
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September 2nd, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Great tips Beth!
Sometimes we forget that there are people who are actually *gasp* “New” *gasp* to some of these Social Media services!
I like Twellow a lot!
Kyle McCauley´s last [type] ..Are You Missing The Secret Ingredient For Online Marketing Success
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September 5th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
A great selection of tools for beginners Beth. I’ve been using it for ages now and I never even knew there was a search engine!!
Rachael Macgregor MLM Secrets´s last [type] ..Make Money Online with MySpace
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Thanks for your comment Rachael, I know that search engine is probably less well known than a lot of twitter tools out there.
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September 10th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Twitter can be a time-suck like anything on the Internet, but using tools like you mentioned save a ton of time, and allow you to create better tweets, like using the URL Shortener. I use to put my really long URL’s in there and had no space for valuable content. Didn’t know it for like a month…oops! Anybody wanting to utilize Twitter can learn from your post.
Sincerely,
Mike
Mike Pedersen´s last [type] ..The Secret To Success When Networking For Realtors
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Thanks Mike appreciate the comments
Beth
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September 14th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
These tools are very helpful, especially Twellow. If you follow the higher ranked people in your niche, many people will automatically follow you.
SenseiMattKlein@kids karate sydney´s last [type] ..Teaching Children Martial Arts- Exercise as Punishment
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
September 15th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Great Tip Matt!
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September 14th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Hi Beth,
I have used most of these tools, and they are great. Twitter can be very overwhelming when you start! Worth the effort, though once you get the right followers. Keep up the great posts.
John Gaydon´s last [type] ..Are You Guilty
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September 23rd, 2010 at 4:35 am
Beth,
Thanks so much for all the cool info. It’s great to see someone who loves to share for the benefit of others!
Thanks,
~ Pat & Lorna
http://TheCoolestCouple.com
[Reply]
bethhewitt80 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Your welcome glad that you liked it
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September 24th, 2010 at 1:13 am
Hi Beth,
Twitter is the one social media channel where I have had most success probably because I have put quite a bit of focus into it. You have inspired me to write a blog about my experiences on Twitter including having my entire account removed due to a hacker! We don’t know what we know until we realize what we know to share with others. I have always felt like a beginner here but now I realize that through experience I have gained, I do have much to share. Thanks for sharing your tips. I use Twellow very effectively to find targeted people I am not following and have made some great connections this way.
Blessings
Clare
Clare Kelway´s last [type] ..Introduction to Mastermind to Personal Power
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September 24th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Hi Beth. The number of twitter apps out there is mind numbing, so thanks for taking a few minutes to share your favorites with me. I use several tools as I find that no one tools seems to accomplish everything that I am trying to execute daily. Would be great to have a “Super App” but maybe somewhere down the road! Thanks, Scott Pollov
Scott Pollov´s last [type] ..Why is Your Executive Summary So Important
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
September 24th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Hey Scott, maybe tell me what you have in mind and I will see if its out there for you.
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September 28th, 2010 at 6:34 am
This is a really great post Beth. A lot of people overlook the power of the free tools and in particular of Twitter search. The ability to find who’s talking about what lets us hone in on people that may be looking for what we offer. Its also great for doing quick analysis of what people are saying about a particular product/service we may be considering.
Kimberly
[Reply]
October 1st, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Hi Beth,
This was great information. I really like to use twellow myself. You can really target your niche market with this tool. Thanks for sharing!!
Sherman
Sherman Smith´s last [type] ..A Marketing Strategy To Generate Free Leads
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October 14th, 2010 at 6:34 am
Nice list. You can also add Google’s new URL shortner Goo.gl since it is now public (out of beta). Honestly, Search twiterer isn’t much effective. I’d rather search in Google for that.
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March 6th, 2011 at 11:42 pm
Beth, thanks for this post. Twitter is still a great mystery to me. So is LinkedIn, for that matter, but I haven’t even tried to get friendly with Twitter. I’ve heard of bit.ly — your post gave several good points, but I think this is the one I need to take away this time.
Pastor Sherry´s last [type] ..What Is God Like- Part 2
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May 6th, 2011 at 12:32 am
Only used URL shorteners among these. And why did I only found out about Search.Twitter just now? Ha! Anyway, thanks for posting this, I’d be a better Twitter user from now on.
Andy@3D Video Camera´s last [type] ..Making Next Generation Movies with 3D Video Cameras
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May 12th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Hi Beth! Thanks for this post — I didn’t know about some of these, and am working toward being more “twitter-ish”.
It’s great to connect, and thank you again for hooking me up with TSA!
God bless,
TK
TK Goforth´s last [type] ..“Russian Rainfall” by Audrey F
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May 13th, 2011 at 8:28 am
Hi Beth,
my second visit to this post and I learned something else.
Going to Twellow and claiming my profile sounds like another link in the big Social Media network.
Thank you for sharing this.
To your success.
Yorinda
Yorinda´s last [type] ..How to Install Love
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May 13th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
This post was really useful for me Beth. I want to get into twitter marketing.
Jason@golf tips blog´s last [type] ..Choose the right driver and improve your game!
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May 14th, 2011 at 4:50 am
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the Twitter tips. I had never heard of FriendorFollow before. I have used dossy.org/twitter/karma and Twellow.com
I am presenting a social media workshop for a conference of Rubenfeld Synergists (the type of mind body therapy that I do) and this will be most helpful.
Erica
Dr. Erica Goodstone´s last [type] ..Do You Know Your Relationship Mission
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May 17th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Hey Beth!
Thanks!
I know there is a whole lot of confusion on what to do, where to start and what the heck Twitter is all about anyway for the average person. But, I feel this post will really be able to help out those who would need or would need to learn how to use Twitter efficiently.
I’ll be sharing this posting thats for sure!
Thanks again for the insight and keep up the good work.
-Dereck
[Reply]
bethhewitt80 Reply:
May 24th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Thank you Dereck, thanks for stopping by.
Beth
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May 18th, 2011 at 4:18 am
Hi Beth, I didn’t realize that bit.ly gives you stats on your url. Thanks for this wonderful information. I would now have to utilize bit.ly more often if I want to know the stats of my tweets.
Maria´s last [type] ..Billige havemøbler i polyrattan
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May 18th, 2011 at 5:42 am
Hi Beth! These are all great tools for helping new Twitter users out! Thanks so much for sharing them – they will help many to use Twitter more effectively.
Lori Tisot´s last [type] ..Backing Up Facebook Profiles and Fan Pages – A Few Solutions
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May 24th, 2011 at 1:21 am
Hi Beth,
I really want to thank you for this excellent article on tools to use for twitter. You listed these four twitter tools, URL Shorteners, Friend or Follow, Search Twitter and Twellow. I knew about URL shorteners, but I didn’ know about the other three. I’m just starting to understand the power of tweeting and I am really curious to install all of these tools to see how they work. This is my first visit to your blog and I will definitely return. Thanks Beth.
Raena Lynn
Raena Lynn´s last [type] ..Social Media Beginner Top 4 Mistakes to Avoid
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
May 24th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Raena,
Thank you for stopping by. I am so glad that you found my post useful. I am always looking out for great blog post ideas. So if you have any specific Twitter related questions as you go on your Twitter journey, please let me know so I can do my best to answer them for you.
Kind Regards,
Beth
[Reply]
May 24th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Hello Beth
Great post. I was particularly interested in learning more about the “friend and follow” tool as it seems really useful.
Thank you for your insight,
Stevie
Stevie Smith´s last [type] ..Depression After Break Up
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May 31st, 2011 at 6:38 pm
This is the first that I’ve heard of all the applications that Twitter offers. So is the search engine similar to Google, but restricted to just Twitter and it’s users?
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June 14th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Love it Beth! All the 4 tools you shared with us are simple to use from what I gather on your post.
I’ve heard of all of these but have not yet leveraged each of them. I didn’t know we can do more than just shorten our links on bit.ly – just learned from you now that they can help us track our clicks. Very cool.
Search Twitter has a lot of power when it comes to searching for things relevant to your interests. Thanks for reminding me about that feature.
Looking forward to returning and learning more from you Beth!
-Jaclyn Castro
Jaclyn Castro´s last [type] ..How to Handle the Top 10 Objections When Sponsoring
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bethhewitt80 Reply:
June 25th, 2011 at 12:04 am
You are welcome hunny, glad I could help.
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