Time to Learn to Tweet?

We would like to encourage all our supporters to start using Twitter as it is such a great medium for sharing up-to-date news about our cause, the various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and other worthwhile military support charities. If you’re interested, we are providing this brief tutorial to help you get started.

What’s a “tweet”? It’s a message posted on Twitter using no more than 140 characters and spaces. When you sign up for Twitter, you can post your own tweets and read tweets posted by others… 

What do I need to start? An internet connection (which you already have if you’re reading this!) or a mobile phone…and then a username and password.

How do I learn more? Begin by reading the Twitter Basics:

• How To Sign Up on Twitter – first things first!
• Twitter 101: How should I get started using Twitter?

Once you have created and signed on to your account, click here to find the Operation Gratitude Twitter account — @OpGratitude — and read what we are tweeting about. To follow @OpGratitude, click on the “Follow” button.

See who is reading our tweets — our Followers – and see who we are Following.

Twitter accounts we like: @USMC… @AVTT… @GarySinise… @PetsforPatriots… @MarineMama1 …to name a few!

Follow the accounts that look interesting to you…then try posting a few tweets yourself!

How do I tweet? Your account has a Home Page with a “What’s Happening?” box. That’s where you can write a message — it could be about ANYTHING — just keep it to 140 characters or less. The counter on the right, below the box, will tell you how many spaces you have remaining. When you’re done, click on the “Tweet” button.

Who will see my tweets? Only your Followers (when you start out you won’t have any!)….or people who search for tweets using words you have used.

And speaking of searches…

Use the Search function (a box at the top of all pages) to find your way around on Twitter. Using a hashtag (the “#” symbol) is one simple way to search for specific words used in a tweet. For example, you can search for military-related tweets by using these various hashtags — #SOT (which is the abbreviation for Support Our Troops), #SupportourTroops, #HonorVets, #Military, #USMC, etc. We’ve started using #March2aMill as a way to help bring awareness to the fact that we are on an exciting March to a Million Care Packages! Try some hashtags out — you might find some interesting tweets to read and reply to!

How do I post a reply on Twitter? A “Reply” is any update posted by clicking on the “Reply” button on another tweet. Your reply will always begin with @username (insert username of the person you are replying to).

• Find the Tweet you want to react to on Twitter.
• Hover your mouse over their message and click the “reply” icon.
• Complete your Tweet in the box that pops up, and click “Tweet” to send it.

What is a “Retweet” (RT)? When you read a tweet you like, you might want to share it — quote it — for your followers to read. Read more about RTs here.

Here are more basic Twitter instructions you might find helpful:

• Learn the lingo by reading the Twitter Glossary.
• Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

So….that’s a start! Try it out and please let us know if you have any questions: opgrat@gmail.com

We hope you’ll find and “like” us on Facebook and “follow” our boards on Pinterest, too!

Thank you for all your support!