Twitter as a business communications tool

What the heck is Twitter?

Twitter is…

• “Dumb,” in the words of a colleague; also “Weird”

• “Micro-blogging” (an oft-used phrase) in 140 characters

• Broadcasting to a niche group of people who care about what you have to say

• Becoming today’s “newswire” and/or “police scanner” (Hudson River; Iraq)

Twitter is…

• One of many ways to catch people on-line and lead them to your key messages

• Great tool for 1) social networking 2) professional networking 3) information-sharing

• Bonus: Great way to keep up in your industry/profession

17 million users in the U.S. as of April 2009;

Largest age group?

35 -49Sources: TechCrunch & MariSmith

Why so popular?

• Mobile • 140 characters easy

to see on iPhone or Blackberry

Can be used at your desktop as well. Go to it as you go to your email account

The Anatomy of a Twitter Account

Definition of terms

• People who use Twitter are Tweeps—not Twits

• A message on Twitter is called a Tweet

Definition of Terms

• People who read your Tweets are called Followers

• You become a Follower of other people’s Tweets

• Anyone can follow you and vice versa (unlike Facebook)

Want to follow? Click here

Shortened URL leads to longer content

This organization’s Twitter “handle”

(always all one word)

The most recent Tweet

How many followers and how many being followed

Mini-Profile leads to website or blog

What to do with 140 characters

1. Link!

2. Share called Re-Tweet

What to do with 140 characters

• Breaking news

• Thank someone

• Praise a partner

• Offer advice

• Seek input (Poll? Survey?)

• Build “brand awareness” as in…

Promote events and reports

Getting Started…a demonstration• Go to Twitter.com• Create an account

with username and password

• It will ask for screen name. Don’t get cute.

• Searching for people within Twitter is clunky

Get started

• Find people/orgs to follow

• Good places to start?

Samples

NH Media, Businesses, Nonprofits, Governments on Twitter; your local

businesses & orgs

Excellent use of customized profile background

Who’s Tweeting in NH• The Jaffrey Fire Department• The Londonderry Police Department• The Epping Police Department• The Manchester Public Library• Portsmouth’s Music Hall• Portsmouth Regional Hospital• The Fisher Cats• Most media outlets

Finding folks to follow

• Systematically click through to their followers;

• find like-minded organizations and companies and follow them

No, you do not HAVE to read every Tweet!

Lists

Browse

Mobile or email alerts

How to get followers

• Following others will result in Followers

• Your key words will result in Followers

• Tweet often (but not too much)• Re-Tweet others• Have something to say

Rules of thumb

• Don’t sell! Instead share, educate, enlighten

• Be personal, but in balance--For every 10 Tweets, make one more personal than business (ie: We’re having a potluck today; Can’t wait to attend Chamber Breakfast…)

• Do not alert people “I’ll be gone for a while”

Advanced Twitter Tools

• Hootsuite - excellent platform for pre-scheduling; grouping those you Follow

• SocialOomph - prescheduling broadcasts to Twitter only. It also does keyword alerts,

autofollowing and more.

• Tweetie iPhone app

Twellow

• Find whose Tweeting by Location or Topic

Hashtags #• A user invention to find on-going

conversations about a topic

Search in

Search.twitter.com

#healthcarereform

Bring Twitter into your site

Bring Twitter onto your Facebook page(and vice versa)

and into your LinkedIn Page (just announced yesterday)

As with all social media tools

• Who is your audience?

• What are your messages?

• What are your communications goals?

• Audience dictates which tools are best

• Messages dictate which tools

• Goals should inform all forms of communicating

It’s the

content, not the tools

Leave your business card for…

• “The Social Media Six” e-news tips

• Bi-weekly email blast of six tipsLeave your business card for the bi-weekly e-news

“Social Media Six”

OUTTAKES

Need inside MinnPost.com page here

What is Twitter

• Micro-blogging

• More easily thought of as Group Email, only it is broadcast to people who have chosen to follow you

Colleague’s assessment of Twitter

• Twitter is dumb.

• But that was last January.

• Love-hate

Twitter

Does not mean you *have* to read every Tweet. Email is not involved in

any way unless you and a follower agree to take a conversation off-line

Best use of Twitter?

Brand awareness—but takes some time to build up

• Who is your audience?

• What are your messages?

• What are your communications goals?

• Audience dictates which tools are best

• Messages dictate which tools

• Goals should inform all forms of communicating