To Tweet or Not To Tweet: Are you talking to yourself?

Joanna BlackburnWeb Marketing Manager

What we’re going to cover

• The Emergence of Twitter• The Basics of Getting Yourself on Twitter• Why Tweet at All? Using Twitter in your area of work• Maximising Twitter Power – Using the Tools• Monitoring and Evaluation• How NOT to Use Twitter• Taking it forward

Is Twitter all it’s cracked up to be?

• Started in 2006, from a company called Odeo Group, based in San Francisco

• Originally called TWTTR, it was an SMS short code used to share thoughts, location and other useless information

• Initially meant to be a personal “person-to-person” service

• Today, it’s rumoured to be worth over US $250 million

KACHING!KACHING!

The numbers don’t lie

Twitter Stats

• Twitter traffic has increased by a whopping 974% in 2009 from 2008 stats – and this only measures traffic on the main site, and not those who access Twitter on mobiles or other applications (Tweetdeck, for example)

• And it’s not just traffic. Time spent on the site was less than 10 minutes in 2008 to half an hour in 2009.

• In the US, one in five Americans tweet.

That’s a LOT of tweets!

And it’s not just for the ‘young-uns’

Enough of the history lesson. Let’s see how you can use Twitter in your own area of work.

Why Tweet At All?

• Press and PR• Promoting Events – and getting delegates to participate• Programme/course promotion• Getting feedback for a service or proposed change• Advertise jobs• Crisis Communications• Develop relationships with stakeholders

Can you think of anything else?

The BasicsPersonalise Your Profile Show Off Your Brand

Follow – and be followed

Courtesy of Hubspot

Watch your tone, but keep it personal

• Don’t just use Twitter as a broadcast tool. Get some conversations going!

• Be open with your followers –build trust and engagement

• When appropriate, ask for feedback to encourage repeat visits and develop ongoing relationships

BTW, u’ve only got 140 chars! :(

• But that’s not an excuse to use text speak

• Use URL shortening tools (bit.ly, tinyurl, etc)

• Don’t waffle (you can’t, anyway) – be precise and to the point

• No need to use the 140 characters if you don’t have to

Encourage Feedback

• People out there have great ideas you can use

• No matter of great you think you are, there’s always room for improvement

• People like to know that there’s an actual human being behind your tweets

Monitor what’s being said about or to you so you can respond, if needed

C O N V E R S A T I O N

NOT

Broadcast

Get a Good API to Manage Your Tweets

Maximise the distribution of your content

Your Reap What You Sow

• Follow others and encourage others to follow you

• Engage in conversation with those you follow

• Retweet (RT) where appropriate

• Maximise Twitter Tools (hashtags, lists, trending topics)

Use the tools available

Monitor your Tweets

• Use Tweetburner (or similar)

• Monitor URL performance of click throughs – good to see interest in a news item or event, for example

Monitor your Tweets• Tweetstats.com can quickly

graph your tweets

• Monitor frequency of tweets

• See how many retweets and replies you make

But more importantly, have a nosy at what competitors are doing

Monitor Your Tweets

How NOT to Use Twitter

How NOT to Use Twitter

http://www.mobiadnews.com/?p=3778

How NOT to Use Twitter

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/jun/22/twitter-advertising

If you do mess up…

• Respond appropriately – and QUICKLY

• Apologise to each individual if possible

• Remove offending and/or inappropriate tweets

And don’t do it again.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eusebius/3569837488/

It’s her fault!

Are you confused yet?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/3843456676/

Yes, you’ll need to work at it to make Twitter work for you

• Like any application, you’ll only get the best out of Twitter if you learn how to use it right

• Don’t use Twitter in isolation, ensure it’s embedded in your marketing, communications and PR strategy

• Sit down with key colleagues and discuss whether Twitter is right for you – and who’s going to manage it day to day

• Maximise Twitter tools (hashtags, lists, trending topics) to get the best results

• And always, Always, ALWAYS evaluate

Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other…

Joanna Blackburnj.m.blackburn@salford.ac.uk0161 295 4779

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebusybrain/2819978026/

Thank you for listening.