Twitter 101 for Advancement

Daniella Nordin

Online Community Manager

What is Twitter?

• Information network• Micro-blogging site• News aggregator • Powerful search tool!

Twitter Terminology

• Tweet• Retweet (RT)• Reply (@)• Direct/Private Message (dm)• Follow/ers• #Hashtag • Trending• Twitterverse

Why use Twitter?

• Real-time monitoring & results• Free market research• 300,000 new users/day • Opportunity to engage • Complement, augment and simplify

(alumni)relations

Top Five Reasons to Use Twitter in Alumni Communications

• Updates about the school • Get alums involved in conversation• Prove the College’s ability to collaborate• Specialized accounts for target audience• Promote alumni networks

Source

So what?

• Ways to track/monitor conversation • Use the data!• New content on Web page• Interactivity

A Word of Caution (or Things You Probably Already Know)

• Social media is the vehicle, Skidmore is the destination

• E-mail isn’t dead, just may not be King• Jury still out on donating via Twitter/social media• Jury not out on spam/over-marketing your brand• Think long-term • I’m one person, for things to go viral, it takes

many (YOU)

See you in the Twitterverse!

• Questions?