Twitter 101: From @ to #
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Transcript of Twitter 101: From @ to #
Twitter Basics, From @ to #
Agenda
• What is Twitter?
• Why use Twitter?
• How do you get started?
• Twitter glossary
• Examples: Police departments using Twitter well
What is Twitter?
• Twitter is a website which lets you send and read messages called tweets.
• Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters.
• Users “follow,” or subscribe, to various people’s tweets so they can read their updates.
Or, possibly...
Stephen Nolen, chief information officer in Shawnee, Oklahoma, said he has heard Twitter referred to as "a police scanner for the digital world," because those who have an interest in police and firefighting can stay informed through the site.-CNN, March 13, 2009
But what if people start flocking to crime scenes?
"It's no different than the media showing up and broadcasting live feeds from the area, citizens in the area that call their friends or post video from their cell phones on YouTube," said Lakeland, Fla. Police Assistant Chief Bill LePere. -CNN, March 13, 2009
Why should we waste our time with Twitter?
If done well, Twitter can help your org...
•Encourage citizen cooperation with police efforts, even helping to solve cold cases.
•Keep the citizenry informed in the event of a crisis.
•Justify your work in the face of budget cuts (examples to follow).
A Dutch police department asked for tips on cold cases — and 75% of leads came through Twitter. -Change.org, May 20, 2010
But we don’t have time to do it well!
"We think the police department has an obligation to get information out to the community through whatever means or mechanisms we have at our disposal," said Lakeland, Fla. Police Assistant Chief Bill LePere. "Traditional media releases, expecting the local print media to pick it up and run it in the newspaper tomorrow, is 24 hours too late." -CNN, March 13, 2009
But we don’t have time to do it well!
• Twitter has plenty of time for your organization.
• Do you want to create an account when times are good, or when a crisis or major event hits?
• Miriam’s Kitchen (@miriamskitchen)
• Jan-Michael (@aspanlink)
Twitter: It’s about relationships.
• "Big American cities have found success in recent years with community policing — sending cops to walk beats rather than drive cars, to attend community meetings rather than just make arrests. And Twitter could be the next big beat." -Change.org, May 20, 2010
How do we get started?
• Have your purpose ready
• Get internal buy-in
• Create a profile
• “Lurk”
• Experiment with messaging
• Interact
...and measure (and learn)
Etiquette
• Be personal, and be a (professional) person
• Provide value more than you promote yourself
• Offer helpful tips, useful information the public needs to know (great examples coming later)
• Thank people who say nice things
• Answer questions
How do I get people to follow me?
• Find people talking about your topic in your region, and follow them
• Post messages with hashtags related to your organization (i.e. #PGPD, #PGCounty)
• Post useful content
• Google “Twitter directory” and add yourself to as many as you can in related categories
• Include your Twitter handle on stationery, email signatures, etc.
Ideas for Tweets
• Thank people!
• Facts, stats and trivia
• Mission success
• Event promotion
• Photos
• Questions
@username
Direct Message (DM)
Follow vs. Follower
Retweet (RT)
Hashtag (#)
Trending topic
Lists
Examples
Demonstrating day-to-day police work (great if you’re facing budget cuts:
Greater Manchester (UK)
Examples
Balancing good PR with responding to inquiries, keeping public informed:
Boston
Examples
Great tips for public awareness (making your job easier):
Washington, DC
Resources
Brogan, Chris and Julien Smith. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust Wiley, 2009.
Weinberg, Tamar. The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web O’Reilly, 2009.
Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business Wiley, 2009.
Resources
Brogan, Chris and Julien Smith. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust Wiley, 2009.
Weinberg, Tamar. The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web O’Reilly, 2009.
Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business Wiley, 2009.
Resources
Mashable @mashable, mashable.com
Tamar Weinberg @tamar, www.techipedia.com
Thanks!
Thanks!