TWITTER BASICS

GATEHOUSE NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION

The agenda

What is Twitter?Twitter and GateHouse strategyTwitter vs. FacebookWhy tweet?Basic Twitter termsBasic Twitter toolsTwitter how toYour Twitter personaHow to build a networkReporting toolsTakeaways

What is Twitter?

Simple to use140-character messagesFollow breaking news, competitionPromote your content and brandPromote yourself as a brandOne or more Twitter accounts for your pub

Twitter and GateHouse strategy

Web Cube first: updates, galleries,reader involvement, print promotionFacebook: 2.8 percent of visits in past yearTwitter: 0.29 percent of visits in past yearSocial media is growing

Twitter and GateHouse strategy

Create a Twitter section in ZopeUse free service such as twitterfeed.com to connect your published content to TwitterChoose content specific to social media (more to come on content)OR manually post based on your time, the topic

Twitter vs. Facebook

Twitter is more about sharing information; Facebook is more about the conversation, interaction.Many news organizations use Twitter to cover something live: big sports event, controversial meeting, breaking news, etc.

Why Twitter?

75 percent of online news consumers in the United States get news forwarded through e-mail and posts on social sites. 52 percent share links to news stories via social media.

Source: Edison Research & Arbitron

Why Twitter?

Google and Bing recently confirmed that referrals from Facebook and Twitter help a website rank higher in search results.Facebook & Twitter now have “authority,” which is important for page rank.

Why Twitter?

“Social networking links are becoming a bigger share of every news site's traffic; as one of my Slate colleagues pointed out, in the Twitter age, ‘optimizing for Google results is a little like going out and buying the best VCR on the market.’ ”

Farhad Manjoo, SlateFeb. 8, 2011

Basic Twitter tips

Use your headshot or other distinct, square imageMake sure you have info and a URL in your profileTry not to use all 140 characters

Basic Twitter terms

Tweet: Twitter post Retweet: If you like what someone has tweeted,

you retweet (RT) and give credit. @: This symbol precedes someone’s username -

@jeanhodges. This calls out to the person and links to that person. #: Hashtags are used to indicate searchable and

trending topics. You can create them for your town, but first search to see if someone is already using certain terms.

Check out Twitter’s glossary for more: http://support.twitter.com/entries/166337-the-twitter-glossary

Tweet: Twitter post Retweet: If you like what someone has tweeted,

you retweet (RT) and give credit. @: This symbol precedes someone’s username -

@jeanhodges. This calls out to the person and links to that person. #: Hashtags are used to indicate searchable and

trending topics. You can create them for your town, but first search to see if someone is already using certain terms.

Check out Twitter’s glossary for more: http://support.twitter.com/entries/166337-the-twitter-glossary

Basic Twitter tools

HootSuite: Time tweets

- Sign up for free version- Add Twitter and Facebook- Post your Tweet- Click calendar- Choose date and time- Select Twitter, Facebook or both

- Click schedule

HootSuite: Time tweets

- Sign up for free version- Add Twitter and Facebook- Post your Tweet- Click calendar- Choose date and time- Select Twitter, Facebook or both

- Click schedule

Basic Twitter tools

Short URL: bitly converts URL to short versionShort URL: bitly converts URL to short version

Basic Twitter tools

Zope: Tweet right from the CMS (begins today)Zope: Tweet right from the CMS (begins today)

Twitter how to

Content- Breaking news.- Live coverage of big meetings, sports events, election night.- Quirky news: Anything that might be retweeted.

Twitter how to

Tone- When appropriate have some personality.- Make every character count.- Use this opportunity to really sell your story.

Twitter how to

When to post based on retweets

Source: Kissmetrics, data by Dan Zarrella, social media researcher at HubSpot

Twitter how to

When to post based on click-throughs

Twitter how to

When to post

Twitter how to

How much to tweet: Less is moreRecommend 2-5 tweets per day

Twitter how to

Just about every post directs people to your website.Use short URL to maximize your ability to sell the story.Use a hashtag (#) or @ symbol. Set a goal of using one or the other in half of your posts to get used to using them.

Twitter how to

Create standard hashtags for anyone in your newsroom to use. Brainstorm ideas. Make sure everyone who tweets knows them (spreadsheet or some way to track them). Search hashtags.org to see if any already exist.- Mayor’s name- Town name- School district- Sports teams- Local controversy

Your Twitter persona

Careful: This stuff is publicBasic journalism rules applyBut it’s OK to let people know some things about youLink to your work; link to others’ work

How to build a network

Follow likely followers and the people they followFollow the people your followers followRetweet people and strive to be retweeted

How to build a network

Promote Twitter on your websitePromote Twitter in your newspaperAdd Twitter to email newsletters and your own email correspondence

Most important

Tweet often or, really, why bother?Enjoy it.

Multiple accounts

News, sports, politics, any niche you’re known for in your market.Reporters can have their own accounts, too.People look for tweets that specifically address their interests.

Reporting tool

Use search function to find out what’s being tweeted.Use hashtags.org to searchAsk followers questions:- Are you at the game?- Are you following the election?- Anyone know about this breaking news?

10 Takeaways

Get a Twitter accountFollow news organizations, industry expertsFollow everyone they followUse limited Twitter feedSupplement with human posts: tweet & retweetTry Zope’s new feature: Tweet from ZopeDon’t bombard followers with TweetsPromote Twitter online, printUse Twitter as a reporting toolCheck ghnewsroom.com for resources, links

Resources

Twitter for journalistshttp://media.twitter.com/newsrooms

Twitter glossary http://support.twitter.com/entries/166337-the-twitter-glossarySocialMedia411http://www.socialmedia411.org/

Contact me: jhodges@gatehousemedia.com

TWITTER BASICS

GATEHOUSE NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION