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 [email protected] 295 4779
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebusybrain/2819978026/
Thank you for listening.