+ a twitter primer don blake, nea public relations, sate relations

+

A Twitter PrimerDon Blake, NEA Public Relations, Sate Relations

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Agenda

Twitter 101—the basics

Who’s Using?

How are they using?

Who’s Who of Twitter

What makes a “Who’s Who” of Twitter?

Top Twitter Apps

Best Practices

Discussion: What are you doing?

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“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.”

--Paul Ran

In 2006, Twitter was established as a free site that lets viewers post and read updates about friends and family. Writing in 140 character blasts called tweets, people communicate with one another, sometimes as simply as: “I just ate a banana.”

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Twitter 101

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Twitter is:

•Blog•Instant Messenger•Mobile Text Messenger

+ How can I send or receive tweets?:

•Web (Twitter.com)

•Instant Messenger (Gtalk)

•Mobile Phone (SMS)

• RIA/Widget

+ Who’s Using?

As of December 2008, 11% of online American adults said they used a service like Twitter or another service that allowed them to share updates about themselves or to see the updates of others.

*Source: Pew Research Center; “Twitterpated: Mobile Americans Increasingly Take to Tweeting

+ Who’s Using?

Basic profile of a Twitter user*:

•31 is the median age•35% live in urban areas•17% percent come from households earning less than $30,000 annually•82% have a cell phone and use it to text message•76% read newspapers online•29% have created a blog•57% have read a blog


+ Who’s Using?


+ Who’s Using?

Twitter users are slightly more racially and ethnically diverse than is the full U.S. population, most likely because they are younger -- and younger Americans are a more ethnically and racially diverse group than is the full population.

Although the largest age groups using Twitter or similar services are on the younger side—19% of online 18-to24-year-olds, and 20% of 25-to-31-year-olds—the median age of a Twitter user is 31. That’s several years older than the median age for Facebook and Myspace users: 26 and 27, respectively.


+ How people are using Twitter …

•Current status

•Questions

•Events

•Local news updates

•Cross posting media

•Special offers


Cross Posting


Local News


•Current status

•Questions

•Events

•Local news updates

•Cross posting media

•Special offers

BrandingBack channeling


Branding

Driving into social media like Twitter without a clear and thoughtful strategy actually can end up doing damage to customer relationships as well as their image

•What is the “Twitter Community?”

•Is Twitter a good fit for my brand?

•What exactly do I want to accomplish?


Branding


Back channeling


Benefits of back channeling

1. It helps members focus2. The audience gets more content3. Audience members can get questions answered on the fly4. The audience can participate5. The audience can innovate6. You don’t have to be physically present to participate7. You can connect with people8. You can do something else


Back channeling

Who’s in the room?

TWEET:

@poll 32381 YOUR NAME


Back channeling

+Who’s who of Twitter

AmazonThe feed name says it all. It’s all about nabbing the best deals

DellOutletLooking for a refurbished computer or electronic device? Click here.

ESPNCan’t get enough sports headlines? Click here.

Whole Foods MarketDish about your favorite food and swap recipes. Learn about new store openings.

ComcastAt Comcast Cares, customers are kept up-to-date about power outages and ask questions about their service.

Barack ObamaHe got out the vote, Twitter style with 150,000 followers. John McCain?About 5,000.

+What Makes a Who’s who of Twitter?

Velocity: Average number of first- and second-order followers attracted per day since the Twitterer first established their account. The larger the number is, the faster that Twitterer has accumulated their influence.

Social Capital: A measure of how influential a twitterer's followers are. A high value indicates that most of that Twitterer's followers have a lot of followers themselves.

Centralization: This is a measure of how much a Twitterer's influence (reach) is invested in a small number of followers.

+What Makes a Who’s who of Twitter?

+Top 5 Twitter Desktop Apps

•Twhirl•Twitteriffic•Snitter•Tweetr•Twitteroo

+Top 5 Twitter Web Apps

•Mobypicture•Twitterfeed•Terraminds•Twistori•Summize

+Top 5 Twitter Mobile Apps

•Halo•Cetwit•Twitter Answers•Twapper•Twittai

+Other Notable Twitter Apps

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Variations

Other Notable Twitter Apps

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Do’s-- Starting out

•See what other organizations are doing on Twitter

•Use Twitter search engines for keyword searches aroundbrands, products and topic of interest

•Follow Twitterers with similar interests to establish a brand presence within conversation

Best Practices According to Don (and the Web)

+Best Practices According to Don (and the Web)

Do’s—Building your community

•Use Twitter to start a conversation—Talk to people about their interests

•Be dedicated to Twitter

•Ask questions and get feedback from your audience

•Be transparent (why you’re really on Twitter)

•Know when to participate and when to listen

•Make your message relate

•Provide value to your follower

•Spread the word about your participation (@yourname on email sig)

+Best Practices According to Don (and the Web)

Twitter Don’ts

•Use Twitter to push ads or brand messaging. Don’t just Tweet but also follow others to join in or start a conversation.

•Be boring!

•Be panicked if you’re Twitter-Jacked

•Tweet anything about clients, co-workers, friends, etc. that you would not want them to see

+ a twitter primer don blake, nea public relations, sate relations

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