a pr practitioner's guide to twitter

A PR PRACTIONEER’S GUIDE TO TWITTER

Or How to Use Twitter Effectively to Do Better PR

Prepared by Chris Baccus (@cbaccus)Executive Director Digital

October 2013

"What is the state of play right now.“

David CarrThe New York Times

JOU

RNALISTS AN

D TW

ITTER

JOU

RNALISTS AN

D TW

ITTERBREAKING NEWS AND THE RISE OF “CITIZEN JOURNALISTS”

JOU

RNALISTS AN

D TW

ITTER

of U.S. Journalists have a personal account on Twitter

78% The New Normal for News. Oriella PR Network Study. Digital Journalism Study 2013

59% International

JOU

RNALISTS AN

D TW

ITTER

State of the Media Report. Vocus. 2013.

BUILDING YOUR NETWORK

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

HOW DO YOU FIND WHO TO FOLLOW?

Search.

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

FIND LISTS ONLINE

Google is your friend.

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

ELEMENTS OF A TWITTER PROFILE

Your Twitter followers who

follow this person

Publication identified and sometimes additional contact information

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

EXTENDING YOUR NETWORK BY ASSOCIATION

Lists are your friend.

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

LIST DETAILS

Browsing a list

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

BUILDING YOUR OWN LIST

Public or Private?

Private (Accessible only to you)

Public (Anyone can view the list or subscribe to it)

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

ADDING TO YOUR LISTS

Choose the list or lists you want to associate that account with

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

PUBLIC LISTS

Public Lists do notify the account holder. Private lists do not.

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

ADDING ACCOUNTS TO LISTS IS EASY AND QUICK

Add from the person’s profile page too.

BUILD

ING

YOU

R NETW

ORK

CAN ALSO FOLLOW OTHER’S LISTS

Don‘t want to create your own? Follow lists from people you trust.

ENGAGING WITH MEDIA

“It's for hearing. Listening.”

ENG

AGIN

G W

ITH M

EDIA

ACTIVE LISTENING FIRST

Get to know who they are first

ENG

AGIN

G W

ITH M

EDIA

SOURCE MATTERS TO JOURNALISTS

“It depends on whether I know the person pitching the story, or their affiliation.”

– National online digital magazine reporter

ENG

AGIN

G W

ITH M

EDIA

PR IS AT A DISADVANTAGE

The New Normal for News. Oriella PR Network Study. Digital Journalism Study 2013

ENG

AGIN

G W

ITH M

EDIA

State of the Media Report. Vocus. 2013.

ENG

AGIN

G W

ITH M

EDIA

"In general I've found Twitter is the best practical way to get directly through to journalists… I always compare it to being in a convention hall. They're open, they're meeting people, and you can just walk right up to them.”

- Patrick Garmoe, SpinSucks blog

ENG

AGIN

G W

ITH M

EDIA

BE HUMAN

ENG

AGIN

G W

ITH M

EDIA

EVENTS ARE YOUR FRIEND

THE ART OF THE PITCH

THE ART O

F THE PITCH

THE SOCIAL MEDIA PITCH PARADOX

Journalists who use social media the most are the least open to pitches.

State of the Media Report. Vocus. 2013.

THE ART O

F THE PITCH

THE CREATIVE PITCH - VIDEO

THE ART O

F THE PITCH

State of the Media Report. Vocus. 2013.

THE ART O

F THE PITCH

THE BEST PITCH

Call or Email

Use Twitter to Build the Relationship

ENGAGING INFLUENCERS

ENG

AGIN

G IN

FLUEN

CERSINFLUENCERS ARE NOT MEDIA

They do have an audience you want to reach, so respect and approach with the same rigor as pitching a journalist.

ENG

AGIN

G IN

FLUEN

CERSTHE WRONG WAY

Spammy influencer outreach.

An agency decided to use access to the corporate account to “pitch” influencers.

ENG

AGIN

G IN

FLUEN

CERSELEMENTS OF PITCHING AN INFLUENCER

PERSONALIZEStart by using their name

PROVIDE VALUEQuickly show why your pitch matters to them or their audience

LINK TO CONTENTProvide a way to learn more

POSITIVE OUTROEnd with a thank you or invitation to their thoughts

BE YOU

BE YOU

TWITTER IS NOT FACEBOOK OR LINKEDIN

BE YOU

BRING YOUR PERSONALITY INTO IT

BE YOU

KEEP UP WITH PR ON TWITTER

Join a Twitter Chat from Time to Time

#PR20CHAT #JOURNCHAT

Read Industry Blogs that Discuss New Media

Tuesdays 5-6pm PST Mondays 5-6pm PST

THANK YOU