twitter final

Twitter: Hype vs. Reality

August 15th, 2009Questions? nightschool@democracyforamerica.com

Twitter: #dfans Paid for by Democracy for America, www.democracyforamerica.com, and not

authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

…live @

Tonight’s Trainers

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Matt BlizekNight School Host

@dfatraining

Jen NedauAir America

www.jennedeau.com@humanfolly

Adam GreenPCCC

www.boldprogressives.com@adamgreenonline

What is Social MediaWhat does Social Media Offer? Organizational efficiencies Reduced transaction costs Free advertising Owning the brand on multiple platforms Engaging new consumers Two-way conversation

Social Media is relevant because: Social Media is great for getting out the message Reaches people where they are at Interest based vs. friend based A new way to communicate

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Social Media Stats

Check out Marta Kagan’s: What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

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Connecting to the Viral Loop of Information

Visual Content

Image credit: Brian Solis & @Jess3

et al. – et alias “and others”i.e. – id est “that is”e.g. – exempli gratia “for example”

Twitter is a natural extension of the way we speak.

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Tweeting BasicsTweet: The result of posting to Twitter

RT: The result of reposting someone else’s tweet

H/T: Hat-tip, give credit where it’s due

@ Message: A response or a message to a specific handle. When used at the beginning, it can be found under the replies tab (a sort of public “inbox”)

DM: Direct Message, can send only to those following you (goes into your private Direct Message “inbox”)

Hashtag: The # sign is used to denote a major topic (like tagging/categorizing on a blog)

Popular progressive hashtags: #p2 #topprog #rebelleft #woc #fem2

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“Hi, my name is Jen. And I’m addicted to Twitter.” What about

you?

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Questions?Email:

nightschool@democracyforamerica.com

Twitter: #dfans

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Personal vs. Professional• Know thyself.

• Know thy brand.

• The personal is professional.

my passion

my job

my interest

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Set Up A Profile. What’s Missing?

Twitter Checklist:

Short, interesting bio

Icon & background image

Link out to your website

Use @Replies

Use Bitly.com to track clicks

Follow people back

Use a real name

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Slowly making progress…Denial Surprise Acceptance Addiction

It takes about three months to get someone on 100% board

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Measuring Your Brand

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www.search.twitter.com Or use search on Tweetdeck

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How do I FIND Followers?

Photo credit: Caroline Middlebrook

How do I get people to follow

me?

Online Tools for Twitter• Tweetdeck (http://www.tweetdeck.com)

• Twhirl (http://www.twhirl.org/)

• Digsby (http://www.digsby.com/)

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Questions?Email:

nightschool@democracyforamerica.com

Twitter: #dfans

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TWITTER TWITTER AS AN ORGANIZING AS AN ORGANIZING

TOOLTOOL

What’s it good for?

Adam Green Twitter: @AdamGreenOnline

Getting people to take action?Getting people to take action?

PCCC/DFA: Vote for our PCCC/DFA: Vote for our targettarget

Twitter goes wild

Twitter Impact

330 clicks

25 sign ups

7.5% conversion

Blog ImpactCROOKS AND LIARS2300 clicks1141 sign-ups49% conversion

OPEN LEFT135 clicks46 sign-ups24% conversion

FLASHBACK: Twitter: 330 clicks, 25 sign ups, 7.5% conversion

Forrest The Fellow’s ImpactPosted voting link in comment sections of

Daily Kos, FireDogLake, and CrooksAndLiars

84 clicks34 sign-ups40% conversion

FLASHBACK: Twitter: 330 clicks, 25 sign ups, 7.5% conversion

Auto-Email’s Impact

1355 clicks

312 actions

23% conversion

FLASHBACK: Twitter: 330 clicks, 25 sign ups, 7.5% conversion

Conversion analysisTwitter: 7.5% conversionCrooks and Liars blog: 49% conversionOpenLeft blog: 24% conversionForrest’s blog comments: 40% conversionAuto-email: 23% conversionInitial DFA email: 65% conversionInitial PCCC email: 73% conversion

WHY?WHY?

WHY?WHY?

My guess: Theory of change

SO…WHAT’S TWITTER SO…WHAT’S TWITTER GOOD FOR?GOOD FOR?

Conference Communication

Sharing Links – No Other Action

Huffington Post:Twitter is 1 of their top 5 link

referrals.

Communicating with reporters who follow you

POLITICO REPORTER:

“I use Twitter to gather info -- polling numbers, breaking news, links to smart analysis... That info comes from all sorts of folks, in politics full-time or just intense observers.”

Communicating with reporters who follow you

JAKE TAPPER, ABC:

“I get interesting stuff from following some interesting thinkers on the L and R on twitter”

Communicating DIRECTLY with reporters

POLITICO REPORTER:

“My suggestion would be to @ a journo when u see or hear something they may not know.

Be civil. Don't demand. But say: "hey 'reporter's name' did u see this new poll in the va gov race?"Often, we haven't. So it's a great way to highlight info and get it directly to reporters.”

Communicating DIRECTLY with reporters

JAKE TAPPER, ABC:

“People send me stuff at @jaketapper…Sharing stories, studies, and thoughtful critiques is in my view infinitely more constructive for political advocates of any stripe than using twitter/the internet as a way to vent and insult.”

Communicating DIRECTLY with reporters

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC:

“Regularly I tweet out my guests, ask for questions. Get several interesting ones back.”

Communicating DIRECTLY with reporters

AMY SCHATZ, WSJ:

“I use Twitter to provide links to my stories but also to answer reader questions. I only check it a few times a day so it’s not a great way to get in touch if its urgent, but I do try to respond to folks who ask questions.”

Reporters may find you

AMY SCHATZ, WSJ:

“I use Tweetdeck so I can keyword search stuff I cover (like FCC and "broadband stimulus") and I've found sources that way. I've also found its been a useful tool to let me see what people are doing or saying about the stuff I cover.”

EXPERIMENTATION Twitter Petitions

Twitter Petitions

“Deal breaker”

EXPERIMENTATION Twitter Fundraising

BIG things to ask when BIG things to ask when doing Twitter activismdoing Twitter activism

• Is there a strategy?• Are there tangible metrics for success?• Opportunity cost? • Is clicking enough? OR Is theory of

change evident?• Is there mutually reinforcing activism?

Thank you.

Any questions?

Adam Green Twitter: @AdamGreenOnline