twitter: serious business. serious fun

Serious Business. Serious Fun.

Gary MoneysmithInteractive Strategy Director

gary@cpvinc.com

@garymoneysmithHi. I’m a Social

Media Critic.

• Introduction

•What Can I Do With Twitter?

• How Do I Get Started?

• Jargon Alert

• Time to Follow & Be Followed

•What Should I Tweet About?

• Any Way to Make Life Easier?

Today’s Discussion

I LOVE to HATE

social media.

January 24, 2008

“Twitter is the most childish, self-indulgent invention on the Internet. I never need to know THAT much about your life.”

I couldn’t agree

more!

My Confession...

April 9, 2009 - Speaking to the Ohio University Journalism School

“If I had to stop using every business tool currently at my disposal, Twitter would be the very last. It’s my outsourced brain.”

Flip-Flopper!

My Conversion...

"It's one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet."

- New York Times

"Twitter is a sucker's game that only serves the needs of tiny elite."

- Seth Finkelstein, The Guardian (UK)

"Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app."

- TIME Magazine

"Twitter, then, is the latest evidence of the Paris Hiltoning of America. Twitter is always on, always looked at, and at a 140 character limit, doesn’t have the capacity to be either deep or meaningful."

Helen Popkin (MSNBC)

?!

July 14, 2009

Twitter is DEAD. Long live Twitter!

Twitter as we know it now will go away.

Valuable business and personal networking via social media will persist and accelerate.

Can we just call it

dead & move on?

What can I do with Twitter?

ResearchCustomer ServiceBrand Building Culture Sharing

Promotions

PR Networking

Crisis CommunicationsSales/Donations

Education

RecruitingTraffic Building

Professional ReferralsBreaking NewsTechnical Support

Fun

"Google’s coming out with an operating system?! Woohoo!"

"A cat has raised $18,000 for animal shelters via funny daily

tweets -- weird, but cool."

“Does anyone know of a good online media buying company? I need info for a proposal ASAP!”

“Yah, call EnginePoint. They rock.”

“Do we have a company meeting today or not?!”

“I installed Windows 7 on my wife’s NetBook. Surprisingly easy. Might install myself...”

“I’m selling Girl Scout Cookies.”

Ambient Learning/AwarenessLightweight, but meaningful conversation

Originally published in 1936 15 million copies sold globally

Old Wine in New Barrels...“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

“...want to make people laugh at you...talk incessantly about yourself.”

Where do I find the time?!

I can hardly

handle email!?

Smoke Breaks?Take Twitter Breaks!

30-Minutes Per Day

So How Do I Get Started?

The Essentials

Account Set-up

Essentials: Account Set-up

20-character limit

15-character limit

160-character limit

Privacy Control

Essentials: Password Management

Essentials: Mobile Set-up

Essentials: Notice Controls

Essentials: Picture

Essentials: Background Setup

Essentials: Background Setup

Offers frequently asked contact information details

Essentials: Background Setup

Essentials: Connections Summary

Essentials: Almost Ready to Go!

Some Helpful Explanations...•Tweet

A single Twitter post/message; up to 140 characters including spaces

•RT Short for “retweet” - when someone repeats your tweet/message; usually complimentary

Jargon Alert

Some Helpful Explanations...•@message

Public messages directed at a specific username such as @garymoneysmith (AKA “@mentions” or “@replies)

•DM (Direct Message)Private message sent to a particular person such as “d garymoneysmith” (Tip: Set DM’s to email/text to mobile phone to ensure delivery)

Jargon Alert

Hashtag (#)• Label added to a Tweet

to “categorize” it

•Makes conversation strings easier to find

• Often used by people live-tweeting events

Jargon Alert

Favorites• Usually denoted via

a little star

• Stores them for future reference

Jargon Alert

Time to Follow and Be Followed!

Follow & Be Followed...

Follow & Be Followed...

How many people should I be FOLLOWING and how many should follow me?

Sounds wishy-

washy to me.

Answer: It Depends...•Why (how) are you using Twitter?• Active vs passive engagement• Quality vs. Quantity• Reality: Your Commitment

Who should I follow?• Friends, family & associates (inc. former)• Industry superstars• Friends of friends (power of weak links)•Mass/niche media journalists• Bloggers• Professors & other subject matter experts• Customers & business partners (members)• Leaders of community & advocacy groups• ...anyone else that makes your day better.

Follow? The

scenery only

changes for

the lead dog

Follower/Following TipsRatio (Follower/Following)

• High Follow few, but has many followers. Person is discriminating who they follow, but is popular/influential to others

• Low Follow many, but few follow back. Person who wants to broadcast to many, but isn’t popular enough to be followed back

Also consider # of updates - too much? Too little?

1) Search for people you know by name:

http://twitter.com/invitations/find_on_twitter

How do I find people?

How do I find people?2) Find friends based on your stored email addresses:

http://twitter.com/invitations/find_on_other_networks

search.twitter.com

How do I find people?3) Keyword Search:

3) Keyword Search - Example ResultsHow do I find people?

Hashtags for More Info

Potential Person to follow

Link to Online Articles

RT = Valued Opinion

3) Advanced Keyword SearchHow do I find people?

Search Tips

• Your name/username (“vanity search”)• Your company, brand and products• Competitor names/products• Industry terms • Conference names• Geographic locations• Acronyms• Commonly know publication names The ol’ fly on the

wall trick, eh?

Ask yourself, what keywords interest you when you overhear a conversation?

Read the tweets returned, then follow the conversation strings between people.

What Should I Tweet About?

You’ve got 140-characters Use them wisely!

Sounds like

you’re chatting

with a friend...

• Observations on industry happenings• Comments on current events• Links to interesting online articles/resources• Answer questions asked by others• Post a link to your blog and invite • Ask questions to instigate conversation• Thank someone else for a great Tweet

Is this business

or pleasure?

• Link to a specific Tweet (or RT it)• Share a funny idea or photo• Live Tweet an event• OH: “Overheard” Share something you overhear

You’ve got 140-characters Use them wisely!

Photo Uploads

Photo Uploads

But what about Tweeting on behalf of my company?On Brand... and on spirit!

• Ask yourself, “What makes my organization unique? Why do I exist?” The answers will guide how you should utilize Twitter.• Behave within the spirit of your brand. • Be authentic, genuine and human.• Be conversational & share useful info; don’t try

direct sales. Don’t be that guy. A virtual cocktail

mixer - I need a

drink!

• How can you help your customers, business partners, employees?•What “fun facts” help people understand you?•What “behind the scenes” info would people find

interesting?•What material could you share that doesn’t fit into

press releases, web pages or white papers?

But what about Tweeting on behalf of my company?On Brand... and on spirit!

• Explain the “tag team” approach in the bio area• Identify Tweets with the person’s initials• Reply to as many “@” or direct messages possible• Everyone needs to stay appraised of updates to

avoid unecessary/uncoordinated repeat messages• Establish a tone or personality for Tweets, no

matter who posts/writes them• Add photos/info for each team member in the

background graphic

Can multiple people run our Twitter account?Yes, but...

Example: Multi-Author Posts

Any way to make life easier?• Contacts Manager• 3rd Party Applications• Link Shorteners/Reporting• Keyword Alerts• Cross Posting to Facebook• Mobile Accessibility

http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/

ManageContacts

Example 3rd Party Application - Tweetdeck

Example 3rd Party Application - Tweetdeck

Other 3rd Party Applications

Helpful HintIf you delete a Tweet via the Twitter website, it might not get deleted in 3rd party apps which “cache” (store) info longer. Trust me on this one.

Link Shorteners

Copy shortened link into your Tweet...

Link Reporting

Keyword AlertsEmail notifications delivered when your keywords are tweeted by others.

Example 3rd Party ApplicationTweetdeck - Facebook Posting & Link Shortening

Cross posts to your Facebook status updates.

Mobile AccessiblitiyMANY ways/options...

• Tweetie• Twitteriffic• Tweetdeck Mobile• TwitterFon• Twitterberry

Things To Remember• Be VERY careful when sending DM’s via a phone• Address reasonable negative comments; offer to

discuss in a non-Twitter forum (email, telephone, etc.)• Remember, ANYONE can read your comments; post

freely, but consider possible misinterpretations.

Questions?Thank you!

Gary MoneysmithInteractive Strategy Director

gary@cpvinc.com

@garymoneysmithOK. Maybe I’ll

give it a try...