Mastering Twitterfor Journalism

Steve ButtryOntario Community Newspaper Association

March 13, 2013

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• Many more users• Much info private• Tougher to search• Not as immediate

(less frequent updates)

• Engage, don’t intrude

• Great for breaking news

• Great real-time search

• Engagement not as intrusive

• Hashtags help w/ search, conversation

Reasons to master• More people in your community read

Twitter than you think• They’re younger than newspaper readers• Produces content for your website• Powerful search function (find sources)• Changes your newsroom culture• Twitter rocks on breaking news

Building followers• Tweet often• Find & follow local people• Be conversational• Livetweet events• Give more than you ask for• Be yourself

Finding people to follow• Use local search to see who’s tweeting• Save searches for community names• Check followers of newsroom account• Check followers (& follows) of local

tweeps• Check followers of people who RT• Who follows agencies, people on beat?

Breaking news tips• Tweet unfolding story• Use advanced search (location & not)• Find & connect w/ eyewitnesses• Each has only part of the story• Use hashtags• Verify, verify, verify (& correct quickly)

Breaking news tips• Tweet photos, videos• Check tweets of news figures in story• Feed your tweets into site w/

ScribbleLive, CoverItLive, Liveblog Pro or Twitter widgets

• Curate social media reporting, response• Retweet (possibly w/ questions)

Vetting & verifying• Track back RTs, etc.

to source • Look for clusters • Location enabled? • Evaluate the network• Evaluate the history

• Links, photos? • Take it old school• Disclose, hedge,

repeat • Be brave only in

correction

Tips from Craig Silverman, Regret the Error

Evaluating tweeps• How long have they been tweeting?• Check previous tweets, interaction• Check bio, links• Check Klout score• Google name and scam, spammer• Contact & interview

Tips from Mandy Jenkins, Zombie Journalism

Routine beat coverage• Follow officials & agencies on beat• Twitter Search (advanced)• Hashtags (regular & spontaneous)• Lists (Twitter, TweetDeck, HootSuite)• Breaking news• Crowdsourcing• Liveblog (feeding in tweets)

Hashtags• Regular hashtags• Event hashtags• Breaking news• Humorous

Hashtag tips• Use existing hashtag if there is one• Search before launching hashtag (avoid

duplication)• Look for secondary hashtags, especially

in events or breaking news

Time management• Don’t drink the whole stream• Integrate Twitter into your day• Tweet a few times a day• Check “mentions”• Use lists, alerts & saved searches• Use mobile device• TweetDeck, HootSuite

Organizing chaos• Use Twitter lists• TweetDeck & HootSuite help organize• Check @ mentions• Twitter alerts• Save regular searches (can be columns in

TweetDeck, HootSuite)

Live-tweeting prep• Get names (confirm spelling), titles in

advance (ask, get program, etc.)• Set scene, saying what you’re covering &

that you’re live-tweeting• Describe your circumstances, vantage

point: at event, watching on TV, curating tweets (Andy Carvin)

Live-tweeting tips• Don’t transcribe; observe & report• In sports, mix play-by-play & commentary• Use hashtag (& check to respond)• OK to pause for checking facts, names• Note significant pause (halftime, lunch)• Fun interludes, exchanges, anecdotes• Check facts before you hit “tweet”

Live-tweeting situations• Trials• Meetings• Sporting events (curate w/ public tweets:

Friday Night Tweets)• Festivals• Breaking stories• Remember to feed live-tweets into site

Crowdsourcing• Use Twitter, Facebook, website, paper• Say what you know or have• Say what you need• Invite people to tell their stories• Search as well as casting net• Be careful about repeating rumours

Crowdsource

Connect directly

Find eyewitnesses

Key developments

Key developments

Tweet photos

Tweet photos

Tweet details, developments

Details from scene

Tweet quotes

Livetweet briefings

Livetweet action

RT other media

Be the source for news

People to follow

• Look for sources (find people)• Ask sources• Journalists in other communities• When someone follows you, check out to

see whether you should follow back• When you follow someone, check whom

they follow• Tweeps mentioned in interesting tweets

Read more about it• stevebuttry.wordpress.com• slideshare.net/stevebuttry• @stevebuttry• zombiejournalism.com