twitter - a fledgling guide for research and research uptake
DESCRIPTION
An introduction to Twitter with tip and tricks to setting up your profile, creating your niche community, crafting your tweets, tracking links and getting followed.TRANSCRIPT
TwitterA fledgling guideSupporting research and research uptake
By Robin Coleman, Digital Communications Officer, IDS @IDS_UK
In a nutshell
A social media channel or social network Tweeting - sharing information, opinion, links, photos or a status publicly Find out what others are doing, latest news, events etc. instantly Accessible via a feed made up of those you ‘follow’ via Home Each tweet allows 140 characters Your identity is represented by @yourshortname Accessible via internet connected device - PC, Macs, smartphones, tablets A mar-comms tool for research uptake – direct connection with your target audience
How to present yourself
Create a short but meaningful @name – up to 15 characters
Bio text should explain who you are and what you tweet about – passion, specialism, etc. Use keywords that will get you found
Bio text allows 160 characters so keep it short
Include your Location and website / blog URL
Images and branding Upload a good square profile image which
works well in small dimensions Header image – landscape allows creativity Background image for branding
Create a niche community
Follow those who share common interests You may gain followers by following them Who you want to influence Who influences or inspire you Twitter’s own search and
recommendations to find new people to follow
Follow those who use #Hashtags that you would use - for instant search filtered – simply click on #hashtag word as a link
Create lists to organise who you follow Instead of ‘following’ people you can add
them to a list Examples:
your work colleagues News websites Bloggers Funders Event attendees or speakers
Up to 20 lists can be created Look at other users’ Lists for new
potential followers
How to use Twitter
Tweeting 140 characters per tweet – luckily Twitter
will count down the number remaining Share links (inserting web address gets
automatically shortened) to web pages, videos, anything with a URL
Share images (photos, infographics etc.)
#Hashtags – common subject keywords which create instant search/filter function (have different colour and can be clicked on)
Engage with others Reply to others – show them someone’s
listening or mention (MT) others – keep the conversation going
Retweet – (RT) others who your own followers would appreciate
DM (Direct Message) – sometimes works depending on who (big accounts may ignore, be unaware)
Favourite – bookmark a tweet for later (useful for recording your influence) – indicates success
Good etiquette
Don’t use CAPITALS – looks like you’re SHOUTING!! Mention others by their Twitter @identity #FF (Follow Friday) – a chance to thank those who have retweeted, mentioned, replied or
those you can recommend to others Use #Hashtags with purpose but don’t over use them in a tweet – looks spammy Don’t clog up others’ feed by tweeting multiple times in short time spans Exception to rule is Events Before attending an event warn your followers or introduce others who maybe event
tweeting Commentate on key points at a seminar, take photos, share links if mentioned in seminar
Tips and tricks
Tweeting Get noticed by Mentioning another
@identity in your tweet if they have something to do with the communication
Before tweeting check who else is talking about the same subject then Follow them just before sending tweet
Distribute and schedule your tweets Timing for maximum exposure
Engaging Use the @Connect tab to see mentions and
interactions Retweet those who’ve mentioned or replied
to you Search for tweets that mention you or your
organisation’s full name not @name then Retweet
Craft your tweet then edit again
Check the spelling to look professional Shorter the better – someone may want to
quote you (without having to edit) Avoid duplicate words Remove unnecessary words w/ = with, TT = Translated Tweet Insert URL between text to increase click-
thru rate Use #hashtags within the sentence rather
than an afterthought Instead of using Reply to respond to
others, write new tweet & quote @name prefixed with a full stop so it will appear on your followers’ feed (otherwise hidden)
Tracking your links
Bit.ly - https://bitly.com/ URL can be customised banned in Ethiopia
Google’s URL shortener service - http://goo.gl/ for tracking click-thru’s (when logged in to Google account)
Google’s URL builder - https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867 Essential if using Google Analytics for statistics Use ‘social’ as Source, ‘twitter’ as Medium and some text to identify your Campaign Code E.g. http://www.ids.ac.uk/?
utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=fhstrain
Twitter for research
Your mission: Become respected, become the expert Tweet whitepapers for peer review Highly tweeted articles are 11 x more likely to get cited
than less Tweet your blog to engage like-minded peers Poll your followers for quick research results E.g. #uksnow people tweeted their postcode and amount
of snow they had
Be a great party host
Welcome old and new friends (followers, #FF Follow Friday) Introduce new friends to others (mention, retweet) Stimulate conversation (tweet questions, well-founded opinions) Quote others and be topical – keep the conversation going, use #hashtags No one likes a party pooper – don’t moan or vent your anger about trivial
things Take an interest in new people – (retweet those who offer similar opinions) Thank those who have helped you – not just Friday’s (retweet, mention,
reply) Kindness gets rewards – Retweeting usually get returned or remembered Ignore those who are rude or vulgar – avoid public spats Evict those who annoy others (use the block/spam option)
Further resources
Twitter for researchers (slideshare) - http://www.slideshare.net/UniofYorkLibrary/twitter-for-researchers-22963915
Using Social Media to Increase your Research Impact (slideshare) - http://www.slideshare.net/mishdalton/social-media-for-researchers-22433236
75 powerful ways to get more Twitter followers - http://twittertoolsbook.com/how-to-get-more-twitter-followers/
15 ways to increase the click through rate of your tweets - http://blog.bufferapp.com/15-ways-to-increase-the-click-through-rate-on-your-tweets
Ultimate complete social media sizing cheat sheet - http://www.lunametrics.com/blog/2012/11/12/final-social-media-sizing-cheat-sheet/#sr=g&m=o&cp=or&ct=-tmc&st=(opu%20qspwjefe)&ts=1384940675
Topsy - http://topsy.com/