Twitter: Hype vs. Reality
August 15th, 2009Questions? [email protected]
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
Questions? [email protected] 2
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
Questions? [email protected] 3
Social Media Stats
Check out Marta Kagan’s: What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later
Questions? [email protected] 4
Questions? [email protected] 5
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.
Questions? [email protected] 6
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
Questions? [email protected] 7
Personal vs. Professional• Know thyself.
• Know thy brand.
• The personal is professional.
my passion
my job
my interest
Questions? [email protected] 10
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
Questions? [email protected] 11
Slowly making progress…Denial Surprise Acceptance Addiction
It takes about three months to get someone on 100% board
Got Questions? [email protected] 12
Measuring Your Brand
Questions? [email protected] 13
Questions? [email protected] 14
www.search.twitter.com Or use search on Tweetdeck
Questions? [email protected] 15
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/)
Questions? [email protected] 16
Thank you for listening!
Need to catch up on earlier Night School presentations?
Click below to order previous Night School episodes on DVD:
Become a monthly Night School donor
18
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