Twitter for Dummies(or for smart people who feel dumb

when dealing with technology)

@stevebuttry

Information Content Conductor

Gazette Communications

Edge Business Magazine, April 14, 2009

steve.buttry@gazcomm.com

Why spend time with Twitter?

1. It connects with friends, family, clients

2. It connects you with the community

3. It’s a quick source of news & info

4. You can use it quickly

5. Communication is changing and you don’t want to fall behind

How Twitter helps journalists

1. Quickly locate eyewitnesses & participants in breaking news

2. Connect with sources, journalists

3. Monitor community discussion

4. Promote content

5. Write tight (no lead longer than a tweet)

How Twitter might help you

1. Connect with happy (and unhappy customers)

2. Promote your business or organization

3. Know what’s happening

4. Stay current with trends

5. Share links to interesting blogs, reports

How do I get started?

1. Open account

2. Be sure to fill in bio, location, picture

3. Decide how to use phone

4. Follow some people

5. Start tweeting

Twitter lingo

1. Tweet, an update (noun or verb)

2. Tweeps, your followers

3. Retweet, to pass on a link or thought (can be quote, paraphrase, starting point)

4. Tweetup, a physical gathering of tweeps

5. Fail whale, over-capacity graphic

Twitter basics

1. 140-character limit for tweets

2. Attribute (“retweet”) with “RT @name”

3. Direct-message (DM) for private communication

4. Link lots: tinyurl, is.gd. bit.ly, tr.im

5. #hashtags help searches for topical tweets

Your first week on Twitter

1. Tweet about 10 times/day

2. Follow about 10 more people/day

3. Ask a question

4. Reply to some tweets (“@name,” click arrow)

5. Direct-message some tweeps

What should I tweet about?

1. Link to a new blog post

2. Link to something that’s happening at your company

3. Retweet (with a comment) a link from a colleague

4. Reply to someone

5. Tweet something insightful or funny

Whom should I follow?

1. Competitors

2. Colleagues in other communities

3. Experts, academics in your field

4. Current & potential customers

5. Family, friends

Follow people in town

Search in Twellow or NearbyTweets

Five I follow from Cedar Rapids

1. @hidama (student and twaddict)

2. @jenneumann (marketer)

3. @jbonewald (minister)

4. @Robin_Tucker (real estate agent)

5. @christianfong (young business leader)

Follow local newsmakers

Five local newsmakers I follow

1. @lcauditor

2. @reneeschulte

3. @Pat_Shey

4. @BrentOleson

5. @benrrogers

Follow area organizations

Five local organizations I follow

1. @crairport

2. @FreedomFestival

3. @TheatreCR

4. @uiowa

5. @CedarRapidsCVB

Follow people in the area

Five I follow from Iowa City

1. @ToddAdamson (photographer)

2. @bergus (media prof)

3. @Mia_Ria (IC cop)

4. @michaelgraham (chef)

5. @TheIowaHawkeyes

Ways journalists use Twitter

1. Follow people on the beat (put their feeds on beatblog)

2. Crowdsource (“Does anyone know anything about …?”)

3. Story ideas (ask, monitor chat)

4. Connect with eyewitnesses

5. Drive traffic to blog posts, stories

Ways for any business to use Twitter

1. Promote events & products

2. Monitor & respond to tweets about company

3. Advertise (or link to Gazette ads)

4. Connect, interact w/ customers, clients, prospects, competitors, vendors

5. Drive traffic to blog posts, web content

Twitter twists

1. Tweetbeep & Tweetscan

2. Facebook app

3. Twitpic

4. TweetDeck (& other apps)

5. Twtpoll

Ethical considerations

1. How do you identify yourself?

2. Separate personal and professional Twitter feeds?

3. How do you verify?

4. What language is acceptable (WTF)?

5. What, if any, opinions are OK?

Advice from local tweeps

1. @bjsmith

2. @jenneumann

3. @jimbonewald

4. @DrMollieMarti

5. @hidama

Questions I asked local tweeps

1. How has Twitter helped you connect with people in the community?

2. How have you or your colleagues connected with clients or customers or made other business uses of Twitter?

3. What other business or professional use have you made of Twitter?

4. What has been your biggest problem or concern using Twitter for business or work?

5. What's the best fun you’ve had using Twitter?

Advice from local tweeps

1. My Twitter stream

2. Search for hashtag #Edge

3. Search for terms

4. Twitter feeds into CoverItLive

5. Individual editors’ Twitter streams

Wrapping up

• Social media services, consulting from Gazette Communidations

• These slides at slideshare.net/stevebuttry

• Follow me on Twitter: @stevebuttry

• A handout for this webinar, links to Twitter help on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com

Some final advice

From @mathewi (Globe and Mail):

Don’t answer, “What are you doing?” Answer, “What am I thinking?”

And from @stevebuttry:

“What do I want to know?”