Mary Bjorneby and Kristin GastApril 2011

Twitter in a Nutshell

What we’ll cover

1. What is Twitter? Why use it?

2. Twitter basics

3. Twitter tools

4. How to Tweet

5. How to find people to follow

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information you find interesting.

Twitter is what you make it

• A place to get info on news and events • A real-time search engine• A place to hold or participate in

discussions• A business networking tool• A means to talk about what you are

doing right now—flight delays, traffic tie-ups, weather news

Common uses for Twitter

• 75 million Twitter users worldwide• 140 million tweets per day• 7% of Americans on Twitter• Twitter users are more educated• 47% earn $50K, 24% earn > $75K• 67% are more likely to buy brands that they

follow• Companies that use Twitter average 2x more

leads per month than those who do not

-- Marta Kagan. 10 Essential Twitter Stats. HubSpot Blog. April 2011

Twitter stats

How does United Way use Twitter?

“Be part of the conversation or be invisible.”

How does United Way Use Twitter?

How does United Way use Twitter?

How does United Way use Twitter?

• Go to www.twitter.com • Click on ‘Sign Up’ to create a new account

Signing up

Signing up

• “Profile” tab• Complete your profile

• Upload a picture• Add your location, website, bio

Complete your profile

• Tweets

• @ replies

• Direct Messages • RTs

• Hashtags

Talkin’ Twitter

Finding People to Follow

Twitter lists

Great tools exist to help you use Twittereasily and effectively

– TweetDeck or Hootsuite– URL shorteners (i.e. bit.ly)

Using Twitter effectively

Using Twitter effectively

Twitter best practices• Shoot for one Tweet, one @reply and

one RT per day• Be a human being• Show your personality• Best practice: follow people back

However…• It’s okay to unfollow people

Twitter chats• Use #hashtags to organize a group around a

certain topic • Happen at the same time every week• Participate using websites like tweetchat.com• Great opportunity to showcase thought

leadership, “meet” new people, learn new things

#bikeschool, Thursdays 8-9pm CST

#EmailTalk, Wednesdays 1-2pm CST

#kinderchat, Mondays 8pm CST

#nptalk, Wednesdays 2-3pm CST

Tools for Measurement

Tools for Measurement

Questions?