twitter for business
DESCRIPTION
Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce Twitter seminar, Sept 28, 2011TRANSCRIPT
Twitter for BusinessWelcome to the Twitterverse
Heather MellonHayward Area Historical Society
What is Twitter?• From the Twitter website:
o “Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information that you find interesting. Simply find the public streams you find most compelling and follow the conversations.”
• In summary:o Live updates about anything and everything,
from where you are to what’s happening on tv. Also a cool place to connect with celebrities and get discounts from businesses.
How is Twitter used?• What is a “Tweet”?
o "At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called Tweets. Each Tweet is 140 characters in length, but don’t let the small size fool you—you can share a lot with a little space. Connected to each Tweet is a rich details pane that provides additional information, deeper context and embedded media. You can tell your story within your Tweet, or you can think of a Tweet as the headline, and use the details pane to tell the rest with photos, videos and other media content.” –Twitter.com
o Basically: You can send out 140 characters at a time, use them wisely.
• Who uses Twitter?o People (celebrities and the average Joe)o Businesses & brands (including organizations)o Places (museums, etc.)
Why Tweet?• What Twitter offers
o Real-time updates & interactiono Microblogging – an easy way to share small doses of contento Ideal for mobile phone useo 200 million registered users (via Mashable, as of 9/8/11)
• 100 million active at least once a month• 50 million active once a day• 230 million tweets per day
o 31% follow 1-5 brands; only 10% follow no brands (via Lab42, as of 8/20/11)
• 66% follow to get discounts• 48% follow to participate in contests• 47% follow because they have interesting tweets• 30% follow for customer service
Twitter Terminology, Pt. 1
• Mentiono Mention a Twitter account, preceded by “@”, e.g. “Thanks for
sharing, @HaywardAreaHist!” Good way to get the attention of that user.
• Retweet (RT)o Forward someone else’s tweet to your followers.
• Message (DM)o Privately send a message to another account; also known as
“direct message.”
• Hashtago A hashtag before a word or phrase marks it as a theme or
topic, e.g. “Today I’m learning about #Twitter for business”
Twitter Terminology, Pt. 2
• Follow/Followero When you click on the “follow” button, you are subscribing to
that account’s tweets. A “follower” is someone who is subscribed to your tweets.
• Feedo Your Twitter feed is what you see when you log in, a
chronological list of the tweets of the users you follow.
• Listo Users can add accounts they are following to lists they have
created. Each list shows the feeds from the accounts on that list.
• Trendingo Topics trending on Twitter are the current most talked about
topics. Sometimes hashtagged words/phrases, or just keywords.
Best Practices• How often should I tweet? (via SimplyZesty)
o No more than 35 times per day
• When should I tweet? (via AllTwitter)o Weekdays have the highest volume, particularly Wednesdays
• What should I tweet? (via SimplyZesty)o 80% of those with more than 500 followers prefer to follow a
focused accounto People are most likely to RT interesting or humorous contento People are most likely to unfollow if you tweet too much or if
your tweets appear automated
Getting started
Getting started
Business name
Twitter handle
Your profile
Your profile
Your stats
Business name
Bio
Twitter feed
Send a tweet
Send a tweet
Character counter
Add a photo
Tweet a photo
Retweet
Retweet
Retweet
Retweet
Tools & Tips• URL shortener
o Bit.ly – bitly.com
• Scheduling tweetso HootSuite, TweetDeck
• Learning the lingoo Tagdef – tagdef.com - Definitions for different hashtags o Twittonary – twittonary.com – Definitions for various
Twitter-related words.
• Analyticso Tweetreach – shows average number of people reached
per tweeto Twitter Grader – check how influential you are on
Twitter; can also search by location
Building a following
• Cross-promoteo Website, Facebook, e-newsletter, business cards,
flyers
• Use RT & hashtagso Increases visibility
• Find others to followo Some will follow back!o Twellow – search for Twitter users by location
• Always respondo Engagement builds followers
Tweeters to follow• Social Media/Twitter:
o @TwitterBusiness – Official Twitter account with tips for businesses
o @SocialMedialy – Social media news with an emphasis on Twitter
o @Change4aDollar – Tweets about online marketing, targeted for small businesses and nonprofits
• Businesses:o @CVEACCo Chamber members: @HaywardAreaHist, @BAMorrison,
@EWCCastroValley, @tomtinasdeli, @EdenMedCenter, @csueastbay, @ebrpd
o @StGeorgeSpirits – St. George Spirits distillery in Alameda
Resources
• Mashable Business: mashable.com/business
• AllTwitter: www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter• Twitter: blog.twitter.com• Simply Zesty: www.simplyzesty.com• Social Media Examiner:
www.socialmediaexaminer.com
Thank you!Heather Mellon
Marketing CoordinatorHayward Area Historical Society
(510) [email protected]
@HaywardAreaHist