Session about Twitter sponsored by the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce. www.anguillachamber.com

1. Social Media Workshop 3
Tweeting: A bird’s Eye View
LeRoy Hill PhD
@leroyh
leroyhill@gmail.com

2. Workshop Agenda
1. Twitter - Introduction
2. Desktop and web-based tools for listening and
monitoring
3. Twitter searches, Twitter lists and channels in the
business setting
Activity: Listening – Google Alerts, Hootsuite
4. URL shorteners, Twitter scheduling tools
5. Generating greater Twitter impact
6. Analysing the impact of tweets
7. Outline common Twitter etiquette
8. Review mistakes to avoid
9. Post workshop consultation! ( Following completion of workshop Evaluation, 20 mins)

3. Twitter anatomy
Twitter users have developed short-form syntax to make the most of 140 characters. Here are the
fundamentals.
• Mention
Once you've signed up and chosen a Twitter username, you and others can mention an
account in your Tweets by preceding it with the @ symbol, eg: "Glad your shipment arrived
@janesmith!"
• Retweet
When you see a Tweet by another user that you want to share, click Retweet below it to
forward it to your followers instantly.
• Message
If you want to privately Tweet to a particular user who's already following you, start your
Tweet with DM or D to direct-message them, eg: "DM @joesmith234 what is your order
number?"
• Hashtag
Users often prepend # to words in their Tweets to categorize them for others eg: "Check out
our new products for the Fallhttp://t.co/link2 #fallsale" Think of hashtags as the theme of your
Tweet. Users can then click on a hashtag to see other similarly-themed tweets and find yours
in search.
•

4. Twitter in Plain English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o
A CommonCraft Video

5. Twitter Home Page

6. Your Twitter profile page

7. Tools for listening
• Hootsuite (web-based)
• Twimbow (web-based)
• TweetDeck
• Twhirl
• Echofon (Firefox extension)
• GoogleAlerts
• Formulists – Create Twitter Lists
More Efficiently
• Twylah – Your Personal Twitter
Brand Page
• Get mobile

8. To follow or not….
• Look a member
profile
• Look at who they are
– following
– followers
• Reciprocity?

9. Source: http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/socialmediatime-001.jpg credit Aliza Sherman

10. Demo
Listening
Searching
Channels
Lists

11. URL SHORTENERS
Twitter will automatically shorten
URLs placed in tweets that are more
than 30 characters. Some other
shorteners:
– TinyURL.com
– OW.ly
– Bit.ly
Be aware that some users will question
shortened URL.

12. TWEET IMPACT
• Tweetscan.com – what others are saying
about you

13. INCREASING IMPACT ON TWITTER
Establish the right voice.
Twitter users tend to prefer a direct, genuine, and of course, a
likable tone from your business, but think about your voice as
you Tweet. How do you want your business to appear to the
Twitter community?

14. Listen effectively
• Listen first then talk
• Regularly monitor the
comments about your
company, brand, and
products.
• Create a Google alert for
your company.

15. Sharable
• Share photos and behind
the scenes info about
your business. Even
better, give a glimpse of
developing projects and
events. Users come to
Twitter to get and share
the latest, so give it to
them!

16. Value
• Offer people value to
follow you.
– Offer resources:
photos, links, files

17. Reward your customers.
• Surveys, competitions,
short polls provide an
avenue to help direct
company decisions.
• Tweet updates about
special offers, discounts
and time-sensitive
deals.

18. Ask…
• Ask questions of your
followers to glean
valuable insights and
show that you are
listening.

19. Respond...
• Respond to
compliments and
feedback in real time
• Use twitter to offer
real-time customer
service

20. Beyond your followers
• Use #hashtags in your
post
• No more than 2
hashtags per tweet.

21. Demonstrate wider leadership and
know-how
• Reference articles and
links about the bigger
picture as it relates to
your business.

22. Champion your stakeholders
• Retweet and reply
publicly to great tweets
posted by your
followers and
customers.

23. Protect your brand
• Create a brand profile
– Custom background
image
– Company logo as profile
photo
– Include contact
information

24. Follow the leader
– Experts in your field
– Potential customers
– Current customers

25. Integrate Third-Party Applications
Let your tweets flow
- Facebook
integration
- LinkedIn
Integration

26. Research on Twitter suggests
• use more adverbs and verbs
• tweet on
Friday, Saturday and Sunday d
uring the afternoon
http://ttadvertising.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/marketing-tip-tweet-smell-of-
success
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920021315.do

27. TWITTER ETIQUETTE
• Watch your Language – include the
words via, @, RT, and please.
– Say thank you for mention
– Acknowledge someone’s effort
• Write professionally
• Never RT praise replies.
• Resist Twitting too much
Image credit: http://meghangargan.com/millennialmusings/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/bird.png

28. MISTAKES TO AVOID
• Never RT something you did not read or follow
the link.
• DON’T YELL!
• Don’t believe the ‘get 100 followers a day’ spam
• Follow someone that mentions you without
doing research.
• Don’ beg someone to follow you.
• Be slack about your Twitter security

29. MISTAKES TO AVOID…
• RT tweets that you suspect as strange
• Use #hashtags inappropriately (eg. good
#morning #world this is my #news)
• Don’t just repeat everyone else – be
topical & fresh
• Send out a public reply that is supposed to
be private.

30. THANK
YOU
www.hillconcepts.com
Twitter: @leroyh

31. Workshops 4, 5, 6
• Workshop 4 – Facebook and LinkedIn for business ……. May 24, 2012
Workshop 5 – Business blogging ……. June 21, 2012
Workshop 6 – Web analytics ……. July 10, 2012