The document discusses Twitter and provides tips for non-profits using Twitter. It begins with an overview of Twitter, explaining what it is and common Twitter terminology. It then discusses how Twitter can be used by non-profits for purposes like building their brand, fundraising, gathering support, and listening. The document also provides tips on creating an effective Twitter profile, engaging followers through replies and retweets, and maintaining a Twitter presence. It emphasizes that Twitter should not be used solely for self-promotion and should provide value to followers.

1. October 27, 2010
How Tweet It Is

2. For the best webinar experience, close all other applications.
Reminders
Type questions in the Questions Log
Turn up your volume
You can hear us, but we can’t hear you
Presentation slides
will be available on Slideshare

3. What is CanadaHelps?
A public charitable foundation that provides accessible and
affordable online technology to both donors and charities.
For Charities
A cost-effective means of raising funds online.
For Donors
A one-stop-shop for giving.
CanadaHelps is a charity helping charities.

4. Kirstin Beardsley
Marketing & Communications Manager
Today’s Presenter

5. Webinar Agenda
1. What is Twitter?
2. Decoding Twitter Lingo
3. What Can Twitter be Used For?
4. Creating a Profile that Gets Noticed
5. Twitter Tips
6. Q & A

6. WHAT IS TWITTER?

7. What is Twitter?
Twitter = Instant Messaging + Blogging
Source: www.johnhaydon.com

8. Features of Twitter
• It’s built for speed
• It’s simple to use
• It’s public
• It has private messaging
capability

9. So…what does Twitter look like?
Let’s take a look!

10. DECODING TWITTER LINGO

11. Tweet
An individual message
on Twitter with 140
characters or less
@username
• This is your name on Twitter
• Usernames on Twitter are displayed with an @ symbol
before them, like so: @canadahelps
• Your Twitter profile page is: www.twitter.com/username

12. Follow/Following
To follow somebody is to subscribe to
their tweets
Followers
People who have chosen to follow your
tweets
Unfollow/Unfollowing
People that you have chosen to stop
following
Direct Message (DM)
A private message on Twitter. DMs can
only be exchanged if you’re following
each other.

13. @Mentions
A mention is any Twitter update that
contains @username in the body of the
tweet
@Reply
An @reply is any Twitter update that
begins with @username
(Home) Timeline
Your home timeline is a long stream
showing all Tweets from those you have
chosen to follow on Twitter. Newest
messages are at the top.

14. Lists
• Organize your followers into
groupings
• Lists can be followed

15. Retweet (RT)
To repost a valuable
tweet by somebody else
on Twitter and give
them credit
The original tweet:

16. Old-Style Retweet
• Copying the tweet and
adding RT to the front of it
New-style Retweet
• Click the Retweet link
below the tweet
• With this method, the
tweet cannot be edited
and comments cannot
be added

17. Hashtag
• The # symbol followed by a term
• A way of categorizing all the posts on a topic, event, group,
etc.
Some tweets with the
hashtag #ncwk from
www.hashtags.org

18. Tweetup
An offline meet up with Twitter
friends
Favourites
Tweets that you have “starred”
(bookmarked). A way to organize
and save tweets.
Trending Topics
The most-discussed terms on
Twitter at any given moment
URL shorteners
Used to make long links smaller
(since you are limited to 140
characters in a tweet).

19. WHAT CAN TWITTER BE USED FOR?

20. Building your brand
• Raise awareness of your cause and for your
organization
• Drive traffic to your website
• Build trust, legitimacy and authenticity

21. Getting News
• Keep up-to-date with news from your network
or field
• Your Twitter feed is a specialized news feed

22. Gathering support
• Gather online and offline support
• Tweet opportunities to get involved
• Calls to action should be simple and easy

23. Educating your followers
• Educate followers about your cause
• Tell people something surprising and interesting about
yourself/charity
• Provide resources and tips

24. Adding personality to your
organization
• Providing supporters with a real human connection within
your organization
• Don’t be afraid to show who you are as a person
• Relate and connect on a personal level

25. Asking Questions
• Get feedback, help and advice in real time
• Ask for opinions about your website, latest e-newsletter, new
graphics, etc. – people love to help on Twitter!
• Brainstorm and share ideas with others

26. Answering Questions
• Give feedback, help and advice in real time
• “Customer service” tool
• Brainstorm and share ideas with others
• Have conversations and build relationships

27. Showing Appreciation
• Thank and RT your supporters & their initiatives on your behalf
• Promote others that tell your story
• Support your supporters!

28. Promoting a Fundraising
Campaign/Event
• Invite your followers to your events and fundraisers
• Provide campaign status reports
• Use www.twitpic.com to tweet photos from events instantly!
• Ask for donations and link to your donation page

29. Listening & Monitoring
• Listen to what is being said about your organization, cause, event, etc.
• Conversations are already taking place online about your organization
• Valuable to listen to the discussions & respond accordingly

30. Providing updates and information
• The majority of your posts should not be one-way
• Remember: Twitter is NOT an RSS feed
• Make sure your tweets have value

31. CREATING A PROFILE THAT GETS
NOTICED

32. Figuring out your Twitter Personality
Organization with
Personality
Pure Organization Brand
Pure Personal Account
Employee with
Organization Association

33. Choose the right @username.
• Limited to 20 characters
• Options:
• Your charity’s name (i.e. CharityName)
• Your name + charity name (i.e. KellyAtCharityName)
• Make sure it’s easily recognizable

34. Fill in your full name.
• If your @username is simply the name of your
organization, make it known there is someone
behind your account
• Remember: people want to talk to people

35. Customize your page.
• Customized Twitter background
• Add more information about your organization
• Add some visual appeal

36. Start Tweeting!
• Post some tweets
• First tweet suggestions:
• Say hello. Tell people what made you decide to join Twitter
• First impressions of Twitter
• Interesting fact about your charity
• Show some of your personality

37. Finding Followers
• Start by following people you know (friends,
sponsors, community partners, supporters,
volunteers, etc.)
• Follow us at www.twitter.com/canadahelps
• Being in the right niche will make it easy for you
to build a community
• Check out the “Who to follow” suggestions

38. TWITTER TIPS

39. Find the balance between
conversation and promotion.
• Don’t only tweet your own content
• Twitter is not a place to simply push out your own
messages and agenda
• Inspire conversation, ask questions, answer
questions, share resources

40. Don’t be afraid to follow your
followers.
• If you’re not following people, it’s one-sided relationship
• If you are not following someone, they cannot direct
message you
• You don’t have to follow everyone that follows you – check
out their profile and see if they are appropriate

41. Make use of the “Favorites”
feature.
• Save memorable and important tweets
• People often check what types of tweets you’ve
“favourited” before deciding to follow you

42. Say thank you!
• If you’re nice and polite on Twitter, people will notice
and remember!

43. Save relevant search terms on
your Twitter dashboard.
• Set up search terms:
• Org. name
• Campaign
• Event
• Trending topic
• Listen to what is being said
about your organization
• Respond accordingly (ties
into next tip!)

44. Reply and Retweet.
• Take the time to chat with your followers
• Check your @ replies and engage fans directly by
asking/answering questions
• Retweet interesting content
T-shirt by www.ThinkGeek.com

45. Provide value to your
followers.
• Don’t spam people! You can run the risk of losing
credibility and followers.
• Respect the interests of your followers: direct them
to interesting and relevant resources, tools, etc.
• Be social: connect with others and be helpful.

46. Twitter is a tool – not a strategy.
• It’s a communication & engagement channel
• Important to have the basics covered (website, donation
processing, email marketing, etc.)
• Remember to integrate Twitter with other social media
networks you are a part of

47. Set up a schedule for yourself.
• Make it part of your routine
• Devote a set amount of time per day to tweet,
retweet, follow, reply!

48. Keep Tweeting
• Not enough to just create your profile
• Success requires meaningful and ongoing participation

49. Stay organized!
• Consider using a Twitter “dashboard” application to
help maintain your Twitter account
• Easily monitor, interact, retweet, sort, categorizing,
follow trends, create lists, search and much more!

50. ABOUT MYCHARITYCONNECTS

51. Free online resources
• Information about technology
• Video demonstrations
• More webinars
• Past webinar recordings
• Learning opportunities
• Events
Next Webinar
“SEO, SEM and Analytics for
NonProfits”
PRESENTED BY MARK FARMER
NOVEMBER 10
1PM – 2PM
(Eastern Time)
www.mycharityconnects.org

52. Question and Answer
You can hear us, but
we can’t hear you
Ask questions here
Ask away!

53. Thank you for attending!
Webinar slides and recording will be up on:
www.mycharityconnects.org/pastwebinars
Check out www.mycharityconnects.org for resources!
Questions, feedback, comments? Email us at:
amyh@canadahelps.org