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) 581-2428h.mellon@haywardareahistory.org

@HaywardAreaHist