Download - Mastering twitter - for careers services
Mastering
Lucy Hawkins, University of Oxfordaka @CareersLucy
With grateful acknowledgement for the incorporation of material from http://www.slideshare.net/ktlindsay/twitter-for-academia
What is twitter?
• Micro-blogging • 140 character answers to “what’s happening?”• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PThAriHjk10
• In careers it’s like chatting over lunch at a conference
• It’s not the keynote though – it doesn’t matter if you miss anything
What you can do on Twitter…
Without an account• Search• Read
With an account• Search• Read• Follow• Reply• Write• Gather an audience• Forward
How to read a tweet
How to read a tweet
How to read a tweet
How to read a tweet
How to read a tweet
Summary of twitter conventions
• @OxfordCareers is our Twitter handle
• Messages that start @OxfordCareers are directed at us, and often expect a response
• Messages that contain @OxfordCareers are referencing us
• #OxAlumniCareers is a hashtag – a self generated way of labelling dialogue on a topic
If Twitter’s a conversation, who could we talk to?
• Counterpart services at other HEIs• Internal partners• External services• Potential future service users• The general public• Current services users Direct, public Q&A
Higher accountabilityPre-emptive responses
Your Twitter Identity
TIPS:Shorter is betterMeaningful is goodConsider how it soundsNot capital sensitive
Pers
onal
Pers
onal
-Pro
fess
iona
l
Indi
vidu
al/C
olle
ctive
- O
rgan
isatio
nal
Tota
lly O
rgan
isatio
nal
The
Char
acte
r Acc
ount
The
Real
Tim
e Ac
coun
t
Your tweeting style
Conv
ersa
tiona
l
Subs
tans
ive
The
Mid
dle
Way
Twitter etiquetteYou DON’T• have to read everything• have to tweet
everything• have to stay loyal:
unfollow!
You DO need to• Tweet usefully• Tweet regularly• Reply to questions• Search for how you’re
perceived• Complete your profile• Use it as a conversation
tool – don’t just promote
The interface at www.twitter.com
HOME
CONNECT
DISCOVER
SEARCH
Finding Useful People
1) Search, and use people results2) If you find someone useful, see who they
follow3) Explore other people’s lists https
://twitter.com/#!/CareersLucy/careers-people (On their page, or using sites like http://listorious.com to search for lists)
Finding Useful Information
Finding Useful Information
1) If you find someone useful, their favourites2) Search for what you want3) Retweet useful stuff to your followers4) People you follow will do the same5) If following someone is not proving
useful/interesting UNFOLLOW6) Build lists to group information sources7) Last resort? Google site:twitter.com/*/yourterm
Using Twitter Tools
Optional Twitter Tools
• Analysis – TwitterCounter, TweetStats, TwentyFeet• Alerts - Twilert• Management - HootSuite, TweetDeck, Seesmic• Saving and storing – The Archivist, Twistory• Rating and ranking – FollowerWonk, Klout• Displaying - Twylah
• Twitter widgets
Social media – rapid natural selection
Twitter strategy
1. Traction
1. Tweet regularly2. Follow others and have @ conversation3. Craft your tweets to be retweetable4. Consider daily/weekly features5. Initiate and share hashtags6. Save searches and engage with those
conversing
2. Management
• Agree guidelines– On content– On identity– On tweeting style– On frequency
• Agree who’s managing, and provide backup• Multiple managers is possible, but can cause
issues!• ‘If in doubt...’
3. The Impact File
• Set out aims and a review date before you begin• Collect data:• Number of followers• Names of useful people for future collaboration• Invitations that come via twitter• Number of hits to your blog / website via twitter
• Consider the opportunity cost
Brand new to Twitter?Exercises to get started
First, go to www.twitter.com/OxfordCareers
Sign up for an account
• Choose a nice short twitter handle• You can change this at any stage• You can deactivate the account at any stage• You will need to go to your email to confirm it
Finding people
1) You’re already cunningly following OxfordCareers2) Because OxfordCareers has a ‘Recommended’ list
you should get some suggestions for people to follow3) If you find someone useful, click on their name and
choose ‘view more tweets4) From here you can explore who they follow, their
lists and more https://twitter.com/#!/CareersLucy/careers-people
Tweeting
We’re going to send our first tweet…
Click ‘Home’.In the ‘Compose new tweet’ box type your tweet.Click ‘Tweet’Click ‘Tweets’ to see how it looks to the world
Over 140 letters? You’ll have to be more clever…
Paired practice!
• Tell each other your Twitter handles• Search for their handle• Find them in ‘People results’ – click on them –
and follow• Go back to Home – you’ll see you’re following
them in the top left box
Paired practice!
• Send a tweet that mentions your neighbour(use their handle in the middle of the tweet)
• Go to Home and Tweets to see how this looks to the world
• Go to ‘Connect’ to see if they’ve mentioned you
• Mouseover the tweet to see the option to reply
• Send them a reply
Direct retweeting
• Search for a tweet on a subject that you think your follower will enjoy– Use the search bar– Or explore people you’ve added in your timeline
• Mouseover and click Retweet• Go to ‘Home’ to see what this looks like
NB: Direct retweets won’t duplicate what’s already in a timeline
Quoted Retweeting
• Look at your timeline – click Home• Find a tweet you’d like to forward with
comment• Highlight and copy the text • Start a new tweet and type your comment.• Then type RT @[source] and paste (might
need to shorten)• Click Tweet and see how it looks!
Direct Messages
• Go to ‘Messages’• This is ‘direct messaging’ or DM – not tweeting• Only between two users that follow each other• Text is not publically visible• Try it in your pairs
Tweets that start @someone don’t appear in a follower’s timeline unless they follow both of you.Anyone can still see any tweet on searching
Hashtags
• The hashtag for this training is #agcasSWtraining• Send a tweet that uses it – maybe with a comment!• See how the tweet looks in your timeline (‘Home’)• Click the hashtag to find other people using it• Mouseover to send them a message/reply• Search for the hashtag in the search bar
Keep going – see what else you can find, and who else you can follow
Let me know how you’re getting on (start a tweet @CareersLucy ...)