Twitter

The Future of Marketing and PR

What is Twitter?

• Twitter is considered a micro-blog which means you post short updates, comments, or thoughts.

• These updates are called, “Tweets” and they are limited to 140 characters which includes anything from letters to numbers to symbols.

• On Twitter, you can follow people or organizations that you most care about and can engage in conversations with them.

• Twitter happens in the “real-time” which means you can put yourself into the stories or news as it is happening.

Twitter and Marketing & PR

• Twitter is a great tool to use in Marketing and PR (Public Relations).

• One way to use Twitter as a Marketing &PR tool is to keep in touch with bloggers and the media.

• By doing this, Marketing &PR professionals can see what these people are saying about their company.

• A good way to do this is by using the Twitter search engine. (http://search.twitter.com)

• When using the Twitter search engine all you do is type in your company name and it will pull any Tweet that mentioned your company and what they said about it; good and bad.

Twitter and Marketing & PR cont’d

• Another great way to use Twitter as a Marketing & PR tool is alert people about special deals your company or organization may be having.

• Your company can alert thousands of people instantly about promotions your company is having without having to buy T.V. or newspaper ads.

• Twitter can also be used to “live” update your customers about a trade show or conference your company or organization is at to help promote it.

• Twitter is a great way to promote any blog articles or customer success stories that have been about your company or organization.

Twitter and Job Hunting

• There are several easy ways that a person can get a job through Twitter.

• One way is to build a relevant network. This means follow businesses and organizations that you could see yourself potentially working for.

• One thing to keep in mind when making tweets is make sure your tweets reflect you as a professional individual.

• Another way Twitter can help you find a job is through the use of hashtags.

• Use hashtags like: #jobs, #jobposting, #jobsearch when making your tweets so companies will be able to search your tweets so they can find you and potentially hire you.

Twitter and Job Hunting cont’d

• An easy way to find a job through Twitter is connect with employees that already work for the company you are looking to work at.

• By doing this, you can get a first hand account of how that company works and how they treat their employees.

• After you have researched and have spoken to a potential employer via Twitter, the next step would be an in-person meeting.

• One important thing to keep in mind when doing this is keep it simple such as, “Let’s get coffee.” Don’t go overboard when meeting with a future employer the first time.

How to Set-Up a Twitter Account

• The first step in creating a Twitter account is go to http://twitter.com.

• The next step is: Fill out the “New to Twitter” information in the sign up box and hit the “Sign up for Twitter” button.

How to Set-Up a Twitter cont’d• The third step is to create a Twitter handle. This can be

whatever you want it to be, but make sure it is recognizable to your potential followers and keep it professional. Example: @GregKent5

• Once you have done all this, it is time to build your timeline. To do this you choose to follow people to start getting their tweets. These can be famous people or your close friends or even potential employers.

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How to Set-Up a Twitter cont’d

• The fifth step in setting up an account is to insert a twitter page picture of yourself, so people will recognize you, and to write a short bio about you.

• When choosing a picture, use one of just you and not a picture of you with a bunch of people. Don’t use a stand in picture either like a picture of your dog.

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How to Use Twitter

• Once you have completed those short, easy steps then you are ready to start using Twitter to your advantage.

• To compose a tweet you will need to know three easy things: it can only be 140 characters long, hashtags, and the @ symbol.

• Hashtags are short and sweet keywords that are relevant to the tweet and they are searchable. The “@” symbol allows you to include another Twitter page into your tweet.

• Here is an example of what a tweet might look like: Kansas better bring their “A” game tonight against Michigan! #KUBball #Letsdothis

How to Use Twitter cont’d

• After you mastered the art of a tweet, you should focus on designing your Twitter page so it is unique and stands out from the others.

• To do this, you go to the sprocket looking icon at the top right portion of your homepage and choose “settings”. Choose the “design” option and choose a template or you can insert your own background image.

To Sum It All Up…

• All in all, Twitter is a great tool to know how use and how to use it to your advantage.

• Twitter can be used to help you find a job, help your marketing & PR department, and even help you keep in connect with close friends and family.

• But like with all things, it needs to be used in the right way and if it is not it could potentially damage your reputation.

• But if it is used right, than it could help you tremendously.• So with that being said, Happy Tweeting!!

Sources

• Twitter.com• The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott

(Third Edition)• http://mashable.com/2010/11/27/twitter-job-tips/

• PowerPoint created by: Greg Kent, a student at Missouri State University.