lecture 5 writing news tweets
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Week 5: WRITING EFFECTIVE NEWS TWEETS
![Page 2: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
What Twitter Does Best
• It creates connections through common interestsrather than friends
• It’s fully public and fully searchable
• It amplifies the news (does not reliably break it)
• Generally a quicker way to do all the things youcan do on other social media too (find sources, get questions answered, crowdsource content, push out news blasts, take the temperature of a community, etc)
![Page 3: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
What are you aiming for?
• Retweets
• Replies
• Follower growth
• Getting your links (to your own content, thoseyou’re retweeting) up on Google as quickly as possible
![Page 4: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
SIMPLE TIPS FOR NEWS TWEETING
• Tweet your beat
• Use hashtags (judiciously): they can increaseengagement almost 100% for journalists
• Don’t just Tweet your own stories
• Live Tweet
• Use @mentions (ex: better to talk about @RoyalSegolene than Ségolène Royal)
• Cite your sources (and not just urls)
![Page 5: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Simple Tips for News Tweeting (2)
• If a story is brewing/breaking, don't wait untilyou've written & posted whole thing. Tweetsomething as soon as you can be accurate and factual. Let your audience know you’refollowing story.
• Posing questions in tweets can elicit very richmaterial
• Retweet or reply to posts by local people/actors/institutions within your« community »
![Page 6: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
It’s both content and form (1)
• Use a headshot or icon
• Use proper grammar
• Use white space if you have some to spare…it looks better and attractsthe eye
![Page 7: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
It’s both content and form (2)
• Use capital letters (judiciously), like a headline/dateline to grab attention:
Ex: BREAKING NEWS: former French presidentJacques Chirac taken to hospital.
• Shorten your urls (Bit.ly, is.gd, ow.ly, goo.gl, TinyURL)
![Page 8: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
How often?
• Think of Twitter as a stream, post severaltimes a day (and check in several times daily)
• You can post the same link several times…but judiciously
• ideally best to promote your own content about once every 10 tweets
![Page 9: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Who is seeing your replies?
![Page 10: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
How to have everyone see your reply
Start the Tweet with a period.
.@rkapfrance
That allows all of your followers to see the replyand not just those who also follow the person
you’re replying to.
![Page 11: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Tweeting during breaking news
• You can phrase your tweets by saying somethingalong the lines of, “X is reporting Y, but wehaven’t been able to confirm this information yet.” Or send a couple of tweets saying: “We are working on this story and will tweet updates as soon as we have them.” … “Here’s what we do know …”
• This enables you to get your voice in the mix, while letting your audience know that you’re on top of the story and care about getting it right.
![Page 12: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Some good Twitter clients
• Hootsuite
• Tweetdeck
![Page 13: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
What Twitter clients do better thanTwitter
• Work with multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously
• View multiple streams of Twitter information simultaneously
• Schedule tweets for posting when you're away
• Add photos to tweets
• Faster/smoother/more keyboardable performance
• Tracking and analytics
• Better URL shortening
• Integration with other social networks
![Page 14: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Tips for Live Tweeting
• There is no formula for frequency
• Comment on events as they unfold
• use a specific hashtag in your Tweets to set them apart from your everydayoutput
• Focus on the kind of Tweets that only youcan create (an opinion, a physical vantagepoint, exclusive access, etc)
![Page 15: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Tips for Live Tweeting (2)
• Use photos and videos
• If it’s a scheduled event: Tweet out in the dayspreceding to let followers know and try to link up withany who will be there
• Research speakers’ Twitter usernames beforehand
• Confirm the event hashtag. If no official hashtag, makeone up
• Quote people or speakers at the event (and @cite them)
• Keep an eye on replies…and respond!
![Page 16: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
And after a Live Tweet…
Write a blog post!
Use your tweets (and those of othersfrom the event) to write a blog post
as a permanent and readableaccount of the event.
Storify is great for this.
![Page 17: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Tips for using hashtags
Why are they so important for you?
Because a hash tag is essentially a search, it can be saved for quick access just likeany other saved search on Twitter. An
important tool for journalists who covera community or particular beat regularly.
![Page 18: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Tips for using hashtags
• Don’t overuse
• Generally limit to 2 hashtags in a message text(possibly more after at the end)
• The more targeted and accurate your hashtaguse, the more targeted followers you’re likelyto attract
![Page 19: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Tips for RT-ingOr why you should avoid the retweet button on
the Twitter desktop platform:
![Page 20: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Tips for RT-ing
If you auto RT you can't add anything : whyyou felt it worth a retweet, what you'd like to point out or add
Instead: cut and paste the tweet, place « RT @username » at the beginning of tweet, precede with a comment
If you edit, be grammatical and ethical (and use MT)
Don’t RT just to curry favor: RT to add value
![Page 21: Lecture 5 writing news tweets](https://reader030.vdocuments.site/reader030/viewer/2022032616/55a906431a28abe14a8b468a/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Searching Twitter: review
• Using lists
• Searching/organizing with hashtags
• Tweetdeck and saved searches
• Delaying/timing your Tweets