social media roundup - effective tweeting
TRANSCRIPT
Social Media Roundup
Effective Tweeting
Social Media Roundup
AgendaThis week’s Social Media Roundup examines how to create an effective Tweet by breaking down the terminology and explaining the process from start to finish.
Understanding Twitter The anatomy of a Tweet Research before Tweeting Using hashtags effectively Tagging effectively Live Tweeting Live Tweeting steps Tracking your success Twitter language
Social Media Roundup
Understanding Twitter Twitter launched July 15, 2006. It is a
service that allows users to post a message or “Tweet” that consists of 140 characters or less.
Users can “follow” other Twitter accounts to stay up-to-date on what other organizations and other people are saying.
It is an open and public platform for communication. Twitter accounts can be set to private, but if the account is managed by an Army organization, it should be set to public.
Twitter continues to gain in popularity worldwide and is estimated to have 200 million users, generating 200 million Tweets a day.
Unfamiliar with some of the terms in the screenshot above? Check out the slide on Twitter language at the end of this Social Media Roundup.
To better understand a Tweet, it helps to break down all of the elements. A basic Tweet will typically have one of four main elements. Those elements include a public reply or retweet, another Twitter handle (account name), a hashtag or a shortened URL or link. Sometimes a Tweet will have all the elements like the example below.
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The anatomy of a Tweet
Retweet and public reply Hashtag
Shortened URL Twitter handle
A Tweet can be an effective way to spread a message, but it is important to do your research before you Tweet.
To create strong Tweet, you should tag other Twitter accounts, use hastags effectively and identify appropriate links to include in a Tweet.
All of this can be achieved by performing searches for news items, following other Twitter accounts and tracking the conversation.
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Research before Tweeting
Then add
The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.
Using a hashtag will help bring your Tweet to a larger audience. People don’t necessarily need to follow your Twitter account to receive your information, they can simply find your Tweet by searching for the hashtag.
For social media campaigns, create a short and recognizable hashtag so people can keep up with the latest news. Be sure to advertise the hashtag early and often.
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Using hashtags effectively Common Army Hashtags
#SOT = Support our troops #MOH = Medal of Honor #SOY = Soldier of the Year # MilitaryMon = Military Monday #FF = Follow Friday #DADT = Don’t ask don’t tell #woundedwarriors #Soldier #USArmy #Military #DoD #Afghanistan #Iraq #Milspouse #AUSA2011 #ArmyBday #PTSD #Airborne #Veterans #GIBill #BasicTraining
Tagging is a great way to show another Twitter users that your Tweet may be of interest to them.
In Twitter, the main reason an organization will “tag” another organization or person is to encourage them to retweet your content.
You may not have a huge following on your Twitter account, but if you tag another person or organization that has a large following, they may potentially retweet your content thus pushing your message to a much broader audience.
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Tagging effectively
In March, the Army tagged Lance Armstrong in a Tweet. Lance Armstrong retweeted the Army’s original Tweet expanding the Tweet’s reach from just over 70,000 followers to his nearly 2.7 million followers. As a result of Lance Armstrong’s retweet, the Arlington National Cemetery's Facebook Page gained 10,000 new “likes” and the Old Guard’s Facebook Page (which was tagged in the original Arlington National Cemetery Facebook post) gained 1,000 new “likes.”
“Live Tweeting” means sending Tweets while an event is in progress. This brings your followers closer to the action and gives them a level of access they may not have had otherwise.
If you plan on “live-Tweeting,” look at the media advisory, the schedule of events and other applicable resources to find background information to Tweet. This helps “build up” the “live-Tweet.” It’s also important to find individuals on Twitter participating in the event so you can tag them in Tweets. You should also work to find or create hashtags relative to the event.
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Live Tweeting
These Tweets demonstrate what “live-tweeting” looks like. These Tweets are from the Medal of Honor ceremony for SFC Leroy Petry. The Tweets used the hashtag #MOHPetry
Above is a Twtpic from the Medal of Honor ceremony. When “live tweeting,” it is possible to send photos from the event.
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Live Tweeting stepsStep 1
Establish a hashtag early
Step 2Promote hashtag through media advisories and other social media platforms
Step 3Conduct an education campaign on social media platforms to “pump up” the event
Step 4Connect with other people who plan to live Tweet from the event
Step 5Find and tag other Twitter accounts before, during and after the event
Step 6Follow up. Thank other accounts after the event and ask for questions.
Measuring the success of your Twitter efforts is important, but Twitter, unlike other social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube provides fewer measurement/analytics options. On Twitter’s interface, users are limited to tracking only retweets.
Free sites like TweetReach, IceRocket™, TweetLevel and The Archivist were designed to add more context to your statistical analysis. TweetReach allows users to not only track who else retweeted your content, but it helps show how far your Tweet traveled.
By doing a simple search, users can determine how many people heard about your event, or used your hashtag.
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Tracking your success
The sites included above are simply examples of measurement tools. This is not an endorsement
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Tracking your success URL shortener applications not only shrink a URL so it’s less cumbersome and
more visually appealing, but they can also help you track your Twitter success. Shortened URLs provide for more space in a post and also help Twitter users to fit commentary within the 140 character limit of a Tweet.
In addition to leaving more space in a Tweet, URL shorteners provide valuable metrics. URL shorteners like Go.USA.gov and goo.gl provide detailed analytics. This, combined with information you pull from services like TweetReach, can help paint a more comprehensive analysis.
Social media tip: When you add a “+” to the end of a shortened URL and then search for the link, you will get the metrics of that specific shortened URL.
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Twitter language Retweet (RT): Repeating someone else’s Tweet by posting it to your page. Hashtag: A hashtag is the “#” symbol followed by a specific word or term. A
hashtag allows your organization add context to a Tweet by linking it to a topic or a discussion. Example: #USArmy.
Search/Saved searches: Where you can search all public posts on Twitter for any keyword or phrase. You can also save the searches you’ve made.
Lists: A tool to help you group and organize other users into “lists.” For example, you can create a list called “Army Veterans,” “Army 10-miler,” etc.
Modified Tweet (MT): This means the Tweet you're looking at is a paraphrase of a tweet originally written by someone else.
Message (formerly called a Direct message): A private message sent to one of your followers. (Note, a person or organization must follow you as well in order to receive messages from you.)
Tweetup: An organized or impromptu gathering of people that use Twitter.
Social Media Roundup
Contact informationHave questions? Please feel free to reach out to us at the Online and Social Media Division
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRSPENTAGON
7/27/2011
Email:[email protected]
To review and download past editions of the Social Media Roundup, visit our Slideshare site at: http://www.slideshare.net/usarmysocialmedia.All Social Media Roundups are authorized to be distributed to a broader audience.