Leveraging Twitter In The Workplace

Session Title : Leveraging Twitter in the Workplace: Efficient or Time Waster? Presented by: Tamera Kremer June 3, 2009 Government 2.0 and Social Media Conference

It's one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet. ~ New York Times

What’s all this Web 2.0 chatter about?

Social communications tools

Social networking platforms

Individual content publishing

Real-time feedback

Citizen participation

Dialogues, not monologues

Traditional broadcast methods don’t work

People expect interaction with a human, not a faceless entity

People get involved when energized & motivated

One size doesn’t fit all

I get blogging, but what’s “micro-blogging”?

Short updates (typically <160 characters)

Status updates on Facebook; Tweets on Twitter; Songs on blip.fm

Twitter; Tweet; Tweeple

Fastest growing social network in 2009

Short, SMS-style messages

“ Follow” the tweets of people of interest

Interact with them using “@”

Participate on particular topics using “#”

Share others tweets via “RT”

Types of interactions on Twitter

Information exchange

Customer service

Collaboration

Chitchat

Promotion/ Awareness

Mobilization

The only hard & fast rules of Twitter interactions? Add value or don’t participate Be a real person Not everyone is going to care about what you have to say

Who’s Tweeting? What’s happening in 140-characters?

Who’s Tweeting? - Government

Mayor Miller

Ontario Ombudsman

Toronto Transit

Privacy Commissioner

Mayor Robinson

Toronto Police

Calgary Police

Downing Street

Ontario Arts Council

@mayormiller

@Ont_Ombudsman

@BradTTC

@PrivacyPrivee

@mayorgregor

@TrafficServices

@calgarypolice

@DowningStreet

@oac_cao

Government Tweets

San Francisco adds 311 service via Twitter

http:// sftwitter.sfgov.org /twitter/

Street Cleaning

Graffiti Removal

Pothole and Sidewalk Defects

Abandoned Vehicles

City Garbage Can Maintenance

Department Information (office hours, location, phone numbers)

... and much more!

Who’s Tweeting? - Brands

Ford

Whole Foods

Rogers

Honda

Dell

Comcast

LuluLemon

Roots

@scottmonty

@wholefoods

@keithmcarthur

@Alicia_at_Honda

@RichardatDell

@comcastcares

@lululemon

@rootscanada

People are engaging with brands… positively & negatively

The Good

Dell

Comcast

Molson

The Ugly

#MotrinMoms

#Skittles

#AmazonFail

Who’s Tweeting - NGO

WarChild

WWF

Earth Hour

US Red Cross

CA Cancer Society

Unicef UK

Plan Australia

Goodwill Intl

@TopsatWarChild

@WWF_Climate

@EarthHourCanada

@RedCross

@CancerSociety

@unicef_uk

@PlanAustralia

@GoodwillIntl

Citizens are engaged in social change

ChangeCamp | @changecamp

NetChangeWeek | @NetChange

SustainabilityCamp | @SusCamp

MentalHealthCamp | @MentalHealthC

HoHoTO | @HoHoTO

SpinTO | @SpinToronto

Participatory Tweets

So… there are a lot of diverse conversations happening in 140-characters…

What does this all mean?

W.O.M happens in real-time

Feedback loops

Active participation

Crowd sourcing

Plan to be in perpetual “Beta”

Move fast

Content is portable

Integrating into a workplace culture

Pros

Tap into collective stream

Share/ find valuable and timely information

Monitor sentiment in real-time

Research & Development

Cons

Participation takes time/ resources

Rules of engagement

New methods of cross-departmental integration

Assuming the Pros outweigh the Cons, now what ?

Building a strategy: Figure out what works for you

Getting Started: Explore

Get to know the tools & how they’re used

Look at the different mediums & where your customers/ constituents are

Tap into your internal resources

Explore ways in which a particular tool may be right for you

Getting Started: Learn

Read, read, read

Explore what your competition or partners are doing

Think as a person, not a company

Ask questions of everyone & incorporate feedback

Weigh the benefits & the risks – prepare for them

Getting Started: Engage

Figure out who you want to talk to & why – your influencers may not be mine

Get to know people authentically

Have something valuable to say first

Experiment & be honest

Getting Started: Enjoy

Being engaged in social media is not 9-5; make sure you’re having fun

Play around with what’s possible – push boundaries: internally & with ‘customers’

Brainstorm ways to integrate the tools into where you are now & where you want to be

Getting Started: Monitor/ Measure

Keep track of what you are doing in the space/ sentiments

Record feedback & build it into your internal processes

Measure your efforts based on your criteria, not arbitrary rules

Be open about how much things change

Final thoughts on getting started

If you decide using Twitter (or similar direct communication tools) is the right fit be prepared to incorporate within your daily activities

Be passionate about connecting & learning or it will show

Before you set your final benchmarks use the tools & do your research

Iterate & evolve

Some “Get Started” Tools

Desktop Clients:

TweetDeck

Twhirl

Seesmic Desktop

Tweetie (Mac)

Mobile Clients:

TwitterBerry (BlackBerry)

TwitterFon (iPhone)

Tweetie (iPhone)

Thank You! [email_address] Twitter.com/tamera www.wildfirestrategy.com

Image Credits

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rytc/387947202/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sergei24/1384515674/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenpoff/3057295487/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/viamoi/3369117014/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/metrix_feet/2374012880/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beebee/1039724712/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/viamoi/3303676088/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitsa_sakurako/1816448695/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/merwing/7842171/

Leveraging Twitter In The Workplace

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