This document discusses strategies for using Twitter effectively. It provides examples of how Twitter was used to quickly spread news and updates during crises in Mumbai and Egypt. Key recommendations include branding your Twitter presence, building relationships, speaking with one voice, engaging your audience, integrating other apps, using Twitter to drive traffic to your website and blog, thanking new followers, and tracking your Twitter analytics. The advantages of effective Twitter use include extending your brand's reach, building deeper relationships, gaining expert advice, and driving users to your other online environments.

1. Twitter Initiative & Strategy:
Real time example of the power of Twitter:
“On Nov 26 2008 Mumbai Rocked by Shootings
The first news headlines and photos of the devastating terror attack in India shocked the world as
more than 300 people lost their lives and countless more were injured.”
This was delivered not on CNN or Public Radio or The New York Times this headline and the
photos were delivered by actual people at the scene using the social media tool Twitter.
The first Tweets only minutes after it happened looked like this:
Urvaksh: “Mumbai is in chaos.18dead, 40 held hostage at Oberoi, a five star hotel, firing going on
at a JW Marriott.”
Several hours later CNN ran a story titled “Tweeting the Terror: How Social Media Responded to
Mumbai.”
Another example:
Journalist James Buck and his interpreter were arrested for taking photographs at an anti-
government rally in Egypt. While in the van he was able to Twitter “arrested” on his mobile phone.
They immediately alerted the US Embassy and his college which immediately were able to obtain
a lawyer for him. He continued to update his followers and the following day when he was
released he tweeted “Free”. His interpreter was not so lucky he was beaten and held 90 days and
only was released when he went on a hunger strike.
Critical to Success:
Branding: With your logo in left side bar add all the places you are currently leveraging
online media
o Facebook link
o Website link
o Blog link
o Also add pertinent information for reaching out to your organization by phone
and/or address or email
Build relationships especially relationships that can benefit your organization
One voice
Connect with your audience by problem solving, winning referrals and supplying support
Search Twitter for profiles you want to connect to that are either experts, partners,
alumni, in a specific industry
Integrate other applications and add ons to get more out of the service
Use this as vital communication tool
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2. o The virtual water cooler—a place where people come to get to know each other,
make friends, to network and most importantly converse
Your tweets will help you encourage others to engage and build out your content
o Good content creates conversations and conversations creates communities
o Stay relevant and interesting
o Two types of tweets – broadcast and conversations--do both
Inter act with tweets by others (listen and talk)
o Answer questions
o Solve problems
o Ask your own questions
o Make one relevant personal tweet to every two professional tweets (makes it
more human and relational)
o Retweet and add your own comments at the end or in the beginning of the RT
Thank those who start following and add link to either website, Facebook or online
environment that you think talks to who your organization is
Tweet your blog
o This will extend your blog presence and help define content for future blogs
Lists help categorize your conversations
o Click on new lists on the twitter side bar
o A box will pop up
o Name your list
o You can make it public or private
o Add people to your list
Integrate into your Facebook and your Blog
Check out wefollow.com and twellow.com to find folks by interest and location
(opportunity to categorize your info)
Also check out whole lists at tweepml.org
Use twitterank.com a scoring that lets you know number of incoming replies and then
develops a score that represents your popularity. Not just the number of followers
o Helps you understand how well you are motivating conversations
Google analytics
o Tweets help with page ranking
Put a tweet in the search engine and you will find that its been indexed
Hence great reason to integrate your social media
Testing and tracking on Twitter, (twitter does not provide detailed stats only how many
people are following you, how many you are following and how many updates you’ve
posted)
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3. o Create a journal log:
Record the tweet in the journal
Count the number of replies you receive
Note who replied (this will tell you which followers are most likely to
respond)
Track how often the post is mentioned, retweeted based on your
username alerts
Add up the number of new followers received in the hours following the
post
o Look at your server logs
o Test tweets
Set one day aside to do tests
Twitter will be able to tell you
kinds of tweets generate the most replies
Which kinds of tweets get the most retweets
Which replies from which other twitters bring you the most followers
Check how many followers connected with you (this will help with
defining your content when you see what discussions took place)
Set up alerts for your Twitter username
Advantages if done right:
Extend the reach of your brand, making name of your education organization known to people
who might never otherwise have heard of it
Build deeper relationships with entrepreneurs, potential partners and alumni
Gain advice and suggestions from experts you might otherwise not be able to reach
Channel of a steady stream of web site users to other environments to then educate, engage and
drive awareness
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