Presentation slides from our September 9, 2009 webinar.
You've probably heard of Twitter, but what is it exactly and how can your organization make use of it effectively?
This webinar discusses how Twitter can help you:
- Engage donors and potential donors
- Maintain relationships with supporters
- Keep up with best practices
- Gain/share advice in real-time
- Drive traffic to your website
- And much more!
1. September 9, 2009
How Tweet It Is:
Twitter 101
For audio, turn on your speakers, or
Call 1-516-453-0014; Code 224-337-096
2. For the best webinar experience, close all other applications.
Reminders
Type questions in the Questions Log
Turn up your volume
You can hear us, but we can’t hear you
Webinar recording and slides
will be available on
www.mycharityconnects.org
For audio, turn on your speakers, or
Call 1-516-453-0014; Code 224-337-096
3. What is CanadaHelps?
A public charitable foundation that provides accessible and
affordable online technology to both donors and charities.
For Charities
A cost-effective means of raising funds online.
For Donors
A one-stop-shop for giving.
CanadaHelps is a charity helping charities.
For audio, turn on your speakers, or
Call 1-516-453-0014; Code 224-337-096
4. Today’s Presenters
• Amy Huynh
Communications Assistant
• Kirstin Beardsley
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
For audio, turn on your speakers, or
Call 1-516-453-0014; Code 224-337-096
5. Webinar Agenda
1. What is Twitter?
2. Decoding Twitter Lingo
3. What Can Twitter be Used For?
4. Creating a Profile that Gets Noticed
5. Top Ten Twitter Tips
6. Q & A
For audio, turn on your speakers, or
Call 1-516-453-0014; Code 224-337-096
7. What is Twitter?
• Free micro-blogging tool that lets you share short (up to
140 characters) updates with people
• Similar to instant messaging, but opens up conversations
to a wider audience
Twitter = Instant Messaging + Blogging
Source: www.johnhaydon.com
8. Features of Twitter
• It’s built for speed.
• It’s simple to use.
• It’s public.
• It’s highly viral.
• Messages are archived.
• Messages can be searched.
• It has private messaging
capability.
12. Tweet
An individual message
on Twitter with 140
characters or less
@username
• This is your name on Twitter
• Usernames on Twitter are displayed with an @ symbol
before them, like so: @canadahelps
• The @ symbol before a username on Twitter
automatically makes it a link to that person’s Profile
• Your Twitter profile page is: www.twitter.com/username
13. Re-Tweet (RT)
To repost a valuable
tweet by somebody else
on Twitter and give
them credit
Reply (@username)
A public message to or
about an individual on
Twitter
The original tweet:
14. Follow/Following
To follow somebody is to subscribe to
their tweets
Followers
People who have chosen to follow
your tweets
Unfollow/Unfollowing
People that you have chosen to stop
following
Direct Message (DM)
A private message on Twitter.
15. Hashtag
The # symbol followed by a term and included in tweets as a
way of categorizing all the posts on a topic, event, group, etc.
It’s a way to categorize content on Twitter so that users with
similar interests can converse about that topic.
Some tweets with the
hashtag #ncwk from
www.hashtags.org
16. Tweetup
An offline meet up with Twitter
friends
Favorites
Tweets that you have “starred”
(bookmarked). A way to organize
and save tweets.
Trending Topics
The most-discussed terms on
Twitter at any given moment
URL shorteners
Used to make long links smaller
(since you are limited to 140
characters in a tweet). We use
http://bit.ly
18. Building your brand
• Raise awareness of your cause and for your
organization
• Drive traffic to your website
• Build trust, legitimacy and authenticity
19. Gathering support
• Gather online and offline support
• Tweet opportunities to get involved
• Calls to action should be simple and easy
20. Educating your followers
• Educate followers about your cause
• Tell people something surprising and interesting about
yourself/charity
• Provide resources and tips
21. Adding personality to your
organization
• Providing supporters with a real human connection within
your organization
• Don’t be afraid to show who you are as a person
• Relate and connect on a personal level
22. Asking Questions
• Get feedback, help and advice in real time
• Ask for opinions about your website, latest e-newsletter, new
graphics, etc. – people love to help on Twitter!
• Brainstorm and share ideas with others
23. Answering Questions
• Give feedback, help and advice in real time
• “Customer service” tool
• Brainstorm and share ideas with others
• Have conversations and build relationships
24. Showing Appreciation
• Thank and RT your supporters & their initiatives on your behalf
• Promote others that tell your story
• Support your supporters!
25. Promoting a Fundraising
Campaign/Event
• Invite your followers to your events and fundraisers
• Provide campaign status reports
• Tweet your fundraising and program events for those that cannot be there
(play by play)
• Use www.twitpic.com to tweet photos from events instantly!
• Ask for donations and link to your donation page
26. Listening & Monitoring
• Listen to what is being said about your organization, cause, event, etc.
• Conversations are already taking place online about your organization
• Valuable to listen to the discussions & respond accordingly
27. Providing updates and information
• These posts are very “Web 1.0”
• The majority of your posts should not be one-way
• Remember: Twitter is NOT an RSS feed
• Make sure your tweets have value
29. Figuring out your Twitter Personality
Organization with
Personality
Pure Organization Brand
Pure Personal Account
Employee with
Organization Association
31. Choose the right @username.
• Limited to 20 characters
• Options:
• Your charity’s name (i.e. CharityName)
• Your name + charity name (i.e. KellyAtCharityName)
• Make sure it’s easily recognizable
32. Fill in your full name.
• If your @username is simply the name of your
organization, make it known there is someone
behind your account (Amy @ CanadaHelps)
• Remember: people want to talk to people
33. Fill out everything.
• Completely fill out the fields under “Settings” Account
• Fill in your one-line bio (limited to 160 characters)
• Fill in your More Info URL and location
34. Customize your page.
• Customized Twitter background
• Add more information about your organization
• Add some visual appeal
35. Post your first tweet!
• Post some tweets
• It’s OK to take a few days to get a feel of things
• First tweet suggestions:
• Say hello. Tell people what made you decide to join Twitter.
• First impressions of Twitter
• Interesting fact about your charity
• Show some of your personality!
36. Find followers.
• Start by following people you know (friends, sponsors, community
partners, supporters, volunteers, etc.)
• Follow us at www.twitter.com/canadahelps
• Find people with similar interests
• Find local people
• Use search.twitter.com and type in key words to find people
• Being in the right niche will make it easy for you to build a
community
38. Find the balance between
conversation and promotion.
• Don’t only tweet your own content
• Twitter is not a place to simply push out your own
messages and agenda
• Inspire conversation, ask questions, answer
questions, share resources
39. Don’t be afraid to follow your
followers.
• If you’re not following people, it’s one-sided relationship.
• If you are not following someone, they cannot direct
message you.
• You don’t have to follow everyone that follows you – check
out their profile and see if they are appropriate.
40. Make use of the “Favorites”
feature.
• Save memorable and important tweets.
• People often check what types of tweets you’ve
“favourited” before deciding to follow you.
41. Say thank you!
• If you’re nice and polite on Twitter, people will notice
and remember!
• Kindness & appreciation will make you stand out
42. Save relevant search terms on
your Twitter dashboard.
• Set up search terms:
• Org. name
• Campaign
• Event
• Trending topic
• Listen to what is being said
about your organization
• Respond accordingly (ties
into next tip!)
43. Reply and Retweet.
• Take the time to chat with your followers
• Check your @ replies and engage fans directly by
asking/answering questions
• Retweet interesting content
T-shirt by www.ThinkGeek.com
44. Provide value to your
followers.
• Don’t spam people! You can run the risk of losing
credibility and followers.
• Respect the interests of your followers: direct them
to interesting and relevant resources, tools, etc.
• Be social: connect with others and be helpful.
45. Twitter is a tool – not a strategy.
• It’s a communication & engagement channel
• Important to have the basics covered (website, donation
processing, email marketing, etc.)
• Remember to integrate Twitter with other social media
networks you are a part of
46. Set up a schedule for yourself.
• Make it part of your routine
• Devote a set amount of time per day to tweet,
retweet, follow, reply!
• Good way to start is to incorporate it into your
morning email check
47. You get what you give!
• Not enough to just create your profile
• Success requires meaningful and ongoing participation
• Keep your expectations realistic
49. • Free online resource centre
• Information about technology
• Video demonstrations
• More webinars
• Past webinar recordings
• Learning opportunities
• Events
Next Webinar
“Gearing up for the
Giving Season”
SEPTEMBER 23
2PM – 3PM
(Eastern Time)
www.mycharityconnects.org
51. Thank you for attending!
Webinar slides and recording will be up on:
www.mycharityconnects.org/pastwebinars
Check out www.mycharityconnects.org for resources!
Questions, feedback, comments?
Email Amy at: amyh@canadahelps.org
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/canadahelps
Thanks to: