There’s no magic way to gain followers overnight. But there are some key steps you can take to help build your community. We will show you good examples of how reporters are using Twitter and what you can do to build your following.
4. Identify your focus
Finish this sentence: I tweet about ________.
It could be your beat – crime, health-care, technology.
It could be your local city or town –
Boston, Detroit, Miami.
It could be something you’re passionate about –
media, public radio.
The more focus, the better.
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15. Second
Compile your
Twitter source and
influencer list
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16. Compile your source and influencer list
Who are the newsmakers and influencers around your
focus?
Think about the people who make up your city, town or
beat.
Dig around Twitter to discover sources you might not
even know about.
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17. Compile your source and influencer list
Don’t be afraid to think locally and broadly for this list –
especially if you’re a beat reporter.
This is how you find the influencers – experts on the
topic who have large regional, national or global
followings.
If you’re a beat reporter covering tech in Seattle, New
York Times tech columnist Nick Bilton should be on your
list.
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18. Potential sources
Local newspaper reporters.
Other member station reporters.
City council members.
Police/fire department Twitter accounts.
Mayor.
Local bloggers.
School board members.
Small business owners.
Outspoken resident who attends every meeting.
Librarian.
City planner.
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19. What if I was a crime reporter in Boston?
In 10 minutes I found:
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20. What if I was a GA reporter in Boston?
In 10 minutes I found:
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21. Cool. But how?
There’s no exact science to finding sources on Twitter, you
just have to go find them. But there are tricks.
Compile your list into an actual Twitter List
(Twitter.com/lists). As time goes on, add and subtract
from it as you see necessary.
If you’re a general assignment reporter, you obviously
have to cast a bigger net.
It might help to create several lists for different topics.
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22. Third
Start tweeting
With pace and consistency
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24. Pace and consistency
If you want a bigger following, you need to commit
yourself to it.
Tweet at least once but ideally several times everyday.
Majority of your tweets should relate to your focus – your
beat or community.
But tweet about things unrelated to your beat, too.
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34. But what?
It’s a conversation: Use your voice when you tweet.
Watch what your sources are tweeting.
If news of any kind bubbles up – the announcement of a
news conference, a car accident at rush hour -- tweet
about it, even if you don’t have a story yet.
Give your audience a behind-the-scenes look at the
reporting process.
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35. But what?
Quotes you hear or read – either in your own reporting or
others.
Observations about your reporting.
You’re human: Tweet about life outside of news.
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37. 4 Reasons Why Twitter + Live = Awesome
1. It’s the best way to get better at Twitter.
2. It’s a fast track to a bigger following.
3. It’s where the News Junkies of the world gather.
4. It will get you hooked.
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38. How reporters often use Twitter
1. Produce story.
2. Publish story to the web.
3. Tweet link to story.
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39. How reporters SHOULD use Twitter
1. Be a storyteller on Twitter, not a wire service.
2. Open up your notebook and tell the story as
it’s happening.
3. Five reporters may be covering the same
story, but only you can tell your perspective.
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40. What you can live-tweet
A press conference.
A protest.
A non-hard news event such as a museum opening or
restaurant review.
Breaking news.
A show.
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42. Best situations to use hashtags
Breaking News
Ongoing news stories.
Live events.
Callouts.
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43. Breaking news
• If people search on
Twitter for a hashtag
during a breaking
news situation, your
tweets will appear in
the search results.
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44. Ongoing news stories
• For people following
stories which run
over a stretch of
time (such as a trial).
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45. Live events
• This lets you
organize your live
tweets into one
hashtag, makes it
easier for people to
follow the event.
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46. Callouts
• If you’re
crowdsourcing for
information, use a
hashtag to curate
responses.
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47. Beware
#Don’t #use #hashtags to #spam.
They’re most effective and less annoying if they’re
focused and occasional.
You’re better off using an existing hashtag that’s already in
full use than creating your own.
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49. Have conversations with people
If someone on Twitter asks you a question, gives you a
news tip or makes a comment, have a conversation with
them.
See someone tweet an interesting comment, observation
or photo? Re-tweet them or tweet back at them if
relevant.
Healthy debate is okay if thoughtful, but don’t get into
Twitter arguments. Remember, it’s public!
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53. Get important people to see your work
Twitter gives you a way to connect with people who
matter.
After you publish a story on the web, you have the ability
to get more people of influence to read it, listen to it and
share it with others.
Rather than just leaving the fate of your story to Google
and volunteer visitors, you can spread it to a few key
influencers who will then spread it to other influencers.
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54. The source mention
Who is quoted or mentioned in the story? If they have a
Twitter account, mention their Twitter handle in your
tweet.
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55. The station mention
Have your station Twitter account mention you when it
tweets your story link.
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56. The influencer mention
Do you think your story would appeal to one of the
influencers you identified?
Mention them in your tweet. This will bring your story to
their attention.
Maybe they’ll read it. Maybe they’ll blog about it. Maybe
they’ll share it.
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57. The influencer pitch
If your story is relevant to someone with a large audience
and a lot of influence – e-mail them the link.
Bloggers can’t keep track of everything going on with their
beat so pointing out valuable content you created is
appreciated.
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63. Community sharing
Post your stories in community message boards and social
sites for higher visibility.
Reddit.com/r/texas
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64. Community sharing
Post your stories in community message boards and social
sites for higher visibility.
Other places to share:
• Digg
• StumbleUpon
• Buzzfeed
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65. Get important people to see your work
The source mention: Mention story sources in your tweets.
The station mention: Have your station mention you when
tweeting your story.
The influencer mention: Mention influencers with big
followings in your tweets.
The influencer pitch: Directly pitching your work to influencers
with big followings.
Community sharing: Reddit, StumbleUpon, Digg, BuzzFeed.
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66. 7 Steps to Twitter Dominance
1. Identify your focus
2. Compile your Twitter source and influencer
list.
3. Start tweeting with pace and consistency.
4. Live-tweet events
5. Use hashtags when the time is right.
6. Have conversations with people.
7. Get influencers, sources and others to see
your work.
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67. What Twitter should feel like
QUESTIONS?
Eric Athas
eathas@npr.org
@ericathas
617-622-5433
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