Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce Twitter seminar, Sept 28, 2011

1. Twitter for Business Welcome to the Twitterverse Heather Mellon Hayward Area Historical Society

2. What is Twitter? From the Twitter website: “Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information that you find interesting. Simply find the public streams you find most compelling and follow the conversations.” In summary: Live updates about anything and everything, from where you are to what’s happening on tv. Also a cool place to connect with celebrities and get discounts from businesses.

3. How is Twitter used? What is a “Tweet”? "At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called Tweets. Each Tweet is 140 characters in length, but don’t let the small size fool you—you can share a lot with a little space. Connected to each Tweet is a rich details pane that provides additional information, deeper context and embedded media. You can tell your story within your Tweet, or you can think of a Tweet as the headline, and use the details pane to tell the rest with photos, videos and other media content.” –Twitter.com Basically: You can send out 140 characters at a time, use them wisely. Who uses Twitter? People (celebrities and the average Joe) Businesses& brands (including organizations) Places (museums, etc.)

4. Why Tweet? What Twitter offers Real-time updates & interaction Microblogging – an easy way to share small doses of content Ideal for mobile phone use 200 million registered users (via Mashable, as of 9/8/11) 100 million active at least once a month 50 million active once a day 230 million tweets per day 31% follow 1-5 brands; only 10% follow no brands (via Lab42, as of 8/20/11) 66% follow to get discounts 48% follow to participate in contests 47% follow because they have interesting tweets 30% follow for customer service

5. Twitter Terminology, Pt. 1 Mention Mention a Twitter account, preceded by “@”, e.g. “Thanks for sharing, @HaywardAreaHist!” Good way to get the attention of that user. Retweet(RT) Forward someone else’s tweet to your followers. Message (DM) Privately send a message to another account; also known as “direct message.” Hashtag A hashtag before a word or phrase marks it as a theme or topic, e.g. “Today I’m learning about #Twitter for business”

6. Twitter Terminology, Pt. 2 Follow/Follower When you click on the “follow” button, you are subscribing to that account’s tweets. A “follower” is someone who is subscribed to your tweets. Feed Your Twitter feed is what you see when you log in, a chronological list of the tweets of the users you follow. List Users can add accounts they are following to lists they have created. Each list shows the feeds from the accounts on that list. Trending Topics trending on Twitter are the current most talked about topics. Sometimes hashtagged words/phrases, or just keywords.

7. Best Practices How often should I tweet? (via SimplyZesty) No more than 35 times per day When should I tweet? (via AllTwitter) Weekdays have the highest volume, particularly Wednesdays What should I tweet? (via SimplyZesty) 80% of those with more than 500 followers prefer to follow a focused account People are most likely to RT interesting or humorous content People are most likely to unfollow if you tweet too much or if your tweets appear automated

8. Getting started

9. Getting started Business name Twitter handle

10. Your profile

11. Your profile Business name Your stats Bio

12. Twitter feed

13. Send a tweet

14. Send a tweet Character counter Add a photo

15. Tweet a photo

16. Retweet Retweet

17. Retweet Retweet

18. Tools & Tips URL shortener Bit.ly – bitly.com Scheduling tweets HootSuite, TweetDeck Learning the lingo Tagdef – tagdef.com - Definitions for different hashtags Twittonary – twittonary.com – Definitions for various Twitter-related words. Analytics Tweetreach – shows average number of people reached per tweet Twitter Grader – check how influential you are on Twitter; can also search by location

19. Building a following Cross-promote Website, Facebook, e-newsletter, business cards, flyers Use RT & hashtags Increases visibility Find others to follow Some will follow back! Twellow – search for Twitter users by location Always respond Engagement builds followers

20. Tweeters to follow Social Media/Twitter: @TwitterBusiness– Official Twitter account with tips for businesses @SocialMedialy– Social media news with an emphasis on Twitter @Change4aDollar – Tweets about online marketing, targeted for small businesses and nonprofits Businesses: @CVEACC Chamber members: @HaywardAreaHist, @BAMorrison, @EWCCastroValley, @tomtinasdeli, @EdenMedCenter, @csueastbay, @ebrpd @StGeorgeSpirits– St. George Spirits distillery in Alameda

21. Resources Mashable Business: mashable.com/business AllTwitter: www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter Twitter: blog.twitter.com Simply Zesty: www.simplyzesty.com Social Media Examiner: www.socialmediaexaminer.com

22. Thank you! Heather Mellon Marketing Coordinator Hayward Area Historical Society (510) 581-2428 h.mellon@haywardareahistory.org @HaywardAreaHist