Trade Tips: Twitter in Small Steps

Trade Tips: Twitter in Small Steps

By Nicole Hayes

A personal goal for some this year (like myself) is finding more time to practice and/or develop social media outreach skills. Even if you hire/task someone else to conduct your social media outreach, it's imperative you understand the use and impact of such tools. I’ll start with Twitter, which in some respects is outpacing Facebook in advancing conversations. What is Twitter? Per Wikipedia, Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets". It was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, with over 300 million users as of 2011, generating over 300 million tweets and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day. It has been described as "the SMS of the Internet." Users can group posts together by topic or type by use of hashtags – words or phrases prefixed with a "#" sign. Similarly, the "@" sign followed by a username is used for mentioning or replying to other users. To repost a message from another Twitter user, and share it with one's own followers, the retweet function is symbolized by "RT" in the message.

Given this basic overview, here are a few Twitter tips for maximizing your outreach:

*Use Hoot Suite application for your phone to manage your tweets on the go

*Use Tweet Deck onto your computer; it's great for managing multiple Twitter accounts and allows you to edit retweets unlike the regular Twitter

*Participate in "Tweet Ups" which are "meet ups" with people/professionals you've met on Twitter you want to know more about/share similar interests (discretion advised)

*Join Twitter chats to engage in regular discussion topics of importance to you, as this will help your dialogues and build your followings

*Socialoomph a tool to help schedule your tweets;

*If you're busy (that's a silly statement) you can also ask friends, your team to push out tweets you've crafted in advance for promoting a campaign, issue

*Tweetreach.com is a tool to measure impact and reach of your tweets via your hash tags used

*Good etiquette and use of social media platforms is like building a relationship: Interact with people, take interest in what others are saying, retweet what they're saying if you like it, thank them for retweeting your tweet, when deciding who to follow it's all about quality of that person not their quantity of followers

*Remember to share information that is helpful to people—don't only tweet the buttered toast you ate for breakfast

Now you’re ready to “tweet tweet!”

Tweeting and Streaming Obama's Townhall

Tweeting and Streaming Obama's Townhall

McKinney & Associates is proud to say that one of our highly esteemed colleagues, Shannon R. Mouton, was invited to live-tweet the President's town hall from the University of Maryland this morning.

According to the White House website, President Obama will address "the on-going efforts to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction."

Follow Shannon's tweets. Follow the conversation.

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

Republicans Follow Obama’s Twitter Steps

Republicans Follow Obama’s Twitter Steps

The first official republican debate held via Twitter is underway.  Candidates – including Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich – are poised to answer tough questions in 140 characters or less.

The debate started a little after 3pm, with Sarah Elizabeth “S.E.” Cupp of the Glenn Beck show serving as moderator. Here’s a quick look at the opening statements:

An Insight Into Twitter's Mastermind

An Insight Into Twitter's Mastermind

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone was recently on NPR's weekly program, "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" a weekly hour-long quiz program where you can test your knowledge against some of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world while figuring out what's real news and what's made up. Could they have picked a more perfect guest then the co-founder of the micro-blogging website where the line between what's fact, fiction, fantasy, and opinion are unclearly blurred? The episode with Biz is mostly humorous, as are most Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! programs, but there were also some really interesting insights into the world of Twitter, Silicon Valley, and those who run our social-networking worlds. Take a listen and let us know what you think about Twitter's head-honcho. Does he come across as a young, socially savvy, genius? Or does he seem as deep as about 140 characters? 

Two Young Super Stars Driving Social Change

Two Young Super Stars Driving Social Change

Happy Birthday to the White House kitchen garden and Twitter!  The two March prodigies turned two and five, respectively, this week with lots to show for their young years. The garden has influenced the nation’s eating habits. Twitter has transformed the way the world communicates.

First Lady Michelle Obama planted the White House vegetable garden in the spring of 2009 with the help of local elementary school children.  Yielding a constant supply of fresh produce, the garden is a centerpiece of the First Lady’s campaign to end childhood obesity. Obama’s message, one supposes, is that gardening is good for the heart, soul and mind. There’s nothing quite more rewarding than planting a seed, nurturing its growth, and harvesting the fruits of your labor.

Launched on March 21, 2006, Twitter has revolutionized the way people around the world communicate. Creator Jack Dorsey equipped everyday people with a powerful tool to make the globe a better place. 

Highlighted Clips for Tuesday, March 22, 2011:

"The White House Kitchen Garden turns two"

By: Nikki Schwab and Katy Adams

While the first family has been traveling abroad, the little veggie garden in their backyard turned two years old over the weekend.

 

"Twitter turns five: Celebrating the service that changed the way we communicate"

By: Melissa Bell

Five years ago, a message was sent out across the Internet: Sent by Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey, it ushered in a program that has revolutionized the way news is delivered and credited for spurring on social unrest in the world. Will that tweet go down in history along with Alexander Graham Bell’s “Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you”?