1. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Welcome to “Tweeting for NC
State University”
2. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Twitter is a fancy Web 2.0 tool that
lots of bosses want you to use so they
can say they’re doing social media
stuff. But it’s also useful.
3. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Twitter lets users post in 140
characters or less pretty much
anything you can imagine. It’s evolved
well past answering What are you
doing?
4. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Let’s be honest. No one cares what
you’re doing. Eating isn’t interesting.
Neither is waking up, going to sleep or
arriving at work.
5. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Isn’t that all Twitter is? A bunch of
narcissistic commentary with no real
value for responsible, intelligent,
working people?
6. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Nope. People use Twitter to share
links, news, feedback, answers,
insights, even for real-time coverage of
news and events.
7. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Twitter also lets companies and
employees listen to the social media
conversation surrounding their
brands, participate in it and affect it.
8. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
NC State’s brand is profound and its
people make it remarkable. Twitter
lets us celebrate that depth and
diversity in our own voices.
9. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
So....What should I tweet?
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Share. Use Twitter to tell the facets of
NC State’s story you know, influence,
experience or find interesting.
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Make NC State a part of conversations
about what you do by being part of
those conversations. We are our
people.
12. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
News, events, pertinent information,
industry insights, questions, feedback
solicitations—all of it has a home on
Twitter.
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But be diverse in your postings.
Shameless self-promotion shouldn’t be
your (only) focus. A little is ok
#ncsuweb
14. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Know your current audience and the
audience you want. Consider what
they’ll find interesting.
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Before you hit update, ask yourself
“Who cares?” If you can name them all
by their first names, don’t post. If you
have no idea, don’t post.
16. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Think of Twitter like networking at a
cocktail party. Be relevant, be
personable, be entertaining and be
memorable.
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Don't be that guy—the one who talks
about himself and how great he is the
whole night and doesn't listen to
anything anyone else has to say.
18. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
How do I get started?
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It’s a good idea to listen to the
conversation a bit before jumping in.
http://www.twitter.com No account
required. When you’re ready, sign up.
20. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
You’ll need an unique email account
for each twitter account. http://
www.twitter.com -> sign up now.
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Pick a username. Be accurate and
informative. Name should reflect the
NCSU name or unit (not the person
updating tweets).
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23. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Fill out the profile information, and
provide the account user’s name here.
Be honest. It’s good for transparency
and authenticity.
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Add a photo that represents both the
university and your unit. Same thing
for your background. NC State
downloads coming.
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Don’t leave everything as “default.”
Take some time to customize the look
and feel of your page. Web Color
Palette (http://bit.ly/cq4ut).
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Start at http://twitter.ncsu.edu to find
some people to follow. Most will follow
you back. See who they’re following,
grow your follow list. Use search to
find more.
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A few “do’s and don’ts” of
tweeting...
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Do: Have one or more communicative
purposes.
Don't: Tweet outside your purpose.
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Do: Discern the core message
Don't: Bury the lead
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Do: Make your tweets interesting. Sell
your story with your tweets.
Don’t: Be uninteresting, stodgy or
overly formal.
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OK: NC State Engineering Researchers
on Centennial Campus publish new
research on implications of
nanotechnology advances. http://
shortlink
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Better: Is nanotechnology killing us bit
by tiny bit? #ncstate attempts an
answer http://shortlink
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Do: Contractions, colloquialisms,
slang and flexible grammar are your
friends.
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Do: Tweet things that directly or
implicitly support the fundamental NC
State brand: hands-on, relevant
learning opportunities that contribute
to “real world” solutions.
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Do: Provide context for your links
great #ncstate article on how visual
consistency strengthens brands http://
bit.ly/asdfd
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Don’t: Offer blind links
check it out!! http://bit.ly/lkasdf
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Do: Remember whom you’re tweeting
for.
Don’t: Post anything you don’t want
your boss AND the Chancellor to read.
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Do: Provide university context
Don’t: Assume the Twitterverse knows
who or what you’re tweeting about
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Working on some cool stuff for
“Information Technology” will get lost.
Use NC State Information Technology
or some variation. Topic+Context
FTW
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Participate in the twitter
community by @replies
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How to reply: type @ followed directly
(no space) by the username of the
person you want to reply to. Lots of
tools do this for you.
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Do: Give context even in @replies
Don’t: Assume all your followers know
what you’re replying to
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Do: Use reply when you have
something to add
Don’t: Have personal conversations in
public
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Do: Listen and respond
Don’t: Ignore @replies
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Trying to reach out to a reporter?
Follow them on Twitter and @reply
when you have something that might
help. Build a relationship.
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You can @reply to anyone, even if
you’re not in a follower/following
relationship (yet).
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Connecting through Direct
Messages
54. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Direct Messages (DMs) provide a way
to only tweet to an individual user and
not your whole user base.
55. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
DMs don’t appear in the timeline.
They are private between 2 twitter
users.
56. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
You can not DM a user that doesn’t
follow you.
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When to DM v/s @reply?
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Spread the word through Re-
Tweeting
59. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Retweeting helps spread a tweet
around the Twitterverse
60. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
How to retweet: Copy/paste full text of
a tweet, add RT:@originalposter in
front of post.
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Do: Retweet good, relevant tweets
Don’t: Retweet anything you wouldn’t
post yourself.
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Do: Retweet posts your audience
would find interesting
Don’t: Retweet posts your audience
doesn’t care about
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Leave room in your tweets for retweets
(RT @timjonesonline takes up 18
characters)
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You can retweet anyone, even if you’re
not in a follower/following
relationship.
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Promote your brand by adding
hashtags to your tweets
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Do: Tag lots of stuff with #ncsu and
#ncstate
Don’t: Forget to tag
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Do: Limit your local tag vocabulary
Don’t: Create multiple tags for the
same thing
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Do: Use hashtags in context
Don’t: Create arbitrary, uninformative
tags (often) #nothelping
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Spread the word with links
and pics
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Do: Use a link shortener
Don’t: Not post links
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http://bit.ly is great. Free account,
let’s you track links and references.
Very helpful for metrics. Great for
your links, less so for “general links”
74. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
http://bit.ly key stats: Number of
clicks and referring sites/tools. Neat.
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Some real world example
tweets about advertising,
announcements and news...
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Twitter is about connecting
with new people, so you gotta
follow them!
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Do: Be discerning in who you follow
and who you let follow you.
Don’t: Follow everyone.
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When it comes to earning followers
content and participation are the most
effective investments.
87. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Search topics, ideas, people, places—
find people to follow. Places like
http://www.wefollow.com offer some
good ideas as well.
88. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Find groups of people with
Lists
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Lists are user-generated groupings of
other twitterers.
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http://listorious.com/ can help you
find relevant lists to follow. Also
create your own lists.
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Twitter has spam too
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Spotting the spammers is pretty easy...
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Following: 2,347
Followers: 7
Tweets:1
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Every post is “Check out my xxxxxxx”
or “Learn how to make millions on the
Internet”
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Blind links + names like
sexychristine324 with posts like check
out my pix -> http://got.vir.us
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...or is named @jason_austin
(joke)
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Spammers are fairly harmless. Just
don’t follow them.
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Search is your friend
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http://search.twitter.com can help see
what people are saying
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Twitter is a real-time news network.
Just check out the trending topics...
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Use twitter tools to help
manage your account
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Tweetdeck, TwitterFox, Tweetie,
Twitterific, Twhirl, Netvibes—the list
goes on and on. Find what works for
you.
107. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
So you think you are twitter
master now? It’s time for a
throwdown, Bobby Flay style.
108. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Get in groups of 3 or 4 and craft a
tweet promoting a news
announcement. And make it good :)
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Purpose? Interesting? Relevant?
Context for links? Hashtags?
Retweetable?
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A parting challenge: Commit to at
least 3 tweets a day: 1 original post, 1
@reply and 1 RT@. This requires you
to contribute, participate and listen.
111. Tweeting for NC State University @timjonesonline @jason_austin @nematome
Go forth and tweet!
Please fill out the evaluation at
http://webapps.ncsu.edu/
classmate/