1. 1. www.sas.ac.uk Matt Phillpott (School of Advanced Study) Matt.phillpott@sas.ac.uk May 2015 An Introduction to using Twitter
2. 2. www.sas.ac.uk What is Twitter? A micro-blogging site Well used by academics in the humanities (although varies by discipline) Very useful for learning whats happening and for networking with colleagues Interaction with others can form important relationships Restriction to 140 characters.
3. 3. Creating an online profile www.sas.ac.uk Images Videos Audio Text (articles/books) Blog Posts CV Resources pages Twitter Facebook Linked In IMPACT Check stats on Dashboard (hootsuite/Buffer etc) Network Slide Show
4. 4. Getting Started www.sas.ac.uk 3. Find people to follow start with colleagues or interests/similar organisations See who they follow and who follows them and add them 1. Create an account go to http://twitter.com and follow the instructions 2. Update your profile brief description/biography Location time zone website links profile picture [do you have a brand?]
5. 5. Images www.sas.ac.uk Effectively using Images on your profile Profile Image (logo/personalisation) Header Image (tells a story about you/your organisation)
6. 6. www.sas.ac.uk 4. Start posting tweets 140 characters max! Type your message Click update In addition you can: Add an image/file/web link Retweet Mention Add hashtags And more Add an image
7. 7. http://youtu.be/tLkasGHN9-g What makes a good tweet? www.sas.ac.uk @brooksgibbs Have you seen this? Bit.ly/i9i3gf #50Cent #Bullying Person researching a subject Link to interesting web page Hashtags to tell others on Twitter
8. 8. www.sas.ac.uk @brooksgibbs Have you seen this? Bit.ly/i9i3gf #50Cent #Bullying Hashtag Twitter address for main Organisation under discussion Secondary Organisation Twitter address Web Address Carbon Copy/ Courtesy Copy
9. 9. URL shortening www.sas.ac.uk With only 140 characters to work with shortening urls is essential Twitter does this for you, but other services make the url look nicer and gives you statistics back on how many people have clicked on the link. Shortened link by Twitter Shortened link by Bit.ly
10. 10. Hashtags (#) www.sas.ac.uk Lists all tweets sharing the same hashtag i.e. #research #humanities #twitterstorians Just add the # symbol before a word in your tweet
11. 11. Types of Tweeting www.sas.ac.uk There are Five Main Types of Tweets Messages Replies Mentions Direct/private message Retweet
12. 12. Messages & Mentions www.sas.ac.uk A message is a straightforward Tweet A message that mentions another Twitter username.
13. 13. Replying @ www.sas.ac.uk Include a Twitter username if the tweet is a reply to another tweet. It also directs your tweet at a specific person. You can reply to a tweet by clicking the reply button or by manually typing the username. Click @username on your homepage to see if someone has directed any tweets at you.
14. 14. Retweets (RT) www.sas.ac.uk A tweet that has been shared by another twitter user to share with their followers. Use for tweets that you think will interest your followers or particularly share your interests/organisational interests. Retweets spread the word and help you discover other people to follow with similar interests/doing interesting things. To retweet simply click on the symbol:
15. 15. Direct Messages www.sas.ac.uk An email-type service for private messaging. You can only send a direct message to someone that is following you
16. 16. Adding images www.sas.ac.uk Use the camera icon to add images from your desktop Images attract other twitter followers to the post Dont over use!
17. 17. Adding video from Youtube www.sas.ac.uk Click on Twitter button to tweet the video Use the Share option on Youtube From YouTube select the video and click on Share then on the Twitter icon. Keep an eye out as some videos should not be shared.
18. 18. What to tweet www.sas.ac.uk Dont repeatedly tweet the same topic/hashtag always think about adding value to the conversation in an attempt to get the topic trending. Post a variety of tweets each day (these can be scheduled ahead of time with services such as Buffer and Sproutsocial Follow those who follow you and continue to add more. The more people you follow the more followers you will attract. Keep tweets clean and professional
19. 19. What to tweet www.sas.ac.uk Be careful making negative comments about anything Post links to your site and blog [important for driving traffic] Interact with other people Remember this is a place for conversation not just selling what you do include both types of tweets.
20. 20. Twitter campaign www.sas.ac.uk When trying to put across something specific e.g. a new website/blog launch or an event Email people you know on Twitter to retweet your tweet (include the link). Dont forget @SASNews email the Comms team at sas.info@sas.ac.uk. (SAS Comms Team): Topicality is key. Create lists of industry contacts you want to follow and keep an eye on their updates every day. If you engage with other peoples tweets, youll see the benefits on your account.
21. 21. Mandela day: case study www.sas.ac.uk
22. 22. Activity www.sas.ac.uk 1 Twitter: So this is where taxpayers money goes. What a waste! 3 Twitter: @SASNews I went to that lecture last night and thought @johnsmith was a rubbish speaker!' Note: This exercise was originally created for the www.smke.org conference 2013 by Mark Carnall and has been modified 2 Twitter: I cannot believe that @UniOfLondon made me fail my PhD. A terrible experience. Dont consider going there!
23. 23. www.sas.ac.uk Thank you for listening! Matt Phillpott Matt.phillpott@sas.ac.uk