To Tweet or Not to Tweet???
What is it?
Many of you may be familiar with a blog, a website that is individually maintained with regular entries that may include commentary, videos, events, pictures, and other information. You might think of it as a web-based journal of sorts. Twitter is a microblogging tool that allows you to communicate with followers in 140 characters or less; and spaces count!
Why use it?
Twitter is a tool that is growing in popularity. According to statistics posted on the Twitter blog there are 1 billion tweets sent weekly with approximately 500,000 new accounts created daily. Translation, a large segment of the population is adopting this tool.
A 2010 report by Edison Research found that 19% of users were 35-44 and that 63% of all users have a 4 year degree or higher. They also found that 47% make more than $50,000 per year and 13% make over $100,000. These are individuals that are potential members of Rotary or possibly already Rotarians.
Of all Twitter users, 51% follow brands. They use this as a tool to gain information about products and services they use or want to know more. This aligns with the Rotary International Strategic Plan goal of enhancing public image and awareness. The use of Twitter can potentially help reach individuals on a regular basis by pushing information on Rotary to them in formats they are already comfortable with using.
How to use it?
If you don’t have an account it is simple to set one up. Just go to www.twitter.com and click on the Sign Up button. Then follow the screen directions that will walk you through the process. Once this is completed you are ready to begin tweeting on your own and following others.
A couple of basic things to keep in mind if you choose to use Twitter to share your brand.
1) Keep it simple! If you are already using other social media tools like Facebook or LinkedIn take advantage of tools that automatically tweet posts to those sites.
2) Use a social media dashboard. There are web-based tools that allow you to keep track of all of your social media in one location. Through these tools you can update multiple social media sites in one step, schedule posts for future dates, and monitor keywords to find out what other are saying about your brand.
If you are looking for others to follow on Twitter you might consider these as a place to start.
Rotary International – twitter.com/rotary
Rotary Club of Pasadena – twitter.com/pasadenarotary
If you have questions, I am happy to help out if I can.
For more info, Contact:
Niki Whiteside