Building an Online Community with Twitter

Leslie McGraw, CEO of Les Go, gave a fun and interesting presentation on Building an Online Community Using Twitter at LA2M.  McGraw works as a journalist and marketer with a variety of different groups.  “Social media allows me to communicate with all these different groups,” she said.

Leslie McGraw

To build a community it’s valuable to think about the various communities you interact with regularly McGraw suggested.  Keyword, name and hashtag searches can uncover people and organizations in your wheel house.  

Using the Discover button and localizing Trends makes Twitter even more personal and can be a source of tweet topics, following and follows.

McGraw described Twitter as “right now in the world,” and added “If it’s awkward to explain to your boss or your parents, it’s not for Twitter.”  McGraw recommended “Bring life and action to your tweets.  Use things that are happening now, things that people can do or discuss.” 

She suggested topics relating to people, places, movement, activity, dialogue, events or holidays.  Not all events have to be immediate.  Some can be ongoing, like a challenge event.  Choosing to engage one of your Twitter followers can also add interest McGraw explained. 

Foursquare adds movement to Twitter.  Other 3^rd party apps connect Twitter to Facebook so one automatically updates the other.  Some 3^rd party apps used by McGraw include Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Klout and Quora.  It’s helpful to employ 3^rd party apps but you want to use them without looking like a machine said McGraw. 

McGraw recommended having separate business and personal Twitter and Facebook accounts. “You have your business hat on when you are on your business page,” said McGraw. 

As a business tool, McGraw suggested connecting business events to holidays through Twitter.  I

t can also be used as a connection tool between staff, interns and volunteers.  The more your group tweets together and uses common hashtags, the larger your business will look said McGraw.

Tweets are limited to 140 characters, but for tweets to be retweeted, characters need to be limited to about 125 McGraw explained.  Because characters are at a premium abbreviations are important.  McGraw listed several commonly used word and expression short forms.

b/c = because, b = be, b4 = before, chk = check, cld = could, abt = about, cre8 = create, detweet = describe a tweet, f2f = face to face, fab = fabulous, fav = favorite, nts = note to self, prt = please retweet, tff = thanks for the follow, wtv = whatever, yoyo = you’re on your own, yolo = you only live once

For more Twitter terminology and information McGraw suggested the Quick Reference Twitter Dictionary.  You’ll find McGraw’s entire presentation in the LA2M archive.  You can follow Leslie McGraw at @lesgo4it.

  

Covering Live Events with Social Media

It seems like everyone is involved with event planning.   Whether it’s through work or volunteering, event involvement is part of the picture.  Promoting an event is essential to successful results, no matter how that’s quantified.   Social media has become a cornerstone of event promotion.  It’s a vital tool in the promotional toolbox. 

Richard Retyi, Social Media Director at Fluency Media shared his expertise on using social media to promote and cover live events before a receptive audience at LA2M.  Retyi’s has impressive experience in working with social media for a who’s who of big name clients.

Richard Retyi

Retyi’s talk was an enlightening and practical step by step tutorial in maximizing social media benefit for live events before, during and after.  Any successful marketing effort begins with planning whether it’s for your own event or if your organization is part of an event.

Begin by researching who will be there and what social media channels they use.  Look for participants, influencers, speakers, bands and whatever applies to your event, Retyi recommended.  Include their feeds in an online hub that will aggregate all things informational and social surrounding your event. 

The hub you create can be part of your website or a separate site.  The hub should include access to all important event information, explained Retyi.

Create a FourSquare geo location and most importantly a hashtag that is short and specific to the event.  Use other media like email to round out your promotional picture, Retyi suggested. 

Retyi said when it comes to planning for the day of the event you need to ask yourself, “What do you need and what will work best for the event?”  He said, “You need to plan your equipment and support for the equipment and prepare for the weather.” 

Advance preparation also includes knowing what channels will be used and staffing for appropriate coverage.  “One person on site can tweet, get information and take photos,” but two is more ideal explained Retyi.

“Twitter is where live events live.  Twitter is a quick glimpse with photos, it gives people a flavor,” said Retyi.  Tweeting 5 times per hour and every other hour posting on Facebook and using on online photo book is about optimum for most events, explained Retyi.  Google+ and Instagram are also good social sharing assets.

“Make sure to send all posts to your online hub for complete updates,” said Retyi.  Photography doesn’t need to be fancy. “Get creative.  You aren’t a professional.  You aren’t getting the highest quality with mobile. So get unique,” advised Retyi.

Coveritlive can generate a unique live interactive experience that allows for live chat, video and more.  Google Hangout can be used for live backstage chat, Q & A and more.  Moderate and display tweets and meet ups to add another dimension, suggested Retyi. 

Build a pre-event play list on Spotify if you are promoting a music event.  Utilize Turntable.fm to create an off line music experience that replicates a live show.  These are some of the tips and tools Retyi suggested to make your event audience experience unique on and off site.

Once the event is concluded Retyi recommends doing a wrap up.  “A photo heavy blog is easiest.  The next time you do the event you can push people to the post.”  WordPress or Tumblr are suggested blog sites. 

Storify for curating hashtags, photos and tweets is preferred.  “Curate your work as a repository to use in the future,” said Retyi.  Event generated content can be re-purposed on your website, in an e-newsletter and other collateral channels.

Retyi said you can gauge the success of your event and social media promotional activities by looking at impressions for hashtags, how many impressions the account got and how authoritative the re-tweeters are.  He also suggested looking at what were the most re-tweeted tweets, as well as engagement with photos on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can follow Richard Retyi at @RichRetyi.  To view the entire presentation, go to the LA2M event archive.

  

To Twitter and Beyond

Mark Johnson of MARKITECT is a Twitter specialist extraordinaire.  After close to 2 years on Twitter, he has around 7,200 followers using 2 Twitter handles.  He averages 50 tweets per day and adds approximately 10 more followers every day. 

Johnson wasn’t an overnight Twitter maven.  When he began to build his following, he spent 3 to 4 hours on Twitter per day.  Now his tweets are mostly automated and his follower growth is organic.

Johnson gave some very helpful recommendations on how to get started on Twitter.  He suggested posting a short bio on your Twitter page that relates specifically to your specialties.  Johnson also suggested finding a custom background by googling Twitter backgrounds. 

Developing a following on Twitter begins by building a network of like minded Twitter users that you follow first, explained Johnson.   Twitter users with similar interests that you follow are also likely to follow you.  Re-tweeting their content also enhances the possibility that they may follow you also.  

Exploring follower lists of Twitter users you follow is another way to discover like minded users, Johnson suggested.  Following a few well known names or brands can highlight your interests and specialties.

Tweet content and frequency can also have an impact on growing your followers.  Here are some Twitter Do’s.  Johnson suggested tweeting at least 3 times per day and no more than 20 tweets per day.  Johnson said, tweets should “be useful to others”.

Recommended content includes links to blogs, websites, videos, pictures and other content.  Twitter is spontaneous without enduring impact, so including trackable links improves the longevity of the message, Johnson explained.  Relevant hash tags and brand mentions add weight to your message.

He said it’s important to thank others for re-tweeting your content.  Johnson advised using a dashboard like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to organize your Twitter activity.  Categorizing your followers will make future tweeting more manageable said Johnson.

Johnson emphasized that tweets shouldn’t be too promotional.  He said, “Don’t push content out.”  He added, “Don’t make your tweets too cryptic.”  Some abbreviations can be unclear, Johnson said. 

Your other online media should direct your followers to your website or blog, advised Johnson.  Your tweets should integrate your other on line media which directs to your website.  Your website should have your content embedded from your other on line media.

Johnson attended a home improvement event where he tweeted at the booth of a major brand.  The tweets were noticed by the company’s social media director.  As a result, Johnson was invited to guest blog for the company.  He has also hosted home improvement industry Twitter chats that included a slide share presentation. 

He is currently managing the social media campaign for Green Builder Media’s VISION House in INNOVENTIONS, at Epcot Theme Park, in Walt Disney World.

Mark Johnson FAIA is principal of MARKITECT, a consulting practice focusing on marketing, education and social media for the design and building products industry.  He is a FAIA architect, AIBD Professional Building Designer and NKBA Certified Kitchen Designer.