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What is Twitter?

It's a constantly updating sharing and interaction platform

In 140 characters or fewer, users 'tweet' status updates, pics, video & urls

The help pages on Twitter are very useful and well worth reading. Here is an alternative intro, tailored for a Student Services perspective and using examples from Career Destinations

Interacting with People

Twitter can be likened to a "giant, endless pub conversation"*. Like all pubs, there will be those content with their closed social circle, those actively seeking new people to converse with & those who just want to listen to others without speaking themselves.

At CD, we want to maintain a combination of listening, conversing & engaging with new people.

The people you follow should reflect your interests. CD follows Southampton University accounts, Grad Recruiters & a few students too

Listening: In any social situation, be it on or non-line, listening is the best place to start. On Twitter, listening to your target demographics help gain insights into how to address audiences and target output to best engage. Thus CD follows a mix of students, grad recruiters & other UoS accounts.

University of Southampton Student Services

Conversing: If someone replies to one of your tweets or includes your handle in one of theirs, this is a 'mention'. This can be initiating or continuing a conversation. Use your judgement on whether to reply and, if so, don't leave it longer than 24 hours.

A user's tweets are accessed by their followers. A tweet can be seen by a much larger audience if a tweet is 'retweeted'

Attracting: Whilst attracting new followers can seem impressive, growth for it's own sake is meaningless. We are lucky at CD to have two specific audiences; students/alumni and recruiters that wish to engage them. A student who follows us is of more value than 5 random bloggers in Brazil. We need to remember who we serve and fish that pool rather than the countless others on Twitter.

Users follow people whose tweets they want to read. Twitter's population is diverse & includes celebrities, companies & media outlets

N.B 'Interactions' include 'mentions' plus records of new followers, retweets and favourited tweets. This is the tab to check for a scan of account engagement. An 'interaction' is less likely to need a response than a 'mention' but do trust your own judgement.

Because Twitter is updated so quickly, the shelf life of a tweet (the amount of time it can be seen) is under an hour

Pros

Cons

  • Easy to be updated quickly, regularly & have info on areas of interest
  • Danger of 'info overload' & missing useful tweets

Since Twitter updates so quickly, it's crucial to check the feed at least every day. Don't worry-a scan of 'Interactions' will suffice

  • Poorly judged tweets can spread extremely quickly
  • Acceptable to post multiple times a day, as opposed to facebook or email
  • Huge potential for engaging new audiences
  • It can be difficult to gauge levels of engagement
  • Limited to 140 characters, max 1 photo per post
  • Twitter is perceived to be both about personal and employment lives- facebook is more personal
  • Very easy to reply quickly & interact with others

The Fear(s)

I've no idea what Social Media is or how to use it

I've heard Social Media is damaging to professionals & companies

Glossary

Management won't find any positive results of Social Media operations

@: This in front of a username in a tweet connects that account with your tweet. Is used to reply or mention another twitter profile. e.g. "@WilliamShatner Loved you chairing 'Have I Got News for You' #HIGNFY"

We haven't the time or resources to spend on Social Media

# (Hashtag): Putting # in front of a word or phrase with no spaces ensures that word or phrase stands out and becomes the theme of the tweet. Other users who click on this hashtag are sent to all other tweets with that hashtag e.g. "This has to be the best episode of #HIGNFY ever!"

Bio: A 160 character or fewer description of yourself/ your company on Twitter. If you're representing a dept of the University, it is helpful to include @unisouthampton somewhere e.g. "Philanthropist, Actor, Producer, Father, Husband, and Grandfather" for @WilliamShatner

The Solution

Blocking: The act of preventing someone from following you, mentioning you or adding you to lists.

Connect: A Tab near the top of the page that shows all interactions with your account. Records new followers, retweets, replies, mentions & favourited tweets.

In-depth familiarity training on Social Media including learning about analytic tools

A problem...and response

Direct Message or DM: A private tweet between yourself and another user. You can only receive DMS from those you follow & you can only DM those who follow you.

Social Media is talking with people If you can use a computer & hold a conversation, you can use Social Media.

A structure which clearly defines who's responsible for what and plans ahead

Remember that whatever you post could be seen by anyone. Even your mother. Don't forget this and you can then trust your judgement.

Why Twitter?

The first question that needs to be asked with Social Media is 'Why?'

It's essential those who are using Twitter know the answer to these questions.

What do you want to achieve?

What is the purpose?

All operations on Twitter should relate to these aims.

Analytics

Any Questions

To help answer these questions we need to look at Student Services' goals, what Twitter is good for and how these two can be connected.

Twitter

Student Services

Tweets

DIY

Be on your way

Username is the 'twitter handle' that people see. CD= @UoS_Careers

Follow feeds which reflect your interests. Whether you're into Kierkegaardian philosophy (@S_Kierkegaard) or William Shatner (@William Shatner) there's something for everyone.

Begin

Name

Twitter claim you can get set up in 60 seconds. I suggest taking a little longer

The amount of time spent on Twitter

Follow others

Measuring

Nick Johnson, Career Destinations, 2013

Create profile

On personal accounts, it is rare to set-up some sort of measuring tool. However in a business where = $$$ there has to be some sort of recording.

This recording can be used to justify the time spent on official social media use, alter the strategy or tactics of a campaign or both.

Bio

Tweet!

I would recommend a combination of measurement instruments: HootSuite & Google Analytics. Because of the slightly more technical nature of this, measuring for personal use is non-essential, I have included info on this in a supplementary hand-out.

Whilst Twitter can be very fulfilling just listening to others, there can be great fun in replying to others, retweeting things you find interesting or giving updates on yourself. Don't be afraid to find your voice!

A few words to describe yourself. Include your connection to CD by having @UoS_Careers somewhere along with the now ubiquitous disclaimer 'views my own' (or words to that effect).

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