TASSCC Presentation 8/11/2009

Transcription

1 What is Twitter? Broadcast updates Knowledge-sharing marketplace Twitter and the Public Sector Jon Lee Department of Information Resources Friends Families Co-workers Anyone who adds value Probably never meet Topics What is Twitter? Why should I use Twitter? What do I use Twitter for? How do I get started? How do I continue? What Twitter is not Private Don t tweet anything you wouldn t want to read in the newspaper! For internal use, try Yammer and Present.ly instead Building followers Ashton Kutcher vs CNN Don t try to add followers Don t turn into MySpace What is Twitter? In 2006: Communicate in 140 characters or less Quick word on social media Iranian elections: June 15, 2009 Formal media outlets were shutdown Twitter was easiest/best way to get up-to-date information State Department asked Twitter to move scheduled maintenance time United Breaks Guitars : July 6, 2009 July 6, 2009 Airline would not compensate for broken guitar, musician writes song and posts video on YouTube Over 2.5 million views within first week United ranked 10 out of 19 in luggage damage survey Resources 1

2 What about security? and Internet can cause security nightmares, yet we continue to use them because they are essential to doing business. The benefits outweigh the risks. Security risk is relatively low No private information needed to create account besides phone and Only broadcast public information Spammers are easy to differentiate Internal network cannot be penetrated What do I use Twitter for? [ 1.1 ] Headline Link to page Quick media outlet Do benefits outweigh risks? How to mitigate the risks? -Only post public information -Educate users -Only click links from trusted sources Opposite of RSS Why should government use Twitter? Free! no license, no software, no infrastructure, no additional FTE Low maintenance Attract people to website Branding tool Expand reach Customer service Establish presence in online community What do I use Twitter for? [ 1.2 ] Disaster recovery Safety recalls Public health Amber alerts What do I use Twitter for? News Customer service Feedback Promotions What do I use Twitter for? [ 2.1 ] Respond to inquiries Link to other resources Resources 2

3 What do I use Twitter for? [ 2.2 ] What do I use Twitter for? [ 3.2 ] Research and development Personal and casual Quality control Better than search engines What do I use Twitter for? [ 2.3 ] What do I use Twitter for? [ 4.1 ] Proactive approach Special discounts Report issues Contests and drawings What do I use Twitter for? [ 3.1 ] What do I use Twitter for? [ 4.2 ] Hear from customers Market other channels Product awareness Authoritative opinion Resources 3

4 How do I start? How do I start? [ internal use policies ] Before creating an account Strategic plan External policies Internal policies Logistics Who will manage it? How much time should be spent? What type of tweets to post? Who will access? One person or multiple? How interactive? What should the tone be? Should I follow back? How to handle negative comments? Mention anything outside agency? Include multimedia? How do I start? [ strategic planning ] 1. Identify business goals Don t do technology for technology s sake 2. Get buy-in from colleagues Find allies and incorporate skeptics Make sure management is on board 3. Establish metrics If you can measure it, you can manage it 4. Set expectations Start small and gradually increase 5. Learn the Twitter language RT, DM How do I start? [ logistics ] Pick a searchable username Craft a good bio character limit - Include the word official - Consistent tone with tweets Add icon and URL Customize background - Treat as branding space (mostly left side) - Keep in line with marketing - Include contact information Do not protect updates Look for useful third-party applications How do I start? [ external policies ] - Public entities have their own policies and procedures - Most government accounts do not have formal policies - Possible Terms of Service template for States How do you treat a tweet? Like posting on a blog? Like sending an ? Keep a copy for records? Public Information Act Everything on Twitter is already public E-discovery Everything on Twitter is already searchable Custom background URL shortener Link to other channels Hashtags Casual tone Resources 4

5 How do I continue? Invite feedback 1. Build relationships 2. Add value to followers 3. Represent your brand 4. Engage stakeholders 5. See what others are saying 6. Tweet beyond yourself Contact Information Breaking Don t forget 1. Get buy-in 2. Business goals 3. Metrics Thank you for coming! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions Jon Jon.lee@dir.state.tx.us Slide 28 Inconsistent following No links Ignored important news Resources 5