Tag: Twitter

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 5: Engaging Correctly

You made it! You understand Twitter, you’ve signed up, tweeted and set up your Twitter management system. In the last of our week-long series, it’s time to make magic happen and talk with strangers. That sounded much better in my head.

Technicals

There are two ways to talk to a particular person or entity. One is doing it publicly – for all to see on Twitter. It’s called a ‘reply’ and looks like this “@carknow Thanks for reading my blog, see you soon!”.  The other way is private, called a Direct Message or DM.  You can DM (or reply) by clicking the appropriate button on their tweet (in hootsuite) or in their profile (the info box about them that pops up when you click on their name in hootsuite).  In your tweeting bar in Hootsuite, DMs will start with a lowercase ‘d’. (Note: you can tweet via text but the commands may be different, be careful.) Hootsuite also has a ‘reply all’ feature in the drop down of their tweet so you can reply all to several people if more than one are included in a conversation.

The culture of Twitterville

In college I had the great opportunity to spend some time in Ghana, Africa. In Ghanian culture, you don’t cross your legs (because it blocks the traditional good spirits from flowing) and you don’t use your left hand to shake hands or pass food (because in rural villages you wipe with that hand – yes, just what you’re thinking).  Breaking these cultural norms offend people, make you look stupid and ruin your chances of a healthy relationship with the locals. Same goes for Twitterville.

The best suggestion I have is to remember our cocktail party analogy from day 1. You’re walking into a room with millions ofpeople. You have no idea who’s watching, no idea who you’ll meet and no idea what you’re doing there (though you’ve got a good start).

So, don’t be rude, over-share, brag, interrupt, beg, curse, etc.

Do – be honest, open, genuine, fun, funny, make connections, offer wisdom, spread good karma, compliment, make introductions, remember no one’s an expert and be responsive.

You’ll quickly learn that many people don’t follow the rules/norms above. Like it or not, you have a personal brand and you can either keep that in mind and work to improve/protect it, or not. For more on branding yourself, check this out.

Increasing engagement

Your network is measured by quality, not quantity. However, there are some things you can do to increase the likeliness that your tweets are seen and increase both the size and quality of your network.

1. Participate in twitter chats.

It’s when 10-100 people set a day/time to discuss a particular topic. For a HUGE list of over 500 chats, check out this Twitter Chat Calendar and do a search for keywords or topics of interest.

2. Thank people.

For mentions or retweets (RTs). Not only are they paying attention to you, but they’re doing it publicly and some of their followers may start following you.

3. Give kudos.

‘Follow Friday’ is a Twitterville cultural norm that happens mostly on Fridays. You’ll see hashtags #followfriday or #FF and it’s basically a public endorsement of a handle or group of handles. There are two ways to do it.  You can either list a bunch of people that you suggest others follow. Or, you can list one person and share why people should follow them and/or what topics they’re knowledgeable of.

4. Pay it forward. Give Klout.

Klout is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a measure of someone’s online influence. In reality, a company started measuring it, Twitter now includes it in your profile. It’s based on some super-top-secret algorithm of followers, retweets, regularity, etc. You can go to Klout’s website to learn more BUT you can actually give Klout to other people (also via their site).  Spend some time paying it forward and ‘giving’ influence points to someone who’s helped you, educated you, connected you, informed you, etc.  Like karma, it’ll come back in its own way.

There you have it – it you made it this far through the series, you should be off to a great start! Tweet away and have a ball. Keep me posted on your progress and share what you learned. We’re all here to learn from each other.

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 4: Managing Twitterville?

Ok, so you understand the concept, you’ve signed up and you’ve tweeted! Congratulations. Now comes the fun part. A backstage pass, behind the scenes look at my own personal Twitter management system. The 4th in this week’s series, we’re going to make sense of the neighborhood that is Twitterville.

Remember the bazillion messages we talked about in the first post? We’re going to get you set up on Hootsuite so you can filter all those tweets and only see what you want, when you want to see it – so that you can get to the holy grail of social media – appropriately engaging with the right people and not being so overwhelmed with info that you loose sight of its value.

Understanding streams

First, it’s important to understand that I only use Hootsuite for Twitter.  You can connect all sorts of social media outlets to it but I haven’t…yet.  That said, here’s how I think of streams. Take a colander from the kitchen and put it under a running faucet.  The water goes from one faucet stream to 10-100 smaller streams of water. Same concept in twitter streams – you’re using keywords and searches to separate tweets you want to see from those you don’t. As a bonus, you can lump similar streams into tabs – think of tabs as overarching categories. Hootsuite has made it pretty easy to technically set up a stream, the harder part is thinking through what all you want to see.

Read through these examples and we’ll work on your shortly.  I get a little stream/tab happy and to be honest, can’t keep up with the ones towards the end…but here’s what I have…

My tabs and streams

Tab 1 – Mine still has the default name of ‘Featured’.  I use this tab for hashtags (remember, index/topics) at conferences or when I’m using Hootsuite on my iPhone – because it’s all about the quickest access on the fly. Currently on that tab I have streams for #afpmeet, #fundchat, #SMindyNP, #ynpn, #11ntc #ynpchat and #ynpn.

Tab 2 – My second tab is titled with my Twitter name and follows (in order) my home feed, mentions, a search stream for @nathan_hand (I use this as a fail-safe/backup for mentions because hootsuite can sometimes miss mentions and it’s embarrasing/rude to not respond to peeps!), #fundchat, #bin2011, #millennialchat, #givingshow, Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message Outbox, Sent tweets.

I manage several other Twitter accounts – each account gets its own tab along with relevant streams.

Tab 3 – Titled @indysow and includes streams for Home, Mentions, search for @indysow (fail-safe), Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message outbox, Sent Tweets, Pending Tweets, and a list of those that tutor for us – ambassadors of sorts.

Tab 4 – Titled @AFPIndiana and includes streams for Home, Mentions, search for @AFPIndiana, Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message outbox, Sent Tweets, Pending Tweets and #afpmeet.

Tab 5 – Titled @Backpackattack and includes streams for Home, Mentions, search for @Backpackattack, Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message outbox, Sent Tweets, Pending Tweets

The remaining tabs are for particular subjects/topics that include streams for ‘sub-topics’.  For better or worse, I only use searches and keywords.

Tab 6 – Titled indysow – for topics related to that entity that show tweets we might care about. Streams are @indysow, “School on Wheels” (a search for our org name in quotes so it grabs those exact words), homeless, homelessness, homeless indianapolis, homeless children, homeless education, homeless youth, donate homeless, donate homelessness.

Tab 7 – Titled ‘fundraising’ – streams are fundraising, major gift, annual fund, planned giving, fundraising indiana

Tab 8 – Titled ‘nonprofit’ – streams for nonprofit, nonprofit management, nonprofit marketing, nonprofit leadership, not for profit

Tab 9 – Titled ‘marketing – streams for nonprofit marketing, social marketing, nonprofit email marketing, cause marketing

Tab 10, 11 & 12 are for ‘philanthropy’, ‘Indianapolis’ and ‘Leadership’ with streams for related sub-topics.

The advantages to tabs and streams are abundant. If you follow more than 20 or so people, the ‘home’ stream is difficult to keep up with – especially if those you follow are prolific tweeters.  Let’s work on your set-up.

(UPDATE: At the request of @Maggie_Stevens – here’s a screenshot of my hootsuite dashboard)

Your tabs and streams

Grab a blank piece of paper and map out the keywords and topics you want to follow, personally and professionally.  Use the bio you wrote as guidance.  Let’s say you wrote “Dir Digital Communications for Seattle Agency for the Aging. Husband, Dad, aspiring BBQ judge, runner, photographer and organic chef.”  I’d suggest,

Tab “Work” w/ streams – digital communication, social media, nonprofit email, aging, elder care, elderly, over 60

Tab “BBQ” w/ streams – BBQ, bar-b-que, BBQ judge, BBQ judging, food contest, BBQ festival, BBQ expert

Tab “Run” w/ streams – running, run, runners, marathon, fitness, 26.2, distance running

Tab “photo” w/ streams – photography, digital photography, photo composition, digital camera

Tab “chef” w/ streams – foodie, organic, chef, food network, hell’s kitchen, chef show

Use paper or a white board and map this stuff out before you set it up. The reality is that you’ve got to start somewhere. As you engage further on Twitter, you’ll learn the different hashtags and terms people use to discuss all these.  You may start out following words, and later you’ll have streams and tabs of hashtags.

So you understand Twitter, you’re set up, you’ve tweeted and now you’re managing tweets and info. Tomorrow is the big, last and most important. Engaging!

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 3: Actually Tweeting

Welcome back! This is the 3rd in this week-long series. Come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (see right). Unlike the others, this is participatory and may take a few minutes for you to do. Ready?

Are you sitting down? This is gonna rock your world.  We’re not going to use Twitter to tweet. What?!?! Say it out loud to yourself.

“I will not use Twitter to tweet.”

That’s right. While the folks at Twitter are really smart, there are better ways to actually tweet than using Twitter.com.  What you need to do is go to Hootsuite.com right now and set up an account and connect your Twitter account.  Don’t worry, it takes a few seconds and is super-easy. Go ahead, I’ll wait….

Welcome back. Good job! I’ll explain the streams, columns and other stuff later. First up…

The tweeting box

1. Compose a message – this is where you type in what you’re going to say. Let’s practice. Type “I’m learning how to tweet from @nathan_hand“.  (while a bit self-serving, there’s no harm done by actually typing this – but if you’d rather just type “I’m new to twitter!” that’s ok too.)  See the little ’140′ count down as you type? This helps you keep track of how many characters you have left.

2. Add a link – let’s say you’re referencing this post.  Copy the website address in your URL bar above (the www.blahblahblah) and paste it in the spot where it says ‘Add a link’. Then click ‘shrink’. It immediately creates a new link that fits within your 140 characters. Smart huh?

3. Click ‘SEND’. Go ahead, take a big dramatic breath and click SEND! Done? You did it! You just tweeted! Give yourself a pat on the back, high five or toast to your technological prowress – well done! Ready for more?

4. Scheduling posts – this is one of my favorite features. You can schedule a message to be sent at a later date.  Let’s say you just read 4 amazing articles all about _____(insert your hobby here) and you want to share them.  The reality is that if you share them all at once, and then don’t share anything for a few days, your account may be seen as a bit spastic. Instead, schedule them over the course of the next couple hours or days. That way you don’t look like a hibernating tweeter who just comes out to see the sunlight and reads once every few days.

5. Drafts, attachments and location – I seldom use these but you may find them helpful.  There’s nothing wrong with exploring and testing – see what works for you!

Anatomy of a tweet

Let’s take a look at a sample tweet that you might see.

1. Hardlynormal is the name of the person/entity tweeting – you can usually click on it (or their avatar/photo) to learn more about them.
2. The time shown is when they sent the message (duh) but it also shares which tool they use. This line is clickable and takes you to the actual status update on twitter.com
3. See the RT? That stands for retweet. It means that @MitzvahCircle (another person/entity) actually sent this message out and then @hardlynormal chose to forward it, or retweet it out to his followers.
4. See the #kindness and #hope? These are called hashtags.  Hashtags are a way of indexing twitter. We’ll learn later that you can follow particular words or hashtags in order to watch or take part in conversations about that word/topic.  If you click on the hashtag #hope – you’ll see all the latest tweets referencing #hope. Cool huh?

Oh my gosh! You’re tweeting! Reach your left arm straight out, then over to the right, then touch your right shoulder-blade with it. Then reach your right arm out, then over to your left and touch your left shoulder blade. Now give yourself a hug. Congrats.

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 2: Signing Up

So you’ve heard enough about Twitter and you’re ready to at least sign-up and see what it’s all about.  No, I’m not going to do it for you but here are some tips to get off on the right foot.

The second in this week-long series, come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (see right).

Your handle

Your handle is your ‘Twitter name’.  Pretend you’re a trucker. It’s what people will know you by, what they’ll click on to learn more about you and what you’ll be associated as.  You can technically change it later but it’s better not to.  10-4 good buddy.

• Keep it real & simple – many people (myself included) select their name, see @nathan_hand.  Or some combination of their name, title, identity or descriptor. See @profsaxton, @charityideas, etc.
  Don’t use trucker language…or ’10-4′ or ‘over and out’ on Twitter.
• Keep it short – remember that tweets are only 140 characters. The shorter your name, the more space you (and others) will have to converse.
• Keep it clean & appropriate – people will come to know you by this. Would you want your Grandma yelling @BgKahuna in church? Maybe if you’re @BgKahuna.
• Keep it transferable – Including your work or location can make it difficult when/if you ever change jobs or locations.  Then again, it can make you more relevant or help people understand more about you.  For example, if @NicoleWTHR ever switches stations or cities, she may need to change her name.  However, those that come across her tweets are more likely to understand she’s connected to a TV station than if she was @NicoleMisencik.

Your avatar

No, I’m not talking about the 12 ft tall blue Na’vi creatures from James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster. Your ‘avatar’ is the little picture that exemplifies you on Twitter.  Brands usually use their logo. Some people use professional headshots, others crop family photos or create cartoon versions of themselves.  I really don’t think this matters a lot. HOWEVER, make sure you use it. Otherwise Twitter puts a big ugly egg there until you do – and you’ll be known as an egg-head – not to mention it’s very impersonal (the opposite of social). Remember, the pics are small, so don’t use a full-body image or group shot – you want your head/shoulders so people know what you look like or what you stand for.

Your bio

This is where the magic happens. The purpose of your Twitter bio is to let other people know who you are and why they might want to follow you. If you’re a squirrel expert or are only going to tweet about fireworks, it’s probably a good idea to say that. What makes you interesting? You’re looking for quality followers, not quantity, so be real and honest. Here’s one of my favorite posts on Twitter bios.

Your location

This is simple.  You can put the city, state you’re in. Maybe the area of the country/world you spend most of your time in. You can use it to make a statement, or just follow the norms for once. Maybe you want to be creepy and put “Psst! Right behind you!” You only have a few spaces so think hard and wordsmith wisely.

Your settings

Most of them are easy but there are a couple I think are important. Like any social media, you want to be (somewhat) responsive – meaning if a week goes by and you haven’t responded to someone who tweeted you – you’re not following the Twitter customs. So, under ‘Mobile’, set up mobile alerts for when you’re mentioned or sent a Direct Message (DM – I’ll explain soon).  That way you’ll receive a message if someone’s trying to contact you via Twitter…and you’re not lame-o. Also, go to ‘Notifications’ and determine when you want emails.  I prefer the ‘less is more’ approach to emails – you can uncheck all the boxes because we’re gonna use Hootsuite and mobile to handle it – not email.

Now you’re ready. Open Twitter in another window or tab and refer to this post as you sign up! Tomorrow – we’ll TWEET!

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health!    ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 1: Why Twitter?

If I have to explain the importance of Twitter one more time I’m going to vomit in my mouth and swallow it, fighting through the sore throat it creates.  Just kidding. I love it. I love it so much I thought I’d share the first in a five-part series this week. Designed to help you understand it, sign up correctly and do it right – come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (see right).  Already tweeting? Convert your friends or add something to the conversation…smartypants.

Understanding the concept

Before you dive in and sign up, it’s important to frame your understanding of Twitter.  My favorite analogy is a global cocktail party.  Imagine a giant room full of all sorts of people, from all sorts of places, conversing about all sorts of topics…without the house wine or mini quiches.  The room’s at a constant buzz. People are bouncing from table to table, some are laughing, some are in serious conversation, some are teaching things, some are looking for business, some are bragging about themselves and some are quietly taking it all in. Oh, and it’s happening 24/7.  The only difference is that it’s online.  Twitter is bazillions of short messages being fired off from all around the planet at all hours of the day.

Just like a normal cocktail party – the truth is you probably don’t give two naked squirrels about most of what’s being said.  The trick to finding value in Twitter is cutting through the bazillions of messages and finding the few that you actually care about. The beautiful thing is that there are super-easy tools that help you do that – I’ll get there soon, bear with me.

A megaphone back-flip

Why is Twitter important? Besides being able to share/hear/learn from people in a crazy-awesome quiche-free environment, it changes the global communication dynamic.  What do I mean?  In traditional marketing 30 years ago, a company put up a billboard or created a commercial to craft the message it wants people to hear and think about a product (think Mad Men).  It was large, mega-phonal, one-way communication.  If United airlines lost your luggage, you’d complain to your friends and family and just maybe a couple of them wouldn’t book United the next time they flew.  The reality? United did not care.  (que tear and sniffle) They didn’t have to. They had millions of other customers and loosing one or two to your vengeful word of mouth rampage didn’t matter to them…at all. They’d produce a commercial or put up a billboard and quickly replace you with new customers spending new dollars.

With Twitter (as with Facebook, YouTube, social media, etc.) the dynamic has changed.  Individuals can see/measure the power of their network and amplify their message.  Most importantly, they can have as much or MORE influence and power than a company or brand using traditional marketing. See the infamous “United breaks guitars” video and case study.

What Twitter is not

Twitter is not a bad word. It’s not a waste of time. It’s not only for young-ens. It’s not the cool kids’ table. It’s not only for athletes, Ashton Kutcher or Ryan Secrest. It’s not too confusing or too much trouble. It doesn’t take away from your priorities and it’s not hard. At the same time, just like sushi or rollerblading, Twitter’s not for everyone.  At the end of this series, if it’s not for you – that’s ok. I just ask that you give it your best. I think you’ll like it.

Ready for Twitter 102-105? Come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (click here to visit Nonprofit Nate and sign-up ).  Tweetcha later.