TASSCC Presentation 8/11/2009
What is Twitter? 2006 2009
Broadcast Knowledge-sharing updates marketplace
Twitter and the Public Sector Friends Anyone who adds value Families Probably never meet Jon Lee Department of Information Resources Co-workers
Topics What Twitter is not
What is Twitter? Private Why should I use Twitter? Don’t tweet anything you wouldn’t want to read in the What do I use Twitter for? newspaper! How do I get started? For internal use, try Yammer and Present.ly instead How do I continue? Building followers Ashton Kutcher vs CNN Don’t try to add followers Don’t turn into MySpace
What is Twitter? Quick word on social media
In 2006: • Iranian elections: June 15, 2009 Communicate in 140 characters or less – 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 – 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
Jon Lee, Department of Information Resources 1 TASSCC Presentation 8/11/2009
What about security? What do I use Twitter for? [ 1.1 ]
Email and Internet can cause security nightmares, yet we continue News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions to use them because they are essential to doing business. The benefits outweigh the risks. Headline
Security risk is relatively low Link to page – No private information needed to create account besides phone and email – Only broadcast public information – Spammers are easy to differentiate Quick media – Internal network cannot be penetrated outlet
Do benefits How to mitigate the risks? Opposite of RSS outweigh risks? -Only post public information -Educate users -Only click links from trusted sources
Why should government use Twitter? What do I use Twitter for? [ 1.2 ]
• Free! News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions – no license, no software, no infrastructure, no additional FTE Disaster recovery • Low maintenance • Attract people to website Safety recalls • Branding tool Public health • Expand reach
• Customer service Amber alerts • Establish presence in online community
What do I use Twitter for? What do I use Twitter for? [ 2.1 ] News News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions Customer service Feedback Promotions
Respond to inquiries
Link to other resources
Jon Lee, Department of Information Resources 2 TASSCC Presentation 8/11/2009
What do I use Twitter for? [ 2.2 ] What do I use Twitter for? [ 3.2 ]
News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions
Research and development
Quality control Personal and casual
Better than search engines
What do I use Twitter for? [ 2.3 ] What do I use Twitter for? [ 4.1 ]
News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions
Proactive Special discounts approach
Report issues
Contests and drawings
What do I use Twitter for? [ 3.1 ] What do I use Twitter for? [ 4.2 ]
News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions News l Customer Service l Feedback l Promotions
Hear from customers Market other channels
Product awareness
Authoritative opinion
Jon Lee, Department of Information Resources 3 TASSCC Presentation 8/11/2009
How do I start? How do I start? [ internal use policies ]
Before creating an account… 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? Strategic plan Strategic policies External policies Internal Logistics Mention anything outside agency? Include multimedia?
How do I start? [ strategic planning ] How do I start? [ logistics ]
1. Identify business goals Pick a searchable username Don’t do technology for technology’s sake Craft a good bio 2. Get buy-in from colleagues - 160 character limit Find allies and incorporate skeptics - Include the word “official” Make sure management is on board - Consistent tone with tweets 3. Establish metrics Add icon and URL If you can measure it, you can manage it Customize background 4. Set expectations - Treat as branding space (mostly left side) Start small and gradually increase - Keep in line with marketing 5. Learn the Twitter language - Include contact information Do not “protect updates” Hashtags, @mentions, RT, DM Look for useful third-party applications
How do I start? [ external policies ]
--PublicPublic entities have their own policies and proceproceduduresres --MostMost government accounts do not have formal policpolicieiess --PossiblePossible Terms of Service template for States
Hashtags How do you treat a tweet? URL shortener Like posting on a blog? Like sending an email? Keep a copy for records? Custom background Public Information Act Everything on Twitter is already public Casual tone E-discovery Link to other Everything on Twitter is already searchable channels
Jon Lee, Department of Information Resources 4 TASSCC Presentation 8/11/2009
How do I continue?
1. Build relationships 2. Add value to followers 3. Represent your brand 4. Engage stakeholders Invite feedback 5. See what others are saying 6. Tweet beyond yourself
Don’t forget @replies 1. Get buy-in 2. Business goals Breaking news 3. Metrics Contact Information
Thank you for coming!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions
Jon Lee @jonlee11 [email protected] 512-463-8500
Slide 28
Inconsistent following
No links
Ignored important news
Jon Lee, Department of Information Resources 5