Category Archives: Twitter
Twitter Visuals for Nonprofits?
The extreme excitement around the #WorldCup had everyone a’ Twitter with supporting their favorite teams. From live tracking to replays, there were a host of Twitter tools that helped create community and channel conversation around one of the biggest sporting events ever.
I particularly enjoyed the fun integration of tiny flags that were embedded into tweets when a user incorporated a country’s hashtag.
Flags in Tweets
The added visual element was a nice addition to helping make a tweet pop in a user’s stream. Unfortunately, it does seem that a user had to be on Twitter in order to see the flags which was a bit constraining since most users access and interact with Twitter via third-party desktop clients or via their mobile phone.
I imagine Twitter was treating this as a test ground around the World Cup but they would be smart to consider how this technology can be applied for nonprofits. Unlike YouTube, which has their own nonprofit program or Facebook which integrates causes and pages, Twitter has yet to launch an official nonprofit program or general guide to assist nonprofits in maximizing use of their platform (note – they have done this with their business center). Outside of Twitter, nonprofit consultant @johnhaydon has created this Twitter e-book guide for nonprofits that is worth checking out.
How simple would it be for Twitter to coordinate with nonprofits to integrate ribbons or other images to appear in accordance with assigned hashtags? I for one, would love to see a yellow ribbon associated with #livestrong, green ribbons tied to #organdonor, a #humanrights symbol, etc. The images could even hyperlink over to a specified site for users to take action without burning up precious Twitter characters.
4th of July Visual
Check out the visual above and think about the possibilities (without Twitter turning into a graphic frenzy like MySpace).
What else could be done to help Twitter ramp up their engagement with nonprofits? Could they help isolate some real estate at the top of streams and on applications around certain days to generate attention for a cause? What about integrating key links into the Twitter.com sidebar?
What are your ideas?
Add BP to the Brandjacked Bin
Note: This post also appeared on Waggener Edstrom’s Thinkers & Doers blog.
Brandjacked.
Though brandjacking is certainly not a new concept, it’s one of those words that can quickly ignite panic in the world of social media.
Unfortunately, brands, people and products are brandjacked every day. With the lightning pace and ease by which online presence can be established and content shared, online reputation management has become more important than ever.
BP has quickly become the latest big brandjacking victim with the launch of @BPGlobalPR — a rogue Twitter account that is claiming to be BP’s PR department pumping out snarky tweets about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Sample Tweet from @BPGlobalPR:
Negative people view the ocean as half empty of oil. We are dedicated to making it half full. Stay positive America! #IwantmyBPtshirt
about 12 hours ago via web
Tweets such as the one above are pulling in hundreds of followers by the minute. When I started drafting this post, the @BPGlobalPR account displayed 7,925 followers. 15 minutes have elapsed and the account currently has 9,000 followers. The account launched on May 19. Yikes.
One would hope that whoever manages BP’s official Twitter account (@BP_America) has some type of listening and monitoring process in place and is by now well aware of the @BPGlobalPR account. That being said, here are a few immediate steps that BP should consider taking … pronto.
1. Contact Twitter. Though still in beta testing, the announcement of Twitter’s Business Center is proof that Biz and the boys recognize the important role that their platform plays for businesses, and vice versa. This isn’t the first case of brandjacking and certainly won’t be the last. Given the national spotlight on the oil spill, chances are good that they’ll be sympathetic toward helping BP get their ducks in a row and shut down the @BPGlobalPR account.
In the meantime…
2. Acknowledge. Obviously, BP has a bit on its plate at the moment. That being said, someone at BP is updating the official Twitter account. At the least, acknowledge the account to your followers so that they know it is fake. It’s also important to not backlash against the @BPGlobalPR account but rather open up some dialogue and let them know that you’re aware of its existence.
3. Monitor & Respond. It appears that the originator of the @BPGlobalPR account is on a quick mission to sell some BP Cares shirts. They’re managing to build a quick following with witty, clever tweets. Tweeters and bloggers will eat this content up, and a flurry of offshoot posts and other content is sure to emerge. The best BP can do at this point is stay tuned to the conversation, monitor the follower base and respond and comment when possible.
Though it’s a rough position for BP, it’s an opportunity to offer up some quick key reminders to prevent your own brandjacking incident.
Secure Usernames — If you’re heading up social media at your company or in any way in charge of communications, I highly recommend hopping over to http://www.usernamecheck.com/. The site provides a great overall analysis of common and not-so-common social media sites. Simply type in a username at the top, and let the analysis begin to see where a particular username is already being used. Whether you plan to actively use the username or foresee potential use, lock it down on the most popular social media sites.
Think Proactively, Plan Broadly— The endless possibilities of URL and username combinations make it tough to ever create a full protective brand shield. Whether planning for a campaign or updating your crisis-comm plan, think proactively about potential secenarios and the keyword/username slate that could impact your efforts.
Have your own advice for BP or general brandjacking prevention tips to share? Feel free to post below!
10 Tips to Perfect The Art of the Status Update
Via Zazzle
Whether it’s one word, a single link, 140-characters or a full paragraph, status updates have come to signify much more than “what’s happening” in one’s life.
As social media marketing continues to flourish as a key channel for connecting with target audiences, the pressure to drive home a message with concise messaging mounts. Whether updates are being utilized for brand awareness, actionable outreach or news delivery, the status update is the “go-to” quick-time delivery channel.
Just in the past few weeks, we’ve seen a couple great examples of status updates being put to the test.
Earlier this month, thousands of female Facebook users posted their bra color as their status update in an attempt to call attention to breast cancer awareness. Regardless of whether or not you thought the effort was effective, it serves as a great example of a low-cost, powerful channel for garnering quick attention around a cause. For the record, I think the effort should have included a unique custom tiny URL driving people to a landing page that contextualized the effort and encouraged others to spread the word through 3 actionable steps. BUT, the idea was halfway there in terms of attracting initial attention.
Though donation action has been primarily driven through text messages, the power of status updates and incorporated hashtags has brought about immediate worldwide response to a severe crisis.
Just this week, 5 French journalists announced that they will be locking themselves in a farmhouse for 5 days in an attempt to write news articles based only on information received through Facebook and Twitter updates. It will certainly make for a fun experiment but it speaks to the larger communication trend at hand – namely the important role these channels are serving worldwide audiences as the basis for immediate news.
As opposed to posting the mundane, I highly encourage you to start thinking carefully about how you craft your tweets and status updates. Here are some tips below to take into consideration.
1.) Know Your Audience – Always rule #1, but with Facebook page insights and Twitter analytics tools, we can better determine who we’re talking to with our updates. Want some general insight without the research? This article should clue you in on who’s reading and sharing.
2.) Keep It Short and Sweet – That’s the purpose of a “status” update right? This isn’t a place to post a couple paragraphs, save that for the blog post. Look back to see if you can cut a word or two.
3.) Keep It Personal – Establishing an emotional connection with your readers or followers is key. They need to know that there is a person behind the brand.
4.) Keep It Relevant – Timely updates that speak to the interests of your audience are crucial. Don’t share just for sharing’s sake. Share with a purpose.
5.) Check Your Grammar – Give it a read, then a re-read, then one more read. Typos stand out like a sore thumb when there is minimal copy.
6.) Provide A Link – Awareness is great. Action is better. Whether you’re driving people to a news article, tailored landing page or other location, provide a shortened/customized link (that you can also measure click-thrus on!) that leads to engagement.
7.) Ask for Feedback – You’ve got a great following, yea? Take advantage of that huge resource and use your update to gather some feedback. This will also help you better customize the content you provide to your audience.
8.) Provide Visual Content – Particularly on Faceebook, including a link to a video or incorporating an image is key. Facebook’s news stream is a busy place and an added visual is naturally going to help draw a causal reader’s eye in to check out your content.
9.) Don’t Overdo It – Status updates are great. Too many status updates stink – mostly because no one has THAT much great stuff to say or share (though you may think you do). I always recommend that clients limit Facebook updates to a maximum of three times/week. Twitter is a bit different but I recommend no more than two to three “broadcast” tweets a day with the primary focus on follower interaction and sharing through re-tweets.
10.) Get Clever – Use a touch of humor, don’t try to oversell and keep your readers wanting more. Especially with Facebook’s upcoming page changes, it’s becoming more crucial to provide content that your readers care about and want to share and engage.
Feel free to share any additional tips below, thanks!
-Scott
