1.) Start searching for and following twitter accounts that post internships and jobs. Both in your desired field, and general ones as well. Internship Queen has a ton of internships she posts, along with tips for finding ones.

2.) Search for and follow twitter accounts by respected members of that field, as well as companies, and business groups. For example, if you’re interested in PR work follow local PRSSA groups, follow PRSAJobCenter, follow people you know that are PR Gurus.

3.) Clean up your twitter, no more “Going to ____ bar tonight, PARTY!”. Make it professional. Start posting interesting articles that you find online, and ADD YOUR OWN INSIGHT TO THEM. Retweet interesting posts the professionals you follow, post or add your own insight to them. The main issue of importance here is to INTERACT on a PROFESSIONAL LEVEL with these people you now follow. Remember, these people are full of connections, and that is what Twitter is about! Try to make actual connections with these people.

4.) Keep your eye out for job and internship posts. And, don’t be afraid to ask a professional (through direct messages) for suggestions on how to get in touch with an industry/company you’re interested in. Most people want to help others, if you genuinely ask for help, someone will answer the call.

Hope this helps, there really isn’t much too it and it is that simple. It’s going to take time and effort, but it may be worth it in the long run. Remember, Twitter is an extension of yourself, and it can be used for professional benefit and to meet people while making connections that would otherwise be impossible.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



4 Twitter Tips for College Students Seeking A Career

Twitter recently introduced a new feature called lists to many users. This isn’t available to everyone – I’ve heard many reports of people who are unable to see anybodies lists. Basically, it allows you to organize the people you follow into several different categories. These can be made private and can be followed by others.

This is an awesome for those who are using the web interface as you can choose the groups you want to read at any time.

However, there are some considerations you need to make before embracing this feature.

1. People may be offended by not being included on a list.

Some of my friends created lists like ‘awesome friends’ and ‘top bloggers.’ They used these terms as generalist lists but some people took offense at not being included on a list.

This is very similar to the follow/unfollow situations that happened before people started to embrace groups on other clients.

So, what can you do to avoid offending?

• Have a disclaimer on your twitter landing page

• Make your list private

• Organize lists by geographic region – ie, Melbourne bloggers.

2. You can see what lists you appear on

This isn’t a bad aspect – in most cases, it helps show how people perceive you. This is especially helpful for people who don’t have a defined purpose on twitter. You may get categorized by geographic region or industry, but you may also get organized into trait specific lists. Examples are ‘helpful people’ or ‘interesting links.’

This can help you ascertain how you can be more useful on twitter.

3. You can easily get the tone of a group

You can organize people into groups like conference attendees or people who work at a company. This is more efficient than a hashtag as you can filter out the people you don’t want to hear from.

You can pick up on the overall vibe which will make it useful when reporting on it.

4. It may make it easier for companies to target you

I actually wrote about how twitter lists can help with buyer personas over at the Think Tank Media (http://thinktankmedia.com.au/blog/how-to-use-twitter-lists-in-your-business/) blog, but I can also see it as another way some companies may be able to find, and then spam you. This is important to be aware of.

5. You can easily identify what types of people users follow

Seeing the lists in the sidebar can let you know what type of people, and content, certain users follow. This can be useful when networking. You can see that you have a mutual interest and follow some of the same people and start a conversation. This can be useful if you are trying to join a community or connect with a new person.

6. You can use it as an extension of the groups function

I’m a bit slack on tweetdeck – I only have three columns. One for my mentions, DM’s and one for a group of people I talk to regularly. I always pop onto the web version to have general chats but this can become unmanagable when I’m following so many cool people.

I’m now planning to create certain lists and then dive into them at certain times of the day. This can help me assess the conversation across many fields of interest and geographic regions.

7. You can see how many lists OTHERS are on

This may be used as another method of assessing popularity. As I write this, I’m on 2 lists and Chris Brogran is on 144 – which is the way it should be. This could be a really useful method but is also open to abuse and may impact on user experience. It will be interesting to see if spammers try to manipulate this feature.

8. You are able to follow other peoples lists

I am not sure what twitters intentions were with this feature, but I really like it as it saves time. Some users can also use it to establish authority by finding the best users and creating popular lists around them.

Over to you

What do you think of this new feature? Do you think it will help you twitter experience? Let us know how you intend to use it in the comments.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Essential: 8 Things to Consider Before Using Twitter Lists

I regularly attend tweetupmellers. At first I assumed that all tweetups and get togethers have the same sense of community, but I soon learnt that there was something different. I quickly learnt that this was due to the organizers efforts to ensure people felt like they were part of a larger community.

10 Ways To Create A Community Around Your Tweetup

1. Have a twitterwall

One of the great features of the last few tweetups has been the twitter wall. It is simply a search on Twitterfall which is then projected onto a screen in the back corner of The Social. It is a huge talking point and really added to the fun of the evening.

There were some people who tweeted simply to bump someone else’s name from the top. There were also times when the whole room went silent as there was a mass update of tweets.

2. Have a game on the website

If you go to the attendance page and click attendance again, the page turns into an cute game, similar to pong, were you try and eliminate the attendance. Most people are unaware of this but it occasionally goes viral within our community.

3. Get a group photo

The group photo has quickly become a tradition. Usually, a member of the media team will bring a DSLR and get a group photo before people start to leave. This photo usually gets a lot of retweets the next day and really helps people to remember how much fun they had.

4. Create Name Tags

The name tags were a simple idea. At the last tweetup, we got name tags printed out with our name, avatar and the tweetup sponsor on it. We were able to then clip these to our outfits. They got a lot of comments.

5. The Unofficial media team

There are four of us that have unofficially become part of the media team. At first, I was confused as to how a tweetup could have a media team. I soon found out it was the term for those who brought their cameras and shared content from the night. I always bring my camera so was quickly inducted and found that people loved sharing the photos.

6. Have a flickr pool

The flickr pool is simply a group where members share their photos. There are usually just three or four people sharing their images, but between us we get a lot of photos. This gives the other attendees a central place to find the photos without hunting through individual twitpic and flickr accounts.

7. Hold a ustream sesion

For the last few tweetups, we have streamed the tweetup live. Now, this has had some technical problems, especially in terms of lighting. It is something we want to improve of. But it has been a huge success.

Those who weren’t able to come drop into the ustream session to say hi. Sometimes they talk to the others in the chatroom. They’ll tweet in comments about what they see and request that certain people sing or dance in front of the camera.

I think this is a really innovative and fun idea.

8. Ask attendees to write on the official blog

The tweetupmellers blog is updated after each Tweet Up, and usually by a different person. This allows people to show their skills and share their content. A really successful post was by Neil Creek, whose Meetheads idea was really embraced.

9. Have an interactive attendance page

The team has a created an attendance page where people can register whether they are coming or not. The app gets the data from twitter and allows people to change their status. This page is pretty popular on the day prior to the tweetup and gives people the chance to connect with those they don’t know prior to meeting in person.

10. Create groups on social networks

So far, Tweetupmellers has an group on Linked In and a facebook fan page. This is a way that the users can connect in whatever manner they choose afterward.

Your turn.

I’ve only gone a small number of local tweetups and Tweetupmellers has been my favourite. Do you have any tips for creating a community around your twitter event?

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



10 Ways To Create A Community Around Your Tweetup

Finding your community in Twitter can sometimes be a challenge, especially for Twitter beginners. Social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and NING have flourishing and established communities that are easy to find. Twitter has some growing and thriving communities too but it’s often a best-kept Twitter secret.

Enter #hashtags and Twitter chats.

Twitter chats offer an effective way to meet people with similar interests and share insights into specific topic. Currently there are more than 35 weekly scheduled Twitter chats on certain days and times with like-minded professionals discussing a variety of questions. Here’s how you can find your Twitter community and participate in a Twitter Chat.

Step 1: Find And Use The Hashtag

Using a hashtag, a symbol – # – followed by a name or abbreviation, people broadcast their tweets to a specific group and follow others tweeting with the same hashtag. The hashtag is one of the keys needed to engage successfully in a Twitter chat. Use the list below to find the Twitter chat and subsequent hashtag that interests you.

Step 2: Use A Twitter Chat Tool To Monitor The Conversation

Twitter veterans know that the second key to successful twitter chat participation is to fine-tune their Twitterstation to remove all the Twitter noise. Like dialing into your favorite radio station and removing all the unnecessary static and chatter, these tools help you follow the conversation without being bombarded by other unrelated tweets. A list of ten Twitter chat tools is listed below. Following a conversation with Twitter’s main Web page is difficult and by the time you hit refresh and find tweets with the hashtag, you’ve missed most of the conversation.

Step 3: Tweet Using These Twitter Chat Basics

Once you’ve identified the hashtag for your community and the Twitter chat tool that works best for you, it’s time to get involved. Login to Twitter and your Twitter chat tool at the appropriate date and time, and watch for the moderator to announce the start of the chat. Now that you know the hashtag, remember to include it in your tweets so others can see your comments and questions.

Most Twitter chats, like #journchat, have some type of established ground rules and culture as people discuss specific topics or questions. Many chats have a moderator to help guide and facilitate the discussion. For example, #eventprofs has a moderator for each chat and established moderator instructions and guidelines. Some Twitter chats allow participants to post random questions and some suggest that the group stay on topic. I’ve seen some Twitter chats with guest experts leading a discussion and answering questions. Some groups archive their weekly chats on a wiki, in their Linkedin group, on a website or on wtHashtag.

Step 4: Now Go, Tweet And Participate

With some practice, hashtags and one of these third party Twitter applications listed below, even beginners can tune-in and participate in a robust Twitter discussion. Here’s to finding your Twitter community and I hope to tweet with you in a Twitter chat in the future!

Twitter Chat Tools

Tweetchat

Tweetchat, a web-based interface, recently made some upgrades and you can use the upgraded version or old one. Login to tweetchat with your Twitter username and password. Once your login has been authenticated with Twitter, enter the hashtag. This will take you to the tweetchat room with your custom Twitter background where you’ll be able to follow the conversation. Tweetchat settings allow you to pause the chat, set the refresh rate, and feature or block specific users. Each tweet you enter into the box will automatically be tagged with the official hashtag. Note: If your username is not showing up in Tweetchat, contact the developers and let them know. (Tweetchat is my personal favorite.)

Tweetgrid

Tweetgrid, a web-based dashboard that allows you to search and view up to nine different hashtags at once. Unlike other Twitter chat tools, you do not need a Twitter account to follow a conversation but you will not be able to tweet without a Twitter account. Open Tweetgrid, choose a grid layout, enter your username, password, hashtag, and enter your tweet in tweet box. Tweetgrid offers settings, photos and DM. If you’re following more than one conversation, you’ll have to enter the hashtag in the appropriate box each time each time you tweet.

Tweetdeck

You’ll have to download this free application to your desktop in order to use. Once downloaded, you’ll need to set one column to search the hashtag by clicking on the magnifying glass and entering the hashtag. You can move that column to the right or left in your Tweetdeck dashboard. You can also change the settings such as background color, font color, refresh rates, etc. Each time you tweet for the specific conversation, you’ll need to add the hashtag. (I use Tweetdeck as my normal Twitter interface and keep columns for following specific hashtags open always. That way I can connect with people in those communities outside of the scheduled Tweet chats.)

Twubs

A newer web-based interface that integrates a variety of media including photos and videos. Unlike tweetchat, tweetgrid and monitter, it also incorporates a URL shortening tool. Sign in to Twubs with your username and password, and enter the hashtag. Twubs automatically adds the hashtags to your tweets, allows you to filter users and has real time refreshing. Twubs also has a widget that you can embed on your website or blog.

Monitter

A web-based interface that allows you to follow up to three hashtags at once. You can only tweet to @replies or send retweets, and you’ll have to enter your username, password and hashtag each time you send a tweet. (This is my least favorite of all the Twitter chat tools.)

WhatTheHashtag (wtHashtag)

A web-based user-editable encyclopedia for hashtags; wiki of registered hashtags. This interface includes a variety of information about specific Twitter chats including a description, schedule and moderator, planned topic queue, stats and top contributors, the ability to view and save a transcript of tweets within a certain date and view the Twitter chat via Monitter. You cannot tweet from wtHashtag. Tip: If you want to know what a specific hashtag stands for, follow wtHashtag. Once they are following you, DM them the hashtag and they’ll reply with the definition on file.

RSS Feeds

If you like reading feeds, you can grab a feed for your hashtag group in Twitter search. Enter the hashtag and then copy the link in “Feed for this query” into your feed reader. Using RSS feeds, you can’t participate in the discussion and send tweets, but you can follow the chat.

TweeTree

Web-based interface that monitors hashtags. Login with username, password and enter hashtag in search function. TweeTree pulls in some additional content like photos, videos, blog posts of some approved vendors so that you can see the link’s content in your stream without clicking the link. You’ll have to remember to add the hashtag to your tweets when participating in the discussion in TweeTree.

Roomatic

Web-based dashboard. Login with user name, password and enter hashtag. You’ll see the tweets in a horizontal grid format with a very small font. Roomatic does not have any settings that you can change to make the font size bigger or change the refresh rate. It does automatically include the hashtag of tweets. You cannot send a reply or DM through Roomatic.

Twemes

Web-based interface that lets you follow hashtag and conversation. You cannot tweet from Twemes.

List of Twitter Chats

Editable Google Doc list of Twitter chats created by Robert Swanwick @spkrinteractive.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Tweeting With Your Twitter Community: How To Participate In A Twitter Chat

#Networking can be a daunting prospect for Tweeps who are used to networking of the internet variety. If you’re an introverted person who is most comfortable communicating in bite sized chunks of 140-characters at a time, I suggest you throw open the comfort circle and delve into some #Networking.

Yes, I’m talking face-to-face networking. For you, it may conjure up images of all those A- type personalities gaily laughing over canapés and glasses of fine wine, being all witty and interesting with no effort whatsoever made on their part…

Wrong. I’ll let you in on something… the extroverts are secretly just as daunted as you are. And the good news is – networking is a skill that can be learned.

And believe it or not, #Networking is a great way to complement your online efforts. Meeting someone face-to-face makes you a standout from the rest of the online world. People suddenly want to help you, refer people to you and refer you to other people they know that may help you (did you catch all that?) all just because you’re standing face-to-face with them!

Networking engenders a community spirit – and one that is sorely needed if you spend your days at your keyboard in the privacy of your own home.

All it takes is a little practice, dear Tweeps. I started my career in Public Relations at a very young age, and would front up at events where everyone else had a good 5-10 years on me, feeling extremely out of place and nervous. Luckily, I was taught by one of the best in the business – she is still a great mentor of mine and I have never seen someone disarm a stranger the way she can. I learned a lot from her, and have since developed my own techniques that set me in good stead.

So here are some of my very best tips to get you started. Even the most shy people can get by with a few simple tricks:

1.Pick your events wisely
Networking groups are popping up all over the globe that are meant specifically for Bloggers, Tweeters, Diggers and every other social networking and bookmarking site you can think of.
These are an ideal start because not only are they relevant to you and what you do, but EVERY other person there will talk your language. Hell, every other person there probably also had to specifically get dressed just to leave the house and attend the party! The good news is, you have a common ground before you even get there.

2. Fly Solo
Being social in Real Life is a different story to being social Online. It can be daunting, standing alone in a roomful of people that you don’t know at all. It may be tempting to take a buddy for moral support, but if you think you can manage on your own, then go for it. Chances are, if you take a friend then – you’ll end up speaking to your friend all night while eyeing off the rest of the room suspiciously, wondering whether you should make your move or not.

3.Think like a peacock – stand out from the crowd!
In a roomful of people, you want to be noticeable (in a good way!) when people are scanning the room for who to talk to next. They say first impressions count, and that they are also very hard to change. These impressions are literally made in three seconds flat – and in those three seconds people will decide whether they want to talk to you, or not.
What can you do to stand out in the right way? Try making a particular effort to look polished and professional, a bit edgy, or to wear something will act as a talking point: a witty slogan t-shirt, a statement piece of jewelry or something quirky and fun that relates to your blog or online content. This gives people something to anchor to when they open a conversation. Try it, and you’ll be surprised at how many people will come up to you through the night and say “I love your tshirt/shoes/jewelry,etc.”

4.Use your biggest asset – a friendly smile!
The quickest, most effective way of disarming someone is to smile at them. Immediately, their instinct is to mirror you back and in most cases, a smile enough to engage them  enough to approach for a chat.
That said, just don’t openly stare at them, smiling, for a full five minutes like some stage-five clinger… that’s a little freaky. A quick smile and acknowledgement across the room is a perfect opener.

5.Don’t be afraid to approach others.
Remember – everyone is there for the specific purpose of meeting other people! Preferably, to meet lots of other people.
This means you won’t look at all like a total weirdo by walking up to someone and introducing yourself. You don’t even need a pickup line – something as simple as “Hi, I’m Bob. What do you Tweet/Blog about?” will get the ball rolling. Alternatively, use a compliment as your opening line.(this works particularly well for girl-to-girl chats – “I love your necklace/shoes/dress, etc”, as per before, works both ways.)

6.Know your Elevator Pitch
“An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words).” – Wikipedia
Do you have an elevator pitch for your blog/Twitter account/business? When someone asks you what it is you do, it pays to have a short, sweet version to deliver them right away.
For more information on how to develop it, I recommend this great post from Problogger Write An Elevator Pitch For Your Blog

7. Talk about their favorite subject.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret… there is one topic that will get everyone firing on all cylinders straightaway: Themselves.
The easiest way for you to have a great conversation with someone is to talk all about them. What do they do? How do they like it? How did they fall into that? How long have they been doing it for? Where do they live? Do they love living there? Are they married? Do they have children?
The conversation doesn’t all need to be about business. It’s inevitable that you’ll cover it a little bit, but don’t keep steering the conversation that way. In fact, if everyone else there is talking business and you’re chatting and laughing about fun stuff, you’ll be the standout raconteur for the night. They’ll remember they had a great time with you, and that is all that matters the next day – being memorable.
Listen properly, ask vivid and insightful questions, laugh with them and show them a great time. Then, after they are stunned with your “conversational powers,” take their card or @username down and do the business part later.

8.Share the love around the flock
Don’t feel like you have to talk to the same one or two people all night. You are there to meet as many different people as you can. Once there’s a lull in conversation, there is no problem in excusing yourself to go and get another drink or to go to the bathroom, and falling into the next conversation with the next person.
An alternate method which works quite well is to draw a third person into your conversation and introduce everyone before slipping away quietly to your next interaction.
And don’t be offended if the same happens to you – I used to take it personally if people walked away from my conversation to join another group, but then I just realized that people are there for networking, not to talk to me all night!

9.Follow up.
Networking is useless if you never speak to the people you meet again. The art of the follow up is paramount. Get business cards, URLs and usernames for every person you speak to and connect with them or contact them the next day.
Something as simple as a direct message to say “Lovely to meet you” is great, or even better – if you have thought of a person or resource that they might like, flick it their way for them.
Be proactive about following up – don’t sit back and wait for people to contact you.

10.Give, and you shall receive.
One golden rule I love – be useful to people. Don’t expect to get something for nothing. If you can recommend services or other contacts for them, send them articles that you think they might like or just entertain them in general, then you can start asking for favours back.
Be prepared to put in the work to build a relationship and you will reap the rewards of a strong and health network of Real Life People.

For those in Melbourne – @tweetupmellers and @MTUB Networking events are regular events. Feel free to add your own local #Networking group in comments.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



10 #Networking Tips for Tweeters

Twitter can be a great space for building community around your membership-based organization, whether you work for a professional society, trade association or a cause-related nonprofit.

Here’s a quick eight-step rundown of how to set up a Twitter account for your “.org”. This isn’t the only way, of course. But if you are starting from scratch, this is what we’re finding works the best.

1. Set up a main “umbrella” account for the organization – e.g. @ORGtweets or just @ORG (“ORG” being whatever your acronym is).

Why? So people can find you easily. In the description, put in a nutshell what the organization does. A mission statement in under 140 characters, for example. (Be pithy – people like that. There are lots of other places you can be boring). For the website link field of the profile, create a Twitter landing page on your website which says, “Welcome to the Twitter page for [ORG]! We’re glad you’re here. Here’s what we’re all about. Here are some of the things we tweet about. And here are our team members, should you be interested in following them too.” Then list your staff on Twitter as per #2.

2. Give your staff their own individual accounts – e.g. ORG_Bob, Maggie@ORG, etc. If you have several staffers already on Twitter with their own followers, allow them to use their accounts for tweeting on your behalf, assuming they are willing to do that.

Why? because people want to see individual people representing their organizations. There can be backlash when that doesn’t happen. Presumably each staffer will have their own personality, their own things they like to tweet about personally and professionally, and they will also have their own content that they are responsible for – namely PR, or marketing, or advocacy, or publications, or events. Each person will grow their own followers independently – and can share them under the umbrella account as they go along (see #5.)

3. Use a multiple Twitter account client to manage your accounts.

Why? Because it’s MUCH easier than signing in and out of accounts all day. SplitTweet works great, as do HootSuite and CoTweet (currently in private beta).  All these services allow you to monitor multiple accounts at the same time – so your team can choose to tweet something to their individual accounts and the umbrella account, or just to one at a time.  SplitTweet has a cool “track your brand mentions” feature; CoTweet allows you to tag your replies as being from a particular person, and allows you to assign responses to team members. HootSuite has great analytics and intelligent search for Twitter conversations. All three are always improving and evolving as professional Twitter use grows, and there may be a new multiple account application on the scene by the time this post appears, so just find the one that has the functionality you need.

4. Ask each staffer to follow people who tweet regularly about your industry or cause, as well as actively Tweeting members, donors, or other stakeholders.

Why?  Because Twitter is about conversation – and directed conversation can build community.  Find those other interested Tweeps simply by using Twitter search for your particular industry keywords, your organization name mentions, even competitor or sister organization mentions.  Twitter directories like Twellow , We Follow , and Twibs allow you to find people based on tags or types of business.  Each staffer should find their own relevant people to follow, based on their particular interests or area of expertise.  If you have members, or an email list of any kind, use Twitter’s own import function to import emails and find those members already on Twitter (only do a few at a time).  Look for names you recognize, or clearly active Tweeters (you can tell by the number of updates, friends and followers they have).  You only need to find a few key active stakeholders – others will come with them when they start to interact with you.  Ask those you have a good “real life” relationship with to help you spread the word about your new presence on Twitter.

5. Under the umbrella account, periodically retweet items from your team members as well as from their followers/friends.

Why? To show a coherent stream of content where visitors can immediately see what you’re about and that different people speak for you in different ways. If managed well, you can follow relevant public conversations between team members under the umbrella too – conversations that might draw people in to whatever topic you are discussing. Retweeting good stuff by people who are part of your network gives them an ego boost and shows them that it’s not all about you, that you’re paying attention to what they are talking about, that you’re interested in learning from them too.

6. Got an annual conference or big fundraising event? Use hashtags to enable your registrants and anyone else to find you through your event promotion.

Why?  Because the buzz leading up to and during face-to-face events can bring your organization into focus and can attract new people to your cause. Tweet lots of good stuff about how cool your event will be and use and promote a specific designated hashtag for it. Remember to publicize the hashtag in your other promotional materials too. We’re often asked about whether it’s a good idea to set up a separate Twitter account (as opposed to a hashtag) for a conference – this can work too, but a hashtag is more easily found in search, will trend if you have lots of people Tweeting the event, and allows you to differentiate between annual conferences from year to year – e.g. #Tech09 versus #Tech10.  Also, the staff members who have built a following on Twitter will stay visible and won’t be hidden under a conference account. They will each be enabled to add their own personal takes on the conference, by talking about the particular sessions they are attending and the things they care about from their individual (professional) viewpoints.If you set up a new account for each conference, you are basically starting from zero friends and followers each time – and it takes time to build those networks.

7. Bottom line:  Share great content.

Why?  Because great content sparks word of mouth, and word of mouth (you guessed it!) builds community.  Ask each staffer to take responsibility for sharing links with interesting and useful information relevant to their specific areas of expertise.  Encourage them to engage in conversation with their Twitter networks, respond to things other people are tweeting about, retweet links and tweets from people outside your organization as well as your own; don’t be afraid to actually converse about topics of interest. Find champions within your networks to help you spread the word about specific issues. Use your umbrella account to corral it all in a place where people can find it easily. Community builds around shared interests, but only if you nurture it and feed it, which means listening as well as talking.

8. Bonus: Benchmark and measure!

Why?  So you can see how it’s all going and know when it might be necessary to put in a bit more effort or move up to the next level of awesomeness. Benchmark and measure your progress using whatever metrics make the most sense to you.  Number of followers, organization links retweeted, new registrants to your events, etc.  There are lots of specific Twitter analytics apps out there, but measure engagement in other ways too.  Building community online is all about building community offline.

That should be enough to get you started!  Here are a couple places to find examples of associations and nonprofits on Twitter, as well as three related posts from Twitip that dig a bit deeper into Tweeting for organizational use.  Tweet on!

Associations on Twitter
more associations on Twitter
Nonprofits on Twitter
more on nonprofits using Twitter

TwiTip Resources:
Building an Effective Business Profile on Twitter
Tips for Brands and Nonprofits
How To Handle Multiple Users Within Your Company

[Image by Maggi_94]

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



8 Steps For Building Community On Twitter: Tips For Membership Organizations

Twitter Groups is an exciting new application that was launched by a small U.S.-based technology company November 27. With it, I have almost doubled the number of people following my smallish organic gardening niche and have added more than a dozen new resources to my blog! In the span of 18 days, more than 1,700 groups have signed up on Twitter Groups, from the Albuquerque (New Mexico) group to the Zut Society. I predict big things for this innocuous little app.

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

At first glance, Twitter Groups doesn’t look very special. Go to http://twittgroups.com and you’ll find a plain-looking page with a Twitter Groups header, some text about Google Friend Connect, a bunch of ads and networking links in the right column. It looks deceptively simple. If you give it a try, however, I think you’ll discover that this tool will help you not only find the people you are marketing to but also give them an easy way to find you!

The big news is that on Monday TwittGroups.com joined forces with Google Friend Connect. Now you can connect with peeps all over the social networking universe. My Twitter group now has a Facebook-like wall that comments—even videos—can be posted to. I suspect Twitter Groups pages will not be “plain-looking” much longer.

Signing Up Is Ridiculously Easy

Before starting your own Twitter group, I suggest you explore some others to see how they are set up. Maybe even join a few. Many Twitter groups have very little activity. Based on what I’ve observed, and depending on your purpose, a broad framework will generate more activity than a tightly specialized niche. Unless, of course, you have brand recognition like ProBlogger, in which case your name alone will generate activity.

Once you have a feel for the application and are ready to start your own group, it’s a simple process. Click on Create Group located in the right column, fill in a few boxes and you’re on your way! Tip: Choose a short, catchy name for your hash tag (the shortened name that you will use in your tweets and that will show up in the Twitter Search application). For example, the formal name of the gardening group I started is Green Thumb Gardening Group, which is much too long for a 140-character microblogging platform like Twitter. So, in the hash tag box I call it #greenthumbs. Makes sense, right?

When you click on Submit, Twitter Groups propels you back to your timeline with an automatically generated, totally customizable tweet that goes something like this: “I just made a Twitter Group at http://twittgroups.com/[GroupName] for our [Group Name] group. Please Retweet.”

In less than a week, #greenthumbs has grown to 55 members—who are all into gardening! And when they joined the group, they also got to send out an automated tweet to everyone who follows them, thereby inviting their friends to join. Are you beginning to see the potential?

But That’s Not All

Each member of your group gets his or her Twitter name, Web site URL, and Twitter Group profile link publicly listed. Group members can also post links to their favorite articles, blogs, forums, photos, videos and wikis, as well as to events, with the option to send out a tweet that includes a link to the group! Now that Google Friend Connect has been added, your potential to connect with other peeps is even greater.

Just in case you can’t tell, I am enamored with this new Twitter tool. My only hope is that as it improves functionality (a Follow link was added over the weekend, which enables you to automatically follow group members without having to go to their profile), it also becomes more visually appealing. Regardless of how it looks, though, I am convinced this new application can help you expand your network beyond your expectations.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



TwitterGroups – A New Twitter Tool Will Help Expand Your Network [REVIEW]

Do you have a Twitter account for your company, and would like to give employees access to post to it? Would you like to start your own Twitter group and allow others to join and post their own relevant tweets? Twittbot may just be what you’re looking for.

What is Twittbot?

According to the website (twittbot.com), “TwittBot is a service that allows multiple people to publish to a single Twitter account, and for a single person to post to multiple Twitter accounts.” Developed by app developer Nick Davis (@davinic), it’s a free service that just launched in open beta on December 4th.

How Does it Work?

By creating a Twittbot account using your current Twitter username and password, you can allow others to post to that account with a simple @ reply. This allows you to create your own groups on Twitter. You can keep the group (or “bot”) closed (meaning that only authors that you allow will be able to post tweets to the account), or open it up for anyone to post.

The Test

To test this out, I created a Twitter account called coffeelinks (for my inner coffee geek). I kept the coffeelinks bot closed and invited others to join my group. I added those who were interested as authors, as shown below (click to enlarge):

I then told all allowed users to post links to coffee-related news, recipes, reviews, etc. to @coffeelinks. When they did, it showed up on the coffeelinks Twitter profile like this:

The post is preceded by the author’s username, so you can see who is posting to the account. I’m able to monitor the status of all posts through the Twittbot user interface and decide whether or not to publish a certain post. I can unpublish posts, or even allow authors who aren’t on my list (since the bot is closed).

The Verdict

Overall, I think Twittbot is a useful tool. It makes “group tweeting” and community-building via Twitter pretty easy – either for a company that wants a new way to engage customers on Twitter, or an individual who wants to start a Twitter group around his/her hobby. Twittbot does, however, have a little way to go before it becomes the robust group Twittering tool that I know it can be.

Looking through the user interface, there are quite a few bits that are still in development and “coming soon” – such as pro settings for auto-following, spam filtering, and update frequency. Also, once you’re in the UI, there are no links to help documentation or even back to the Twittbot homepage (where you’ll find a link to the tutorial). While the UI is pretty intuitive, it wasn’t entirely clear to me how to do certain things (like post to more than one account), and I ended up having to send a tweet to Nick Davis for his help. To his credit – he did respond quickly and with clear instructions for a single user who wants to post to more than one account.

Another drawback is that it can take up to 10 minutes for a post to be published to an account. One of the coffeelinks group members pointed this out to me – he mentioned that he posted a link to @coffeelinks; but it wasn’t showing on the @coffeelinks page. It eventually did; but I think 10 minutes is a bit long to wait in the Twitterworld.

What I’d Like to See

What I’d eventually like to see is a better way to manage multiple Twitter accounts through one Twittbot interface – and clearer instructions for doing so. As far as help documentation goes, I’d like to see a help section fleshed out and added to the UI for easy access – without having to go back to the homepage.

I’d also like to see options for how authors’ usernames are shown on tweets they post. Currently, they’re shown in parentheses at the beginning of the tweet. Depending on how you plan to use this tool, you may instead want author usernames to appear at the end of the tweet, or perhaps not appear at all (useful if you have several people at your company posting to a single company Twitter account; but you want tweets on that account to all show as coming from the company rather than individual employees).

Twittbot has a lot going for it, and a lot of potential as well. I recommend taking a look at it if you’re interested in building your own Twitter community.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Creating Your Own Twitter Groups with Twittbot [Review]