Amanda MacArthur, our resident Online Editor & Publisher, led the session on social media strategy today, addressing how publishing are (and should) be using Twitter in their own businesses.
“Twitter is what I consider the universal social network, it’s great for publishers since it’s all content driven,” MacArthur told the audience. She noted that Twitter is now Mequoda’s second highest source of inbound traffic.
Here are some definitions of Twitter lingo:
RT=Retweet – Used to re-post a tweet that someone else has already posted
@=Public Reply – Used to respond to or address someone publicly
#=hashtag – Used to tag tweets with topics, events
DM = Direct message -Used to privately message another user
#followfriday = A hashtag – Used to identify the “tweeple” that you want to
suggest others in your list also follow
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which tracking tools are available? We use bt.ly for tracking analytics, but there are many others.
Who should tweet for your company? Choose someone who is familiar with your brand, your products and already using social media.
How do you manage your Twitter account? MacArthur prefers Seesmic, but also likes Tweetdeck and Twhirl. If you’re not on Twitter you can can use TweetBeep.com to receive email alerts when your company is mentioned on Twitter. It’s a great way to monitor your reputation.
How can Twitter help you get new email subscribers? By incorporating a retweet or share button on every article. Ask for retweets and answer questions and direct messages.
MacArthur concludes with this, “Remember, Twitter is not an RSS feed, its a conversation engagement tool.”
Next up is Kathy McCabe of Dream of Italy, who has been using Twitter for just over a year. She says, “I think Twitter is best for networking and getting to know people in your field.”
Ways to use Twitter that McCabe mentioned: get story ideas, find writers and interns, find sources, promote subscription deals, and get press coverage.
McCabe creates engagement on Twitter by sharing her experiences, asking what other are doing, giving help, holding a contest, participating in #followfriday, and tweeting about a trending topic.
McCabe recommends inviting your Twitter followers to follow you elsewhere. Point to your free reports, Facebook fanpage, RSS feed and of course, link to your site.
