Nick Pickles, Head of Policy at Twitter UK, delivered a workshop to voluntary and community sector organisations on Twitter and the best ways to use the platform.
Some key messages were:
- When tweeting: be human, be compassionate and keep it classy
- Think of Twitter as an extension of real life. Someone repeating everything someone else said would be annoying in real life = it's annoying on Twitter
- Use Twitter analytics to figure out what works and what doesn't. If it doesn't work, change it.
- Brands don't have target markets, they have target moments. Utilise the perfect moment and your message will be heard by the right people.
- A photo is 35% more likely to get a retweet. Use infographics. Use GIFs. Use photos.
- Twitter doesn't have boundaries. All organisations need to embrace the platform.
- Hashtags weren't invented by Twitter. They were invented by users of the platform. Twitter evolves with its users.
- Best way to use Twitter is to engage with organisations and inviduals. Don't use it to shout louder.
- Break news. Use rich media. Amplify yourself. Value others. Entertain.
- Positive news is more likely to go viral.
- There are four avenues to pursue when keeping safe on Twitter: ignore, mute, block and report.
- 96% UK Twitter users have donated to charity.
- 80% of Twitter users access the platform via their phone. Consider this when posting content.
Nick couldn't share his PowerPoint presentation with us but below are some links to Twitter toolkits for the Voluntary and Community sector:
Using Twitter for Social Good
Twitter for Non-Profits
How to Create a Twitter Content Strategy