June 10, 2012

Twitter for Media Pros

How does Twitter fit into the media and advertising mix? Last week, I joined Deanna Ferrari, Social Media Manager at Smith Brothers and Terra McBride, Director of Social Media and Digital PR at Point Park University, on a “Twitter for Media Pros” panel organized by the folks at the Media Association of Pittsburgh.

The session covered a wide range of Twitter topics including a case study of what happens when an accidental tweet gets your company in some hot water (and how to respond), strategies for building your following and getting your followers to engage, and some of the challenges faced by the media industry when looking for opportunities to monetize their offerings.

My content focused a lot on the pre-tweet—what you should do before you share (or write) your article or story to increase the likelihood it will actually be seen. With so much “stuff” floating around on the social web, it’s not enough to rely on a catchy title or carefully selected hashtag.

While writing your content, you should also be thinking 1) "who can I get involved that has a big Twitter audience I want to tap into?" and 2) "are they likely to help promote the article?"

Although it might sound like a no-brainer, surprisingly most people usually do a horrible job at #2. That means anytime you include someone in an article, you should always reach out to them on the day it goes live. The quick prompt will increase the likelihood that they’ll re-tweet or promote it.

As part of the panel, we were each asked to share our "top 5s" about using Twitter as part of the ad mix. You can see what I covered below. Since there isn’t any audio, you’re only getting the bare bones. So that means you have two choices 1) use your imagination to fill in the gaps or 2) leave comments or questions below.

I hope you like it.
 

By: Shawn Graham

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Categories: Marketing Strategy, Social Media Marketing