Making The Most Of A Twitter Chat
Huddle, huddle, roil and muddle
I remember the first Twitter chat I attended. It was #journchat, one of the first, if not the first, Twitter chats created.
Image: Maria Johnson via Flickr, CC 2.0
It drove me nuts.
The stream moved so quickly, it was really hard to keep up with what was going on. And if there’s one thing I pride myself on, it’s being able to keep up with several things at once or, as the jargonites would put it, “multi-task.”
And if I’m being honest, some of the tweets people shared seemed so puerile, I said to myself, “Do they really work in public relations?”
Hey I can pull a Simon Cowell with the best of ‘em, though I try – for the most part – not to. And I suspect you can too.
As I started participating in more chats such as #pr20chat, #soloPR and then starting my own (#measurePR), I’ve come to learn a few things about how to make the most of a Twitter chat.
And that puerile is as puerile does.
So, especially if you are new to Twitter chats, I hope this will be helpful.
No barriers to participation
The beauty of Twitter is its democratic nature. Press conferences are held for the media. Professional development conferences are held for professionals in their fields.
But a Twitter chat? It’s there. It’s open. Anyone can participate if they jump on to the hashtag, regardless of whether they specialize in that particular field or not.
As a result, you have the potential for all sorts of comments – from seasoned professionals in the field, to curious onlookers or folks who dabble in the biz.
So no, all tweets will not be equal.
But I think that’s a great thing, since it gives us an opportunity to hear from many different voices… some of whom might become clients, if you’re nice to them.
What you can do: be willing to share (or re-share) information that might help explain the topic at hand to them, and point them to additional resources if they are interested in learning more.
I do this by keeping links to the introductory #measurePR post, as well as to the MeasurePR category on my blog handy. Then, when someone asks, “What is #measurePR?” I can give them a much better answer than I would be able to in 140 characters and the moment.
Resource bingo
Alex Talbott put it best:
Echoing Alex’s thought, Jodi Gersh said on Facebook:
And John Friedman:
This is one of the best things about Twitter chats.
When you go back and look at the transcripts, you’ll find people share a wealth of resources… blog posts, websites, and most of all, their own thoughts, often artfully captured in a perfect sound bite.
Most of the Twitter chats I’m aware of take place for an hour or so. But the great thing about them is that that hour is jam-packed with so much additional information, you could pretty much download all the additional resources shared during the chat and make it your own little handbook.
What you should expect: that the chat moderator(s) will provide a recap of the chat. All that I know do.
If they don’t, go to the WTHashtag page for the chat, like this #measurePR WTHashtag page, and pull a transcript for the chat. Save it as a .PDF file, and you’re good to go.
Bonus tip: sometimes WTHashtag acts funky and doesn’t catch all the tweets, especially if you let a couple of days go by before pulling the transcript. So try to do it as soon as the chat ends.
The other thing you can do is to go to Twitter Search, plug in the hashtag, and save all the tweets that were generated during the time of the chat.
This is a PITA, and I’m not talking bread, but it gives you a record of what was said.
Props to Kellye Crane for reminding me of this during the most recent #measurePR with Don Bartholomew.
The other thing that’s smart to do is, when the transcript is generated, look for any URLs that have been shared during the chat. If they’re resources you will find useful, bookmark them (I use Delicious or Evernote) for future reference.
Rules of engagement
This is an easy one.
What you should expect: anything and everything.
Like I said before, it’s Twitter. Anyone can jump in, jump out, and pretty soon you have the hopscotch and Hokey Pokey rolled into one.
Image: Philippa Willitts via Flickr, CC 2.0
All together now: you put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right…
This is actually a lot of fun, if you’re prepared to deal with it.
What you can do: make sure that you’re including the relevant hashtag with your tweets. A good way to do this is to participate in the chat using Tweetgrid or Tweetchat, which automatically include the hashtag with your tweets.
This way, you’ll see interesting tweets from Twitter users you might not be following, but who are also using the hashtag to participate in the chat.
By doing so, you can engage with them, continue your conversation outside of the chat, and the next thing you know, you’re on a plane to Alaska.
Bonus tip: most chat moderators will number the questions, e.g. Q1, Q2, and so on.
When responding to specific questions, start off by saying, “Re Q1,” or “A1,” etc.
You will help the moderator out immensely by doing both these.
First, because unless you include the hashtag with your tweets, they won’t be indexed in the transcript/search.
Second, numbering your answers helps others understand what specifically you’re responding to, as well as the moderator, which will help her (ok, “or him”) point you to previous answers that may help you get up to speed (if you’re asking a follow up question), as well as additional resources that help you out.
This is some of what I’ve learned by participating in, and moderating, Twitter chats. I’m sure there’s much, much more, because I’m not Simon Cowell, and I don’t know everything.
What have you learned about making your Twitter chat participation more effective and useful? Do share!
Filed under How To, Social Media, Twitter | Tags: #measurepr, #pr20chat, alex talbott, jodi gersh, john friedman, kellye crane, solopr, twitterchat | Comment (0)
Social Media ROI v. Impact: Don’t Confuse The Two
What exactly is ROI?
What is social media ROI?
Image: Mark Smiciklas via Flickr, CC 2.0
Is ROI or “impact” more important? Or are they equally important?
Should companies starting out in social media be concerned about ROI?
These were the questions we discussed on yesterday’s #measurePR chat with Don Bartholomew, aka @donbart.
It was terrific.
As Sean Williams said,
Don is a refreshing blend of theory and practicality when it comes to demystifying what seems to remain one of the most puzzling questions in the social media and measurement worlds.
At least, Sean said something to that effect, but I can’t find his exact tweet, so let’s assume I’m not misquoting him… too much.
Here are some of the tweets from yesterday’s session:
That’s meant to be “think,” by the way.
The key point that Don, Sean, and a few others were trying to drive home is that ROI is ROI is ROI.
It is not “value,” and it is not “impact.”
Update at 11:42 am: Don just corrected me, saying, “… one could argue ROI is a form of Impact, but Impact is not ROI.”
He’s right, and that’s what I meant, and should have said.
Back to your regular programming.
When we start trying to redefine “ROI,” we are opening a can of worms. Because the C-suite understands ROI as something very specific.
If we’re then going to try to change that definition, it can’t end well.
Focusing on Impact, on the other hand, makes a lot of sense, because here you’re starting out with measurable objectives (tired of that phrase yet?!).
Once you do that, you’re going to track your program(s) to see if they result in those measurable objectives… which should be created with some kind of impact on the business/organization in mind.
Do have a read through the transcript of the #measurePR chat with Don; there are some real nuggets in there.
The conversation was so interesting, that Don agreed to come back for Round 2 of the SM ROI discussion.
So save the date: Sept. 14, 12-1 pm ET.
If it makes life easier for you, you can RSVP for #measurePR with Don, Round 2, on Facebook.
It would be great to get some questions from you, so that we don’t have to repeat everything we discussed yesterday.
Will you send them along, either by leaving a comment below, or by shooting me an email or DM?
Don and I hope to see you there!
Filed under MeasurePR, Measurement, Public Relations, Social Media | Tags: #measurepr, don bartholomew, sean williams, twitterchat | Comments (2)Taking A Bow On BNET
Exactly a week ago, something really really really good happened to/for me.
Even though I couldn’t officially spill the beans, I had to tell my friends (of course).
They were equally happy for me and, I suspect, a little frustrated that it would take me a week to come clean. This was my Facebook post that day:
A week hence
Now, that day has come, and I can officially tell you…
Today marks my debut as a BNET blogger.
Woo hoo!
In case – just in case – you’re not familiar with it, BNET is “the hub of the CBS Interactive Business Network, which
” … provides working professionals with the advice and insights they need to get ahead in today’s workplace. It isn’t a site for those who merely punch the clock: It’s for business leaders—of today and the future–who believe in the meaning of work and who know that nurturing excellence in their staff and their organization is the true measure of success.”
A lot of media properties make similar claims, but having been a regular BNET reader for a while, my personal opinion (and you can decide whether it’s humble or not) is that BNET provides real value for those in, and who care about, business.
So I’m absolutely THRILLED to bits about this!
Image: Ross Hall via Flickr, CC 2.0
My first post ran today: Are you listening to – or shouting at – your customers online?
Those of you who interact with me on various social networks know that this is a pet peeve of mine; when organizations don’t understand what a “two-way street means,” and instead opt for what I call the Billy Mays approach.
Do have a read, and if you like it, please share it, Facebook “like” it, Stumble it…
In other words, do pass it around to those you think would enjoy it, much as we share crudités at parties. They’re just enough to whet our appetite for more without making us feel engorged and sated.
Dude. Let’s make this the broccoli of crudités!
Because if you do, then I have a real chance at staying on as a blogger for BNET for a run of more than a few weeks.
And who wouldn’t want that?!
So. Please read, share, and let me know what you think – good or bad. If you have ideas for more posts (I’ll be posting once a week for the next few weeks, primarily on PR and social media), please let me know.
My crudités and I will thank you!
Filed under Business, Career, Personal, Social Media | Tags: blogging, bnet, crudites, Social Media | Comments (4)Ghost In The WMATA Machine
Something spammy this way comes
As someone who occasionally has to ride the DC area public transit system, I signed up for email alerts from WMATA, the transit authority than runs the oft-plagued system.
Since yesterday, I’ve received 22 email “alerts” from them.
Not one of them has anything to do with delays or the lack thereof on any of the Metro lines.
Instead, they invite me to:
… take advantage of “killer prices” on certain prescription drugs,
… help (someone) steer clear of possible suicide, and – this is the best -
… enlarge an anatomical appendage I do not possess.
They’re pretty funny, actually.
I’ve been deleting them without clicking through to the oh-so-tempting URLs they contain, but am waiting to see if something even more creative comes around.
I’m assuming that there is a ghost in WMATA’s machine
or that Dr. Evil has hijacked WMATA’s email alert system, which is actually quite helpful … when it works.
I tried tweeting @wmata, but with no joy.
Guess I shouldn’t be surprised since they use Twitter to primarily broadcast information on line disruptions.
Because, of course, that’s how we should ALL be using social media… as a form of one-way communication!
(You know I’m joking, right?)
I’ve tried to let WMATA know by filling out their “contact us” form, but don’t expect a reply to that any time soon.
I did, however, ask @unsuckdcmetro if he (she?) had heard anything about this.
Turns out, I’m not the only one whom Metro delays and fare hikes apparently have sagging.
Now WMATA just has to find out about it. And fix it.
Oh!
Another one just came through.
It says:
“Stop sending harassing messages. No more emails from you.”
Guess I’ve been put in my place.
Image: DC Metro People via Flickr, CC 2.0
Filed under Social Media | Tags: spam emails, unsuckdcmetro, wmata | Comment (1)The MetricsMan Comes To #measurePR
What’s a Twitter chat on measurement without a Metrics Man?
Fortunately, Don Bartholomew of Fleishman-Hillard - whom you may know as @donbart on Twitter – will rectify that this coming Tuesday, when he joins us to chat about social media “ROI.”
Ah, ROI.
If there’s a term that strikes more dread into the hearts of PR pros than the words “Child Catcher” did to those of Caractacus Potts and Truly Scrumptious… well, I haven’t come across it yet.
Whaaa? “Who’s the Child Catcher?”
Consider yourself enlightened.
Homework
While you certainly don’t have to, I think it would be helpful to you (if you’re planning on attending the chat) to read up on some of Don’s writings, particularly his post on social media ROI angst.
Here he says, among other things:
Point Number One: As a practical matter, the majority of social business efforts will not result in true ROI (in the short term).
In fact, I would guess far less than half will. Maybe less than 10%. But that doesn’t mean the social business effort was not successful, or did not create significant value for the brand or organization.
It simply means the primary objectives of most social business efforts are centered on concepts like community-building, engagement, listening, and participating in conversations. It is difficult and expensive to attribute financial value to these areas.
To use the old saying – the ROI on these sorts of ROI efforts is not good. Traditional public relations, branding and reputation programs suffer from some of the same challenges.
So when a study like the one published by e-Marketer* suggests ‘only’ 16% of social business programs are measuring ROI, while many are surprised it isn’t higher, it actually sounds a little too high to me. I wonder how respondents were thinking about and defining ROI.
Now, there’s a lot more there, so instead of getting discouraged by the bold type, go read the whole thing.
Also check out Olivier Blanchard’s excellent post and presentation on social media ROI for associations & non-profits.
Ready? Warmed up?
Excellent.
See you on Tuesday, then. You can RSVP for #measurePR with Don Bartholomew on Facebook (might be handy as a reminder) … or just show up! 12-1 pm ET; use #measurePR to join/participate in the conversation.
And if you have questions you’d like Don to field, do shoot them to me via email or Twitter (DM) ahead of time, or just leave a comment below.
Image: Kemp Edmonds via Flickr, CC 2.0
Filed under MeasurePR, Measurement, Public Relations, Social Media | Tags: #measurepr, child catcher, don bartholomew, social media ROI | Comment (0)From WTF To KPI: PR Measurement In Acronyms
A couple of days ago, I had the pleasure of presenting a webinar on measurement aka demonstrating the business value of public relations for PRSA.
I say “pleasure” because it was. It was perfectly organized, I had no trouble with the webinar platform, and it was fun.
And I didn’t have to put on fancy clothes or fancy shoes to go do it.
I love webinars!
Here’s the deck, in case you’re interested. Download/embed away.
Couple things
I was hoping to show the Old Spice video titled “Questions” between slides 20 and 21. That’s why the following slide is titled “Answer.”
Also, there are several recaps of the P&G campaign focusing on its results that use W+K’s video case study, but I couldn’t use that either, because the platform we used for the webinar didn’t support video.
So here it is. And the Digital Buzz Blog has an excellent recap of the entire Old Spice social media campaign (which I did pull from, with all the appropriate credits, in my presentation).
I know what you’re thinking.
“Does she have to keep using acronyms in her presentation titles?”
Image: Phil Shirley, Creative Commons
Well… yea, kinda.
If I’m going to grab you by the collar, sit you down and make you pay attention to something as potentially dry and overwhelming as measurement, I better make it fun.
Right?
Hopefully I did.
Ted Nguyen upped the game by recording an audioBoo (WTF?!) of most of the Q&A of the webinar.
Kewl!
So, there you have it.
Whadja think?
Psst: Can you believe how many images you find when you do a search on Flickr for WTF?!
Filed under Measurement, Public Relations, Social Media, Speaking | Tags: audioboo, business value of PR, ted nguyen | Comments (2)Hail Whale
Maybe it’s time for the fail whale to get social.
Image: Seb Fowler, Creative Commons
Filed under Twitter | Tags: fail whale | Comment (0)I’m Not A Twit Or A Twerp, I’m A Tweep
Catching up on my RSS reader (I’m woefully behind), I came across this post from Dirk Singer’s Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.
It looks at an eMarketer assessment of why regular Twitter users, though relatively small in number (when you compare them to Internet users overall), make the platform I love – and many still love to hate – important:
A common answer to ‘why Twitter, it’s not a mass market tool?’, is ‘because the people who do use it matter.’ The influence over numbers argument.
That’s backed up by an ExactTarget study, reproduced in emarketer. US Twitter users in April 2010 were far more likely than general Internet users to post to forums (75% vs 25%), blog (72% vs 14%), comment on blogs (70% vs 23%) and post ratings / reviews (61% vs 20%).
The eMarketer article also says:
According to 360i, 75% of marketers’ tweets are informational, suggesting brands are responding to what consumers want—though they largely neglect to participate in conversations. Such deeper engagement might help them harness the power of frequent Twitter users across their other social activities as well.
This, it seems to me, is a lost opportunity for marketers or, for that matter, for any brand. Twitter is at its best when used as a conversational platform, rather than a means to push out information.
Because we tweeps? We like to talk.
And we’re not “twits,” thank you very much.
Nor are we twaddles or twerps, btw.
And then, what “happens on Twitter” really doesn’t stay on Twitter, but seeds several other platforms and networks ultimately supporting the company’s business objectives.
Unless, of course, what they’re saying (and/or doing) really sucks. In which case they need to relearn the whole conversation thing.
Virgin America is a company that gets this. So does Southwest. So do many others, but they’re still relatively few and far between.
So, dear marketers. Please start talking to, not at, us.
Because, doncha know, what happens on Twitter doesn’t stay on Twitter.
Image: John Roberts, Creative Commons
Filed under Marketing, Twitter | Tags: conversation, dirk singer, emarketer, influence, Twitter | Comment (0)Influence: From BS to Best Practice
I “met” Philip Sheldrake a few weeks ago when he started participating in #measurePR.
Who’s Philip Sheldrake?
According to David Meerman Scott, he’s “the independent expert on [social media analytics] tools.”
You’ll have to scroll down to the comments to see that, but David’s post is an excellent read too, so I think it’s well worth your time.
He is founder and partner of Influence Crowd, LLP, (photo used with Philip’s permission) and “works with organizations to improve their sensitivity to their publics and become more effective and efficient in their proactive and reactive interaction.
“He helps organizations sustain this advantage by identifying appropriate performance measures facilitated by the new marketing technologies, and integrating these into the organization’s business performance management scorecard.
“Philip founded and leads the Influence Scorecard™ initiative, attracting the involvement of US thought leaders such as Katie Paine and Ted Shelton, established the PR industry’s first foray into Web 3.0 with the foundation of the work on the PR Ontology For Feelings About Things.”
Ethics in measurement
One of the discussion points that rears its head frequently during the chat is the efficacy of several of the social media monitoring tools out there.
It usually starts off with someone mentioning or questioning AVE (ad value equivalency) which most of us recoil from like the Energizer bunny on steroids.
That usually leads to someone debating how good (or bad) the latest social media “measurement” tool is.
And, frankly, most of them are ridiculously bad, but they’re couched in pretty graphics and some form of endorsement from social media “gurus,” so they get breathlessly circulated around the Interwebs.
Pretty and easy? Maybe.
But is it ethical
for companies to come up with these tools to make a buck, regardless of whether they’re sound or not?
I don’t think so, and that was one of the points I raised when I talked about measuring social media value the WIIFM way.
I think it was during one such discussion, that Philip sent me the following tweet:
I thought this would be a great topic for the chat, so that’s what we’ll be focusing on tomorrow.
If you can, do go through this excellent presentation from Philip on influence. It won’t take long and it will help set the stage for tomorrow’s discussion.
And I’d also recommend you read his post on browser history and unethical social media metrics.
See you then!
Filed under MeasurePR, Measurement, Public Relations, Social Media | Tags: #measurepr, ethics in measurement, influence, philip sheldrake, PR measurement | Comments (2)Bookmining on Twitter
Stuck for reading material?
Image: David Pritchard, Creative Commons
Just ask your social networks for their recommendations.
I had a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble that was burning a hole in its sleeve.
I have a habit of using gift cards to get gifts for others, but this time I decided to treat myself.
W00t!
Look at some of the great recommendations I got (and am still getting)
on Twitter:
and on Facebook
I ended up buying:
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (I heard about it on NPR and have been wanting to read it),
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, who is one of the best Indo-Anglian writers EVER,
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee-Divakaruni (ditto on the Indo-Anglian author thing, and because I think her take on the Mahabharata might possibly be better than that of Peter Brook’s), and
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, which Leah Betty mentioned on Twitter while we were chatting:
And the $50 covered them all (including tax, free shipping).
Double W00t!
So now I have four great books coming my way, and a whole host of others to add to my “must read” list, especially when I need a new book fix.
Yes, I know I could use the library, but I’m one of those people who likes to keep the books they love.
They become some of my best friends, and there’s nothing like going into your home library and sitting down for a cuppa to get reacquainted with characters you haven’t seen in a while.
Just another way social media makes my life better.
So what if you’re not saving the world?
My social networks didn’t help me save the world today, or save a dog.
But they added immense value by opening up my world just a little bit more.
And it’s only by inhabiting an open, forward-looking world that we can progress, not one that shutters and bars the doors to change.
Thank you, SM; and thank you everyone who gave me such great suggestions.
I’m here because you are.
Filed under Personal, Social Media, Twitter
| Tags: books, facebook, leah betty, Social Media, Twitter |
Comments (3)
