For Twitter Success, Just Add Meaning.

With Dr. Mark Drapeau’s ReadWriteWeb Goverati article yesterday, it seems that the beast is awakening and out of this slumber is arising more Twitter accounts, and thus more friends to meet and conversations to maintain.

As a new Twitter member, one may be wondering a series of questions that I hope this post offers a “quick guide” to successful Twitter use and community, with the key ingredient reiterated at the end.

“What is Twitter?”

Twitter is a micro-blogging social media tool that asks the question, “What are you doing?” Individuals, who have logged in and registered for the free service, answer the question within 140 characters or within multiple updates and then ‘update’ their status. Twitter works by individuals agreeing to ‘follow’ a certain Twitter account. Once following this account, the person then gets the account’s updates. It is a great medium that lends itself to both one-to-one communications, as well as one-to-many communications. In the past six months, Twitter has gone from 600k accounts, to 2.9 million accounts.

“How can I/We use Twitter?”

The list below outlines 13 different functions that both individuals and organizations can use Twitter’s platform to accomplish:

1.    Inquiry Response
2.    Reputation Management
3.    Promotion
4.    Event Planning
5.    Brand Equity
6.    Marketing
7.    Fundraising
8.    Reminders
9.    Emergency and Disaster Response
10.    Provide information, news and tips
11.    Research
12.    Conversation Tracking through Hashtags (i.e. #WAD08, #healthcomm)
13.    Social Networking

“Now what?”

Find YOUR Voice. We all have different perspectives and a variety of experiences, and as I @cdorobek reiterate, we make each other better. Whether your Twitter handle is your real name or a nickname, it doesn’t matter, what matters…is getting started and getting involved.
Add Value. Twitter’s capabilities are great. But for them to stick and for you to get the most out of it, you must find value not just in the technology, but in the conversations and those you connect with. Thus, respond, connect and engage.
Create Meaning. This one stretches beyond Twitter, but into social media strategy in general. So, you create a blog, a wiki, a thingy-maggig, people aren’t going to use it unless it adds meaning to their lives.

“How do I connect?”

For Government folks, check out GovTwit. And, have you signed up for Government 2.0 Camp yet? Are registered on Govloop?
For Health folks, check out this top 100 health Twitter-ers list. (Also, be sure to check out next week’s DC Social Media Club event about Health 2.0 or there’s DC HealthCamp in late February, the Health 2.0 Conference).
For others, check out Twitter packs, Twitter Search and the JustTweetIt directory.

“Where can I learn more?”

Ogilvy’s Twitter Blog Posts Series
Twit Tip Blog by Problogger, (@problogger)
Government Micro-Blogging Information
Twitter Support
Twitter Wiki

In sum, just add meaning. This may seem easier said than done, so I want to help. What are your other Twitter questions? I can already think of a few (tools, metrics, etc.) Feel free to comment, and I will offer more in the comments. Finally, I too am on Twitter: @socialbttrfly. Feel free to follow, and I look forward to creating meaning together.

6 thoughts on “For Twitter Success, Just Add Meaning.”

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andrew February 6, 2009 at 3:56 am

nice twitter post. i will check out mark’s article.

Adriel Hampton February 6, 2009 at 10:39 pm

Nice work, Alex. This new user guide definitely helps make some sense out of something that can seem quite nonsensical at first.

Sam Davidson February 7, 2009 at 6:52 am

Great points. I agree that you need to add value and create meaning, or as I call it, say something that matters.

Wonderful, concise post!

Alex Post authorFebruary 7, 2009 at 3:54 pm

@Sam @Adriel @Andrew Thanks for the complements. I’m finding (and am excited about) more and more people are starting to join Twitter. Thus, I wanted to get some resources and helpful tips, while also reiterating that with any social media strategy, you have to add meaning and value for “success.”

stephan coppock February 18, 2009 at 10:40 pm

hey there sis. I was just checking out your site and it is amazing. I always knew you were destined for great things. I am very proud of the accomplishments you have made. I look forward to reading more of your writing.

Alex Post authorFebruary 18, 2009 at 11:45 pm

@Mike Glad it could be helpful. Let me know if I can help in any other way. I like to “add meaning” to help others out, ;).

@Stephan Aw! You found my blog bro. Thank you so much for your kind words!! I just emailed you offline as well. You are quite the writer too if I do recall… 😉 Much love.

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SocialButterfly

Exploring the Art + Science of Social Change.

6 thoughts on “For Twitter Success, Just Add Meaning.”