Leveraging Social Media

Statistics & Demographics

Over 66% of all adult online users are connected to one or more social media platforms. Use of these platforms and tools has been increasing steadily over the last 10 years for both personal & business reasons.

The Power of Social Media

"We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world" - Cairo activist

11

Driving Social & Political Change

Journalists Turn to Social Media

To not participate in conversations that are taking place or to avoid monitoring trends is going to result in lost opportunities. [By keeping up with Twitter], journalists are able to take a trend they first spot on Twitter and the real-time Internet and continue to develop it in more detail.

Brian Dresher, manager of social media and digital partnerships at USA TODAY

12

Journalists on Social Media: Nicholas Kristof

13

Engaging Users on Facebook

Sharing pictures engages users on Facebook more than any other type of post.

13

The Twitter World

Who plays in this sandbox?
Organizations Companies (large and small) Think tanks Opinion leaders Education reporters Legislators/policymakers People who share everything they eat/feel

Know Thy Audience

Online Behaviors of Teachers
Active on Social Media Favorite Platform: Facebook Engaged on Twitter Other platforms: Pinterest

Know Thy Audience

What Are Teachers Doing On Twitter?
Responding to news Sharing resources, content, tips and tricks Saving time Sharing insights and challenges (EdChat List) Making their voices heard (#SOSMarch)

Why Are They Doing It?

To learn, to share, to connect and energize

10

Know Thy Audience

Why Should Teachers Follow You?
Content Perspective Opportunities

Why Do You Want to Follow Teachers?

11

Phase One: The Listening Tour

Continue to listen and respond to followers
They want to know that you understand how they feel Twitter is not just a broadcasting tool The @rweingarten Model

12

Phase One: The Listening Tour

Continue to ask questions
Participate in relevant Twitter chats/events Ask your audience what they think, need, want
Be sure to respond!

13

Leverage, Leverage, Leverage

Use a frank and honest tone leverage content
Email signature LinkedIn page

14

Reputation Building
Understand that audiences will need to get to know you
Audiences need to get to know you and not be intimidated by your position & experience Audiences will respond to humanity and accessibility

15

Phase Two: Engagement

Make your voice heard
Twitter chat with a partner organization around a specific announcement Twitter chat with a friendly blogger Join in the conversation with specific groups who gather by interest

16

Engagement: Leverage
Actively comment on blogs or news posts that can affect your audience include @yourhandle Before and after an interview or report, tweet to the outlet directly or comment on it while also including their @handle Create relevant lists to easily leverage content at the right time

17

Engagement: Make it Fun!

Share photos of your team in action & grantees
You can now upload directly to Twitter

Ask fun questions Share family & personal stories if you feel comfortable Contest asking for ideas on a given subject
Winner could accompany you to Education Nation or access to another professional development opportunity

18

Final Phase: Activation

Drive followers to resources/information Include followers in an announcement or event Engage followers around coverage that seems unfair or inaccurate, solicit their opinions & encourage them to submit their feedback to the outlet
Example:

19

Tips, Tricks, Best Practices & The Inevitable Rogue Tweet

Retweet (RT)
1. (noun) A Tweet by another user, forwarded to you by someone you follow. Often used to spread news or share valuable findings on Twitter 2. (verb) To retweet, retweeting, retweeted. The act of forwarding another user's Tweet to all of your followers. Often preceded by RT @username

Modified Tweet (MT)

1. (noun) A Tweet by another user, that signals you have slightly modified the original Tweet. Often used to spread news or share valuable findings on Twitter with your personal comments added hence the need to modify the initial Tweet.

22

Reply
A Tweet posted in reply to another user's message, usually posted by clicking the "reply" button next to their Tweet in your timeline. Always begins with @username.

Mentions
Mentioning another user in your Tweet by including the @ sign followed directly by their username is called a "mention". Also refers to Tweets in which your username was included.

24

Direct Message
Also called a DM and most recently called simply a "message," these Tweets are private between only the sender and recipient. Tweets become DMs when they begin with "d username" to specify who the message is for.

Hashtag
The # symbol is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet; created organically by Twitter users.

Lists
Curated groups of other Twitter users. Used to tie specific individuals into a group on your Twitter account. Displayed on the left side menu of your homepage.

27

Tools
Tweetdeck, Tweetbot, Twitterstats: Getting set up and adding your account Always make sure youre tweeting from the right account!!!

28

Rogue Tweets Happen

Were human. All the digital tools to help us manage our multiple social media accounts also make it easier for mistakes.

29

Example: Tone Matters

Tone of Tweet can provide perspective on content Engagement does not mean arguing, but be ready to have a conversation

30

Establish Your Twitter Voice

Define your voice
What tone do you want to project? Even with multiple posters, try and keep the tone similar for @yourhandle

Determine your subject matter

Reinforce brand, share interesting comments and links (even if not a partner product), pose and respond to questions Reach out to media/peers

Creating Relevant, Powerful Tweets

Learn by seeing and doing Share insight/something interesting
Articles Conferences

Optimize, e.g. use relevant hashtags Participate in/start conversations Share content and amplify others work

32

Content Strategy
Steady flow of articles, resources, news Opportunistic Tweeting @yourhandle & partner events (photos!) Events you are attending Being the first to tweet a new story Respond to breaking news in education Engagement Utilize recurring themes to promote others: #charitytuesday #FollowFriday #FF
33

Do
Follow Twitter conversation Identify & follow more users Post regularly (4-8 times a week to start) Be succinct (you only have 140 characters) Be relevant Be connected Thank others for sharing info by RT or @via Be compelling Share content from others, RT, MT or use via @username Try new things - Twitter chat w/ partner group? Activate your followers when it matters Set goals

Dont
Tweet from the wrong account! Share content that is not relevant Feel like you need to use a hashtag in every post Reply to every single Tweet Be boring Force it Respond to negative comments casually Use inappropriate language

You Cant Always Control What Catches Most Retweeted Tweet of 2010

Most Retweeted Tweet of 2011

Most Retweeted Tweet Ever

36

When to Tweet
Throughout the day Best time to Tweet: 9am PT/12pm ET Best time to get RT-ed: 5pm ET Experiment!

37

Followers/Following
Who to Follow Common interests News outlets People youd like to follow you back

38

Your Audience and Its Influencers

There is no tool to truly measure influence The real question: who is your audience and who influences them? Influence is not a Klout score; its about making an impact with the audience you care about and being a part of conversations they care about

39

Measuring Impact
# of Followers, RTs and Mentions Analytics
Setting KPIs (key performance indicators) Monitoring traffic to your website/YouTube channel Tracking URLs through bit.ly Tweetstats

40

Questions, Answers, and more Ideas!

Teachers Are Using

42

How Teachers Are Using It

They are sharing Lesson plans Arts &Craft ideas Wish lists of supplies Pinning with students in the classroom

43

16