Overview
Twitter is a platform where users can exchange thoughts, news, information, and links in messages of 140 characters or less — known as “tweets.” Users “follow” each other in order to stay apprised of other users’ updates and to converse with specific people.
While Twitter’s user base (316 million monthly users) is not nearly as large as that of Facebook, 500 million tweets are sent every day, rivaling the amount of content shared on Facebook.
Brands use Twitter to develop relationships with consumers by conversing with users, responding personally to their tweets, offering deals and incentives, product support, customer service, and more. By monitoring keywords and hashtags related to your department or unit, you can join in conversations when opportunities arise.
Getting Started
Selecting Twitter
Twitter is a fast-paced platform, best suited for conversation. Twitter may be a natural choice to listen to your audience and engage with them in a more real-time environment.
If your department or unit desires to create a Twitter profile, please consult with LSAsocial to discuss your goals and plans first.
Creation of new social media channels must be in compliance with the University of Michigan Social Media Implementation Standard.
Twitter Naming Guidelines
Departmental Twitter handles should follow the LSA format: umich + “Department Name,” abbreviated to reduce the number of characters.
For Economics, this will be @umichECON.
Your url will be www.twitter.com/”yourTwitterhandle.”
For Econ, this will be http://www.twitter.com/umichECON
In choosing your name, we encourage units to keep consistency with LSA’s model: U-M + “Department Name.”
For Econ, this will be: U-M Economics.
Completing Your Twitter Profile
Your account description should also include a link to your department website.
We also encourage your account description, which is limited to 140 characters, to reference the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
For Econ int might read something like this: “The Economics Department in @UMichLSA at the University of Michigan.”
LSA Marketing & Communications supplies departments with a social media profile picture (a square version). If you cannot locate the social media profile pic for your department, contact [email protected].
Larger photos for your Twitter profile header image should be a generic U-M image. This image should be as visually simple as possible to ensure that your profile description, which appears over top of it, is readable. We suggest not putting people in this photo, as photos like this are often too busy and hard to negotiate around the profile icon and the text below. Michigan Photography has a large selection of campus photos, should you need a good image which conforms to the current standard for Twitter profiles.
Contact LSA CMS Web Services at [email protected] if you are interested in placing social media account icons on your department’s website.
Publishing On Twitter
Because Twitter has the built-in restriction of requiring succinct posts, it is fairly simple to contribute to the platform. Currently U-M’s partnership with Lynda.com allows us to learn the basics of Twitter and stay on top of any developments.
Twitter for Business on Lynda.com
Logging into Lynda.com with your UMich ID
Additionally, websites and applications such as Tweetdeck and Hootsuite allow you to schedule Twitter posts up to a 30 days ahead of time, view lists you create to organize your followers, shorten links, and track hashtags.
Twitter Engagement Tips
Twitter’s platform is more conversational than other social media channels. Successful brands spend as much time listening and responding to their audience as they do broadcasting their own content.
Be consistent.
Stick to a schedule of posting frequently. The voice and tone of your account should always be consistent based on your strategy and objectives, once established.
Think in 140 Characters.
Twitter is focused on short bursts of information that often lead back to your ultimate gatekeeper of online information: your website. If you need to go beyond the character limitations, link followers over to your website using a shortened, customized URL shortener, like bit.ly. Some studies have demonstrated that the ideal tweet length is only 40 characters before you add a link or photo!
Speak as a team.
Whether you manage your account alone (not recommended) or as part of a team, your account represents your entire area, so be sure to say “we” rather than “I” or “me.”
Know your subject matter.
Some topics to consider for your Twitters posts include:
- Links to departmental stories posted on your website
- Retweets and links to media hits or stories that reference your department, both from other campus entities and from the news media
- Links to stories from your departmental newsletter
- Retweets or links to faculty news/research developments/awards
- Photos of department events
- Event info about guest speakers or lectures
- Important dates/deadlines within your department
- Links to breaking news and timely events
- Quick, 30-second videos
Maintain a Consistent Schedule.
Twitter updates are expected to be more frequent than Facebook updates; studies indicate that engagement with your content peaks at around 6-8 posts every day. A consistent schedule of tweets will help grow your Twitter following. Begin by trying to post 3-4 times every day, including the weekends, to encourage community members to visit your site.
Understand your Tweet options.
Remember that your posts must be less than 140 characters, including spaces. You have the option to make a text-only post, include links to external sites, embed a photo in your tweet, and tag your location.
- Take advantage of the opportunity to link. 140 characters isn’t generally enough space to tell a story, or explain in detail. Link to pages you are looking to promote and sites with more information.
- Use a mix of retweets and tweets written by you. Retweets save time and can add credibility and diversity of information to your account, but be sure you are offering unique information to your followers by creating your own, unique posts.
- Include photos in your post when you can. Use a smart phone or digital camera to take photos from department events to include in timely tweets, or upload graphics of event posters or other print materials to promote department events.
- Use hashtags to reach more people. Consider hashtags relevant to your post and your departmental expertise, such as #economics, #finance, or #markets. Remember to only use hashtags that are relevant to the information in your post.
Managing Community On Twitter
Build a Twitter following.
Your department/unit can follow other individuals and entities. Consider proactively following:
- Other Twitter accounts from Michigan entities
- Your faculty and staff who tweet
- Twitter accounts with similar interests at other colleges/universities
- Experts, companies, or organizations related to your page
Following quality users who follow you can establish you as a trusted source. Keep a balanced ratio of followers. A good rule of thumb is to follow fewer accounts than you have followers to ensure credibility.Before following back, check to see if new followers:
- Seem real. View the “about section” at the top to see if it is populated with believable information
- Tweet information that U-M should be associated with. For example, if the user’s tweets are full of profanity, do not follow back.
- Have an appropriate avatar. If it is inappropriate, do not follow back.
- Tweets frequently
- Has an average follower/following ratio. If someone has 40 followers but is following 3,000 accounts, they may be a spammer.
Use Twitter Lists.
Lists allow you to group users on Twitter. When grouped it will be easier for you to “listen” to specific groups of information. Examples of lists you might create to find information on Twitter more easily are:
- Faculty in your department
- Students in your department
- U-M Twitter accounts
- Relevant news organizations
- Scholarly journals related to your field of study
Mention other Twitter accounts as applicable.
Use the @sign with a user’s Twitter handle to mention them. Mentioning can be a way to credit other Twitter users for information and also a way to ensure they see a tweet you compose that is relevant to their interests.
Please note: If your tweet begins with the @sign, only people that follow you and the other Twitter handle will see your tweet in their news feed. If you desire for all of your followers to see your tweet to another person automatically, include a period “.” before the user name.
Respond and engage.
Find other users whose interests mirror yours and start a dialogue. Be sure to respond to any questions asked of you via Twitter in a timely (generally 1-4 hours) and polite manner. If someone mentions your field of expertise in a tweet, don’t let the opportunity pass. Jump in and interact by tweeting them back, mentioning them, or retweeting their tweet. Favorite posts that laud your department or that are particularly helpful, entertaining, or relevant. Politely correct posts that include misinformation.
Reply to direct messages privately, particularly if the message involves a personal question. You can only DM accounts that follow you. So if an account that you are following sends you a DM, you may need to ask them to follow you back so that you can reply privately. Tweet the following messaging at the user: “Hi @username. Thanks for the DM. Can you please follow us so that we can DM you back?”
Block when needed.
Remember that social media is a place for opinions and healthy conversation, and your Twitter conversations are an example of this.
Sometimes, you will receive tweets containing spam or inappropriate or harassing comments. When an account is becoming bothersome or sending inappropriate content to you, you have the ability to block and report them to Twitter.
Unless the tweets violate the College or University community guidelines it is important to take careful consideration before blocking.
Contact LSA Social if you have questions about how to respond to a post or need support.
