360DigitalInfluence

“I use Twitter to follow key journalists all the time… never to pitch them.” That’s a note my colleague Luca Penati, who heads up our global technology practice, sent me following last week’s Twitter Bootcamp for PR webinar. That, in less than 140 characters, gets to the heart of how Twitter should be used to conduct media relations.

Staying sharp about your area of expertise is one of the foundations to being a smart, successful public relations expert. While it’s true that not everyone and their uncle is atwitter on Twitter (yet), people who we’d categorize as being influential – such as journalists, CEO’s, Congressmen  -  are  active on  Twitter  sharing ideas, exchanging information, and developing new relationships with peers.

Perhaps the greatest beauty of Twitter, from a media relations perspective, is not that you might be able to send a few reporters who ask for it a 140 character pitch (which is a great concept). Rather,  it’s that you can develop a virtual rolodex of experts from within your industry who you can learn from, get to know personally, and connect with when appropriate. If you think about it, in the course of days or weeks, you can establish more expert relationships than would have only been possible across an entire career in the not-so-distant past.

FOLLOW

Whether or not Twitter has been widely adopted yet, the fact that media and influencers are active on Twitter is what’s important. Why wouldn’t you want to know what @stevebaker, @donlemoncnn, @caroliiine, @maddow or @newmediajim are up to?   It’s just going to make you smarter as a public relations professional. True, on occasion you might be exposed to more than you’d care to know, but overall if you pay attention you’ll learn some invaluable insights. Over on  Tech PR Nibbles,  Lexy Klain wrote:

“I (may) find out when people need to go to the bathroom, what they had for breakfast and when they are on the train but on several occasions it can be really useful. You can pick up a lead on a story that a journalist is working on, what topics he/ she covers, when he/ she is going overseas, find out what they think of products they are reviewing and reporting on, what topics light a fire under them and so forth.”

So how do you start following? The first step is creating your own Twitter account. It’s free. And it’s easy. Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to start following both journalists and bloggers from across your industry to find out what they’re working on or really passionate about. Here are  four good ways to find and follow people on Twitter:

1. Search Field: On Twitter.com, click the “Find People” link toward the top right of the page, and then click “Search” for either someone’s name or a location. For example, if you wanted to find people Tweeting from Bethesda, MD, simply type “Bethesda” into the search field.
2. Wiki Lists: There are several wikis that contain lists of journalists and brands which are active on Twitter. These include Media People Using Twitter  and Twitter Packs.
3. Fellow Followers. Looking at the Twitter page of someone you consider influential, check to see who they are following. You can do this by clicking their “Following” link on their profile. There’s a good chance you’ll find others who are passionate about your topic as well.
4. Twitter Search Engines: There are a number of Twitter search engines that are publicly available. Try entering a keyword, name or location  into a tool like Tweet Scan or Summize.

As you begin following people, do not  ask  them to  follow you and don’t sweat having a low number of followers to start out.  In this case, if you build it they  will come:  if you are sharing useful information your list of followers will grow organically. Sarah Evens over at Mashable said in her post  ”How Not To: Build Your Twitter Community“:

“My biggest pet peeve on Twitter is when people ask for more followers. I don’t think anyone has malicious intents, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. You get more followers because you provide great content, are entertaining or someone likes you… Practice good Twitter etiquette and don’t solicit followers for yourself or your friends.”

Lastly, Mike Yanke of the  TopRank Online Marketing Blog drives home the importance of listening first on Twitter:

“A social network, like a party of new friends, has its own wants, needs and - per Odden - its own written and unwritten rules to be followed. Unless time is taken to listen to what those wants, needs and ruless are, and an effort is made to offer something of value based on this information, you will likely be seen as an outsider to the proceedings, unlikely to be involved in any meaningful party conversation, and risk the complete shunning of the group itself.”

CREATE

Complete your profile fully! Accentuate what makes you an expert, and crosslink your Web site(s) or social network profiles to provide context. This is important, because as you begin to follow people they’ll likely visit your Twitter profile. The more you can demonstrate your expertise the more likely they’ll want to follow you, too. Secondly, Tweet useful, relevant information that people would would want to know - such as statistics or links you might hear about at an industry event or press conference. For every Tweet where you’re asking the masses  for something, I think you should  be providing  at least 10 Tweets of useful information.  Put simply: provide value.

ENGAGE

If you’d like  to participate in Twitter to  improve your media  relations skills,  here are four things you  can do:  

1. Build an Insight Network.  Create an insight network by following people who are influential in your area of expertise (see Follow, above). Read as many Tweets as you can. For people who you really care about and are providing value, you might want to consider having their Tweets sent to your mobile device.
2. Provide Value to Others. The golden rule of Twitter. Sharing something personal from time to time is appropriate, but if your purpose is to position yourself as an expert on a topic, you’ll want to make sure at least 80% of your posts are providing value.
3. Twitpitch Only When Asked. Some journalists are opting out of email and asking for pitches to come through via Twitter. As of today, the number of reporters who consider Twitter a pitch-free zone outnumbers these folks. The key thing is to do your research first and know what they prefer.
4. Hashtag All Events. As Kaitlyn Wilkins mentionedin post #4 of this series, Twitter is a great way to cover an event. If you are hosting a press conference, participating in a trade show, or hosting a panel discussion, you will want to designate and promote a hashtag (#) for the event. Reporters can follow the hashtag before, during and after the event to help craft their coverage.

These are just four quick examples that come to mind for someone who’s admittedly not a traditional public relations pro. Knowing what you know about Twitter, what other applications to media relations and public relations do you think are appropriate and possible? Would love to hear your thoughts.