ROBISON CONSULTING: INTERNET STRATEGY FOR CHURCHES AND MINISTRIES

Robison Consulting: Internet Expertise for Churches and Ministries.

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Three Simple Steps To Successfully "Tweet"

So you want to use Twitter, but don't know how to get started? Here are three simple guidelines to start the process of building and maintaining a solid Twitter campaign.

Think of Twitter as a dinner party. There are things you don't do...

First, invest the time up front to customize your Twitter page. Granted, most people will see your messages far more often than your actual page, but the first impression affords you the best opportunity to draw them in so that they will follow you. Upload a photo that people will recognize. Don't get too artsy with the design. It should look good without being distracting.

Be sure to register a Twitter name that reflects your brand. For example, if you are branding your ministry, XYZ Ministries, get a name as close to your ministry as possible, like twitter.com/xyzministries. If a personality gets more recognition than the name of the ministry, use his or her name. If it's taken, you may be forced to look for a variation, so make sure it's catchy and easily identifiable. After you obtain 25 followers, you can associate a simple and direct URL with your account.

Second, tweet judiciously. Think of Twitter as a dinner party. There are things you don't do in person that people mistakenly do online. Specifically, you don't engage with everyone immediately. You "feel out" the room. You connect with someone, then allow that person to connect you with others. The same is true on Twitter. If you follow everyone immediately and without discretion, you're basically a Twitter clinger and a pest. Also, don't push your agenda on everyone else, especially if you're using Twitter as a soft marketing platform. Let people learn about you and become interested in your ideas and activities instead of walking in and announcing what you're selling.

Also, don't feel like you have to tweet for tweet's sake! If you wouldn't share something with an acquaintance, why share it with the world? Nobody cares if you're eating pizza or driving to the airport. Make your messages meaningful. Give people a reason to listen and, better yet, a reason to re-tweet your messages to other people. If you schedule your tweets with a third-party application like Hootsuite (my favorite), FutureTweets or TweetDeck, be wary of being too predictable. It may serve you well to tweet at 8:00 every morning if you're a hot stock tip of the day, but if you're trying to be personal, that quickly looks automated. The best advice is to tweet when you genuinely have something to say that people want to hear.

Third, be careful who you hang out with. If someone follows you, politely acknowledge them. A form reponse looks like a form response, so reply personally if you can. Also, if you reply in public, others will see your response. If you reply with a "direct message," then only the follower will see it. You decide which option works best for you. And don't feel obliged to follow everyone who follows you. You devalue your own follow list when you put anyone and everyone on it. The list of those you follow reflects on you, so be picky.

Finally, it's a good idea to learn the Twitter language. Hashtags, @replies, mentions and trends are all a part of the online vocabulary. Once you learn their meaning and function, you can better engage your Twitter audience. Read more about these at http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries

- Randy Robison