Twitter is, with Facebook (but better 
), THE most written about and the most cheered social media tool in the past years. But it is also one of the most powerful tools for nonprofit organisations to create a community, to propagate your core messages and to kickstart fundraising and advocacy. It is a conversation tool, a repository, a news source, and anything short of a combination of bread toaster and espresso maker.
And yet, it is not evident to get started on Twitter. Explaining what Twitter is all about, is not just going to a website, registering and experiencing a lift-off. It takes a while to grasp the enormous amount of tools, and how to use them right. It takes some skills to make the most of Twitter.
But.. if you use Twitter right, you will find it to be the “Black & Decker” of social media power tools, the “Ferrari” of speed dating a large social community and more fun than watching “Titanic” with your loved one on a Saturday night. Popcorn included.
So, what is Twitter, what is it about, and how can you use it? Specifically in a professional context where you want social media tools to work for your nonprofit organisation.
Seat belt on? Now get excited and enjooooooy your ride. Here we go:
- Twitter is more than a mini-micro blog: Working in the nonprofit sector, what can you use Twitter for? Is it worth the trouble?
- Twitter as a social community tool: What is a social community, and how can you use Twitter to build it? Is it like Skype? Or TV? Or CB radio?
- The Twitter tools: Twitter is more than just a website, there is a myriad of tools you can use with Twitter, to access it easier, to automate what you put into it and what you get out of it. How to post links, video, and pictures on it? How to retrieve information from Twitter?
- How to tweet: A “Tweet”, a message on Twitter, can be much more just a burst broadcast of 140 characters. It can be a conversation, a message to a particular person, a discussion. What is the basic syntax of a Tweet?
- Ten tips to use Twitter effectively: What is the best way to tweet? Or the “Art of Tweeting”
- Questions people will ask you about Twitter: Answering some basic questions on using Twitter in an organisation
Cartoon with courtesy Brad Fitzpatrick