I have used Twitter since December 2009. I’m the first to admit that originally I thought it was silly. But then a writer friend coaxed me into trying it, and I got hooked.
As a journalist, I’ve found Twitter to be extremely useful. Here are 10 ways that I and other reporters, writers, freelancers and editors use it:
1. As a news service – I use Twitter’s List feature to create a list of news organizations that I call the Daily News I scan in the a.m. to find out what’s happening in the world. I have another list for Portland so I know what’s going on where I live.
2. To track sources – I maintain lists of sources, analysts, companies, etc., on a couple subjects I write about regularly, including business and finance, workplace issues, boomers and media. New to a beat, or starting to do background research for a story? Get up to speed by finding and following lists created by other reporters who write on the topic.
3. To crowdsource for stories – Pose a question to your Twitter followers and see what happens. One caveat if you do this: always identify yourself as a reporter when throwing questions out there so people understand their responses are on the record and could be quoted. Also, ask people to send you their contact info (via DM if they prefer) so you have a mechanism for following up – you may need to to find out more about them or if the publication you’re writing for requires this.
4. To interview sources – Yes, I’ve actually conducted short interviews via DMs.
5. To broadcast links to stories and posts I’ve written – I routinely tweet links to stories I write for the publications I work for and for these blog posts (which could be why you’re reading this). When I tweet links, I use bit.ly to shorten the URL. For blog posts, I use the link shortener that’s built into WordPress. According to Twitter etiquette, it’s perfectly acceptable to use the service to promote your own work, just don’t make it the only thing you ever use it for.
6. To catch up with friends. Twitter’s a great substitute for an instant message or chat service for sending a quick “Hi” to colleagues or friends during the work day, especially people who might live across the country or who you don’t see on a regular basis. It’s also great for organizing colleagues or friends who might be attending the same conference to get together for coffee or making other kinds of inpromptu plans.
7. For regularly scheduled live chats. Twitter is my venue of choice for the writers’ chat I host on the last Wednesday of the month called WordCount Last Wednesday. To create or join a chat, you’ll need to use the appropriate chat handle – usually an acronym or short phrase – that includes the hashtag symbol, Twitter’s signal that the tweets thus marked are part of a larger conversation. If you’d like to check out my chat, use the hashtag #wclw and join us for the next one on Wednesday, March 30, at 10 a.m. PST, when my guest will be Marla Beck, a life coach for writers. Read my Q&A with Marla here: WordCount Q&A: Marla Beck, Life Coach for Writers. When you participate in a chat, using a Twitter add-on like TweetChat automatically adds the appropriate hashtag to your tweets and makes it easier to follow the conversation.
8. For live tweeting a meeting. Share what’s happening at a meeting, seminar or conference you’re covering with readers or colleagues by live tweeting. These days, most conferences and meetings have a designated hashtag. In the next week or two, for example, Twitter should be deluged with people sharing #SXSW tweets from the South by Southwest conference, which happens every March.
9. For sharing interesting things I’ve read or that other people have read or written. A good way to make friends and influence people on Twitter is to RT (retweet), forward or otherwise share what they are saying, reading or writing. And who knows? Some of the people you RT could do the same for you.
10. To tweet for a client. I regularly tweet links to stories for GettheInsideEdge.com, the CFO website I edit for American Express. I tweet about Inside Edge from my primary Twitter account and from a separate one I set up for Amex. If you’re tweeting from multiple accounts, using a Twitter add on such as HootSuite makes it easier, and allows you to pre-publish posts.
What I don’t use Twitter for very much is soliciting business – I think that’s happened one time. Every writer’s experience will be slightly different, but this is what’s working for me.
How are you using Twitter?
Great topic, Michelle! I use Twitter in many of the same way you do. However, while I disclose my journalist status while trolling for sources, I don’t use quotes that have been tweeted to me. Usually I try to move the conversation to phone or email so that other people can’t eavesdrop. In a few cases, journalists or sources have gotten in trouble for tweeting about a story before it comes out, so I’m careful to avoid that. Not sure if you’ve run into that issue, but I think it’s something writers should be aware of in case their editor has concerns.
Susan, the only times I’ve used quotes from Twitter is when I’ve DM’d a question to an existing source and had them DM a reply back to me – I’d never quote something from the public stream, unless I was using it specifically as an example of what people were buzzing about on Twitter. I too am careful about what I tweet about while I’m still working on a story, although I sometimes share when I’ve had an interesting interview with someone. And thank you for sharing!
Michelle
Good to know. I figured you weren’t quoting someone’s tweets with their shorthand and hashtags, but you never know. Also, I was skeptical of Twitter at first and I think you were one of the people who convinced me to join!
Thanks, Michelle.
Hi Michelle,
I love using Twitter to learn as much as I can about a client. And it’s pretty unobtrusive, all I have to do is follow them and then I’m on my way to learning all sorts of hard and soft facts about them, who they hang out with, what’s currently happening on their end, etc.
Thanks for an informative post,
Cris Silva, Portuguese Translator
I have a new blog for midlife moms but had been having trouble finding related blogs and websites to connect with.
Recently, I typed a few search terms into the Twitter search box and got great results, finding blogs and websites on late motherhood that I’d never found using Google.
So I’m now a big fan of using Twitter search!
Yep, it’s a great tool.