The Leader’s Guide to Twitter

Getting involved with youth ministry ... When did nature become unimportant in...

The Leader’s Guide to Twitter

This article is a 15-minute guide that introduces the essential tools and insights for leaders to maximize their use of Twitter.

Since 2009, Twitter has been the hot spot for social media activity. Even though late adopters have finally joined and then wondered why it took them so long, I still discover leaders who are Twitter-adverse. Well, it’s not that they don’t want to join Twitter, they just can’t see how it helps their work and are fearful it will take too much of their time. I’m not a social media expert, nor do I usually write about social media. However, I’ve found Twitter to be immensely helpful and not as time-demanding as it seems. Social media is just a tool for me, not the end goal. For some, it SEEMS to be the end goal and I think that contributes to other leaders’ apprehensions about its usefulness in the “real world.”

I woke up one morning recently (always a good thing to do) to find that I had been named among the Top 50 Professors on Twitter for leadership, innovation, and strategy. I am not sure how a youth work leader makes such a list, but it’s nice to be listed among so many great leaders who work to connect their teaching and research to leadership, innovation and strategy through social media. It’s also been nice to receive a few free books in the mail!

So, this event has prompted folks who know me to ask how I manage Twitter while leading so many different initiatives. I tell them that Twitter really doesn’t take much time if you use the right tools. (This adage is true about so many things in work and leadership) If you spend the equivalent of one lunch meeting a week with Twitter, you can have hundreds of mini-lunches with other leaders, connect at a new level with your constituencies, and learn and grow (even spiritually!) in ways you can’t imagine.

Five ‘Fast and Easy’ Steps to Becoming a Twitter Pro

So, here are my two cents on how leaders can take advantage of Twitter and then see if they like it. Surprisingly I couldn’t many Internet articles designed to help leaders get started with Twitter, though I think this popular post on Twitter basics by Michael Hyatt has helpful tips that show the Twitter posting essentials. (If you are new to social media and have time, you may want to jump over and read that first before continuing).

1. Be clear on why. Twitter will take a lot of your time if you’re not clear on how you’re going to use it. If you’re planning to just promote yourself or your product, you may want reconsider. Your goal should be to engage people, listen, learn from them, and then help them. Your goal isn’t just visibility, the goal for Twitter is engagement with others. We in leadership often mistake “connecting” with the notion “they got to meet us.” (Click to Tweet) That’s pretty self-focused (though common). No, the goal is to engage with others. Twitter brings us together like virtual campfires of people talking about various topics, causes, and organizations.

You also need to stay committed to it for a full year. If after that you don’t like it (and you’ve given it a fair chance), then you can quit. You have my permission (I am sure you’re grateful for that). The early months may seem slow to get started, but a good year will allow you to see your community connections grow as you spend time learning and engaging others.

2. Sign in and use your real name as your ID, not your organization’s name. Since the goal isn’t promotion, but engagement, your work, personality, life, interests, and YOU are what we will connect with. Twitter at its foundation is a “behind the curtain” experience for those who follow you. And again, your learning from them will make them stay connected. So, use your real name. Many of us Twitter users rarely follow organizations or businesses.

Starting on Twitter is super easy, so I don’t think you’ll have any problems. For your profile (the description of who you are), use short words/phrases, and be sure to include your URL for your website.

When you Tweet, you have just 140 characters. Just share what you’re learning, seeing, thinking, or doing. I have a leader friend who shares his latest kitchen creation since he likes to cook when not out of town. People love that and feel a personal connection to the person, not just the “role” we have when leading.

3. Join and use HootSuite or TweetDeck to manage your reading of your Twitter. These two programs are the primary programs for using Twitter effectively. Both do about the same thing, but HootSuite is browser-based (and can engage more social media outlets than just Twitter, a feature I don’t use) while TweetDeck is a downloaded program. HootSuite allows you to schedule Tweets, which is good, and you can access it from any computer. I primarily use TweetDeck since I mostly work from my laptop. I can just click the Icon and see what’s going on in a quick glance. You can learn more about two program and the comparisons here, here, or here.

The thing I like about these is that you can set up a List on Twitter.com to help you focus on certain groups. Don’t be one of those leaders who only follows 50-80 people while 1000+ are following you. I know that’s my personal opinion, but it looks bad to many folks who may want to follow you as if you don’t really want to connect with others and you’re a one-way conversation (if you’re lucky) about to happen. The general rule of thumb is to follow back people who have followed you and seem interesting/helpful to you.

Here’s how to manage this and stay focused: Use Twitter.com to create a core list of people you follow. Make it private (not public). THIS can be the list of 50-200 people you want to focus on in Twitter. You can have HootSuite or TweetDeck make a column just for that list. Then, when you go to look at your Twitter feed, that’s the column you focus on. Saves time and maximizes usefulness. You may want to add pre-established columns for “Mentions” (shows Tweets by others that mention you) and “Interactions” (this one is only available on TweetDeck I believe. It shows when people follow you) and Direct Messages (private messages sent to you only).

I know it may sound overwhelming, but it’s not too bad really. The startup into Twitter will take 10-15 minutes and the setup of HootSuite or TweetDeck will take you less than 10 minutes. Then, going forward, you can just have a 5-minute check-in to Twitter (or programs) to stay focused, productive, and yet connected.

4. Join Buffer and use it to manage your Tweets going out. Buffer allows you to save time by scheduling tweets from your smartphone (yes, there’s an app for that) or from your browser (Chrome works best for me). HootSuite offers this feature as well (and has some advantages), but Buffer is more user-friendly, quicker, and you can buffer from a wide range of places. You can pre-set a schedule of times to go out each day or you can schedule each Tweet’s time.

As I read something helpful or interesting to others, which often happens early in the morning or late at night (not times people check Twitter), I load it into buffer and it’s set to go out on the schedule that I set.

A good rule of thumb is not to Tweet more than 6 times a day. I break it sometimes, yes, but you may push people away if you bombard folks with something every hour. Some motivational-types post every 15-3o minutes and that’s what they do for their followers. What I’ve done is preset 4-5 times a weekday (none on weekends usually) where Buffer will fire off a tweet. VETERAN TIP: The free version of Buffer only lets you load a certain amount of tweets (roughly 10) ahead of time, but enough to keep you active on Twitter each week without having to spend much time. Set up Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with 3 Tweets per day, ranging from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Buffer allows you to post regularly to Twitter without having to be on Twitter and interrupt your work. Posting every two hours for 3-5 times a day seems to be a good rhythm for leaders. I’m writing this on a Saturday and my Monday tweets are already set from this morning of reading blogs (more on that in a follow-up article. You can find help from here or here). Sometimes, I’ll have one of these post to Twitter while I’m teaching a class. This scares my students in class (“Is Dr. Terry tweeting during class?” Uh, no.) AND it lets me know who’s checking their phones during my class (very helpful in enforcing class policies).

Now, here’s a veteran trick: Don’t worry about Tweeting much on Friday’s, though you may want to have a few go out on the weekend. If you only Tweet on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays each week, you’ll be fine. Friday is one of the least active days on Twitter, though it’s Facebook’s most active weekday. I also think for those in the northern hemisphere, it’s not imperative to tweet or blog much in July or August. Take a break! Most others are on vacation anyway. Same for Christmas break. It’s good to have a social media fast when possible.

Remember: YOU are in charge of social media. Social media is not in charge of you.

5. Participate in your growing online community. Twitter does happen in real time, so it’s good to jump on once or twice a day and read through the Tweets. The most important thing to do on Twitter as a leader is to listen. If you’ve set up your “core” list of favorite and helpful Twitter friends, that will keep this time manageable and focused. If you see an interesting hashtag, you can click on it and see what’s going on in a new column. You’ll soon find out that news hits Twitter first in big events. Reply to a few Tweets as you want to and enjoy the conversations.

Oh, and connect with me @TerryLinhart when you jump into Twitter and let me know how it’s going for you. I’ll even help you with any questions you may have too!

If I missed anything here or you reach a step and can’t figure it out, let me know and I’ll add the information. (There are also many helpful YouTube videos for much of what I mention here)

Terry Linhart, Ph.D. teaches at Bethel College in South Bend, Indiana. You can sign up for Email delivery of his online articles from TerryLinhart.com.