Panel gives tips for using Twitter

For Molly Buckley, networking on Twitter is similar to attending a cocktail party.

Buckley, sales and marketing coordinator for local radio station 1360 WCHL, was one of three panelists who discussed Twitter at the Community Technology Forum on Friday at Carrboro’s Cybrary.

Twitter is an online service that allows users to post 140-character statements.

Twitter for your organization:

• Create a network. Start off by following users in your area that may later use your service or promote you. Look at the people they follow, and add them if they are in your intended audience.
• Sound like a real person — people will know you are authentic.
• Connect through conversations, promoting and replying to other users. Your followers likely don’t want to hear a constant sales pitch

The Cybrary, a branch of the Orange County Public Library system, has 244 Twitter followers — the second-most followers of any library in the state — and is ranked 127 in the country, said Laura Dallas, manager of the Cybrary, who runs the library’s Twitter account.

“It’s a quick, easy and convenient way to connect with people,” Dallas said.

Mostly business owners attended the forum, which started with Dallas covering Twitter basics like setting up an account.

Buckley said she thought Twitter was stupid at first. But after moving to the area in June, she found it useful to expand her network.

Most of the 20 or so attendants were interested in using Twitter to expand their businesses.

Panelist Brian Russell, owner of Carrboro Creative Coworking, explained how using Twitter helped him find clients and market his company.

“It’s valuable for keeping people up to date,” Russell said.

Panelist Paul Jones, a UNC journalism professor and director of Internet library ibiblio, said a way of looking at Twitter is like a broadcast medium. People should converse with others, not push their products at people, he said.

The Orange County Main Library started a Twitter account a month ago, said Josh Walker, the library’s information services assistant.

“We thought that it was a beneficial networking tool,” Walker said. “To keep up with society, we have to keep up with technology.”

He said it was his idea to start a Twitter account for the library. He generally updates it four or five times a day, mostly to answer patron questions.

The Cybrary, located in Carrboro’s Century Center, emphasizes providing computer services to adults. It also updates its Twitter account daily.

Dallas said she usually tweets about new books or upcoming events at the library.

Buckley said she used Twitter to get the job she has now and encourages college students to use it to find internships or jobs after school.

 

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.