Twitter for communications officers/spin doctors
In a nutshell: To the uninitiated Twitter is a waste of time, a place where narcissists hang out, posting inane messages about personal stuff you couldn't care less about.
But used correctly, Twitter can be one of the most powerful tools that any journalist, politician, communications officer, activist, PR or publicist, can deploy in their armoury.
Besides being a great aggregator that delivers the news you're interested in to you, it's also an excellent way to break stories and keep abreast of the news; it's a constant source of great story ideas; it's a powerful, cost effective communications tool and great way to find sources and experts; you can use it to crowdsource ideas and ask for help or information; it's an effective way to market goods, ideas, policies and programmes, and to build your brand and market your blog, Facebook page or website.
If that were not enough, it's a powerful search engine that taps into both the news and what people - from the powerful to the rich and famous to the ordinary man and woman - are thinking and saying.
And anyone who doubts just how powerful a tool it can be, need only look at the role it has played in rallying people during the Arab spring, or the way it has kept a communications channel open during earthquakes, floods and other disasters.
For communications officers/spin doctors/politicians
By the end of this course you will be able to use Twitter to:
• Funnel information and news you're interested in, to you;
• Build your network of contacts and keep track of both political friends and foes;
• Keep abreast of big stories and breaking news;
• Market and promote your programmes and policies to an engaged audience;
• Crowdsource ideas and information;
• Understand the power of hash tags, and the power of Twitter as a search engine;
• Build your department/organisation/or party's brand and market it and its work;
• Promote your department's website/blog;
• Use lists to filter your followers according to their importance;
• Network with journalists and other people of influence;
• Learn to write tight, effective tweets of 140 characters or less.
Time: 09:00 - 16:00
Venue: IAJ Offices, Johannesburg