Tweeting is in.

It is essential that your nonprofit keeps up with the ever-evolving world of social technology. Remember, the internet is where your audience is.

If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, it is time to create a Twitter for your non-profit. Tweeting is in.

Twitter is a currently popular microblogging (social) network. It allows users to send out a brief status of 140 characters to all of its followers. When users update their status, it is called a tweet. Twitter allows for hashtags, retweeting, and tweeting @ another user.

taken from Twitter Facts & Figures

Rosita Cortez, founder and professional blogger of Social Media 4 Nonprofits, provides a useful slideshow that was used for Blackbaud‘s Conference for Nonprofits in Charleston, NC. This presentation includes 50 intermediate level tactics to create a successful Twitter in order to better engage your audience, deliver your mission, and inspire action.

Of the 50 tactics, some key tactics include:

• Use Twitterholic.com to connect with the top 50 tweeters in your city.
• Build real relationships by replying, retweeting, and joining discussions.
• Make your Tweets retweetable (Username + 6)
• Promote an event, campaign, movement with Twitter hashtags (#beatcancer, #memorywalk)
• Use TwitPic to share photos from your organization’s events
• Use Twitalyzer.com to mashup Google Analytics with Twitter visitors

Follow up on this advice by following Chad Norman on Twitter.

Dr. David Risely, founder and professional blogger of Confessions of Six Figure Professional Blogger, exposes the power of retweeting. Retweeting allows users to forward tweets they get from their users. This can become a viral conduit. If people find your tweet intriguing, they’ll pass it on -making it their status so their friends/followers can see the information. This chain of reaction will turn viral and you will reach more crowds on Twitter. In order to give your tweets the most viral potential, Risely provides 4 ideas to accomplish that.

1. Ask for the retweet. Simply adding “please RT” onto your message will result in a lot of people doing it. Like any form of online marketing, there needs to be a call to action. And you just tell them what to do.
2. Make it retweet worthy. People want to retweet things which are interesting or valuable. Being limited to 140 characters, chances are the real value of a tweet is going to be in linking to something with more information. So, link to something good and you’ll get more people retweeting the information you want to share.
3. Be different. In order for your tweet to be noticed, you need a tweet which interrupts the pattern and stands out. Don’t be afraid to be provocative. Some of the most retweeted messages have a catchy headline that just begs them to click the link. When writing a sales letter or a blog post, the purpose of the headline is to get the person to keep reading. Evoke curiosity in your follower, and you’ll invite action as well.
4. Watch the clock. Timing is everything. Not everybody has Twitter open all day long. Expecting to get some retweets at 5AM on a Sunday isn’t the best strategy. Doing it so that it is out there in time for the lunch break (12-1pm) might work a lot better. You’re probably going to see the most retweets during the work week and from mid-morning through lunch time.

 

So, jump into Twitter with a creative mindset. Your tweet could go viral in seconds and attract new donors.