There are a variety of ways to use Twitter in a ministry setting. There are probably as many distinct uses as there are people using the technology. For this post we'll focus on what I think are the four most common uses for Twitter: announcements, conversation, day in the life, and live tweets.
One of the major organizational use of Twitter is for it to serve as a channel for announcements. Members of your church, ministry, or other customers can follow your Twitter feed to receive an ongoing stream of information about what is happening. Updates about new opportunities, events, and regular activities help provide a way to maintain a steady connection. Followers are able to choose how they receive your updates, which means that some will get them via text message, in desktop applications or in the browser. Many groups are using Twittter as a cheap tool for text message updates to members.
Twitter can also help groups participate in open, ongoing discussion. Direct messages provide a hybrid between email and instant messaging for private communication between two people. Using @ replies allows a larger group to follow the flow of a conversation (@ replies are public). I've seen teams use Twitter as a tool to coordinate efforts and to share experiences. Twitter conversations also facilitate broader community development as people who share particular interests follow each other and have large group "conversations" about topics of interest. Two primary communities I've experienced are people in church communication and church IT that have built strong Twitter-based communities.
Many people who use Twitter use it as a microblogging tool to share what's happening in their daily lives. These tweets share what's on a personal agenda, lunch plans, struggles, successes and other random life events. For many people 140 character posts about daily life have replaced longer blog posts. Some people love the regular status updates of their friends, others question whether or not telling the world my dinner plans is a bit narcissistic. I've come down on the side that Twitter allows a level of transparency that can help foster a sense of "knowing" a person even if a significant personal relationship has yet to develop.
Live tweeting primarily happens in conference settings, but I've seen it used in church settings as well. The concept is that people post what is happening live at an event: a conference session, a mission project, a church service or any other live event. Oftentimes these tweets include a hashtag that helps to identify how these posts go together. At this year's Willow Creek Leadership Summit the hashtag was #tls09. Searching for a particular tag will reveal results from everybody posting from the event. Live tweets are a great way to communicate what is happening, and a great way to follow an event if you aren't able to attend. Some people do feel that live tweets can be annoying, especially if they are excessive. The thought is that if I cared what was happening at event X, I would have attended it. That's not to say you shouldn't live tweet an event, but be aware of the audience that follows you on Twitter.
Knowing your audience is the primary key for determining what type of tweets you should be posting. For individuals it might make sense to post a mixture of all types. Organizations may find it best to limit to just announcements. The more similar your followers are the easier it is to decide what's a good tweet and what isn't. The big concern, as has been mentioned, is do your tweets and value to your followers.
Matt Kerner
I liked this post a lot!
I read it earlier and I said I had to stop by and tell you guys that. I found this very helpful and useful.
I only wish you put more subtitles in the post.
Be blessed:)
Posted by: Michael Holmes | September 03, 2009 at 06:21 PM