Tips for using a professional Twitter account

Like many people I have a Twitter account that I use for work purposes. I generally tweet about what I’m up to at work, what stories and projects I’m working on and just general gubbins about my working life in the press office at the University of Bedfordshire.

I’m not a Twitter by any means – most of what I know I've learnt on the job and through trial and error. But if you’re thinking about setting up your own Twitter account for work and are not sure where to start, here are a few tips to get you going:

Think before you post

Let’s start at the beginning. Before you post anything, ask yourself this question – would I want my mum to see this? Or, more importantly, my boss? If the answer is no, it might be better not to post it

Ask yourself what you want out of Twitter

I post the occasional photo of my dog, because who wouldn’t want to see this gorgeous face(by the way that’s Bowen, he’s a six-year-old GSD cross and the love of my life).

After a mental Monday, a cuddle with this beautiful boy is just what I need ❤️ pic.twitter.com/F0IgtlqBrA

— Caroline Jacobi (@CJacobi16) January 8, 2018

Saying that, I rarely mention anything outside my working life. It’s worth thinking about what you want to get out of using Twitter in a professional capacity.

Do you want to link up with journalists? Or connect with fellow PR professionals. Most of these people will be interested in news about your organisation, but not so interested in photos of your boozy night outs. It might be an idea to have two accounts, one for work, one for outside work, just so there’s no cross-over.

Use it or lose it

I see so many accounts that are never used. My heart sinks when I see an account for a department in the University, and then I see that nothing has gone out from it since 2015. They just sit in cyberspace looking empty and sad. Get into the habit of tweeting at least once a day.

Don’t be afraid of images and tag, tag away!

Not only do photos increase engagement by up to 300%, they have a nifty function where you can tag other accounts into your tweet, rather than using up your precious word count with Twitter handles. Tagging also increases engagement and will help you get noticed. Hashtags have the same effect, though too many can be a bit much - two of three is a good number.

Ignore the trolls

Tempting as it is to get into a Twitter row with an idiot with too much time on their hands – don’t do it. Trolls thrive on attention and you just end up stoking the fire if you engage with them.

A wise person once said (probably on a social media platform somewhere): “Arguing with a Twitter troll is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock over the pieces, crap on the board and strut around like it’s won.”

Just ignore it, and if it gets really nasty, block them and report them to Twitter and let them deal with it.

If you’re interested, my Twitter handle is @CJacobi16 – feel free to pop over and have a look.