Natalie Gouché, a social media coach and trainer, shares her insight into how we at UNDP can use Twitter and develop a strategy to stay sane, social, and productive.
Twitter is today’s go-to platform for following the latest from journalists, politicians, influencers, and bloggers. Yet jumping into and starting real-time conversations on Twitter requires an understanding of its language and structure -- from hashtags to character limitations. Natalie Gouché, founder of L.A Social Media Trainer, Inc., breaks down the basics and shares why tweeting is an essential form of communication for organizations like UNDP.
Elyse:
Welcome to Digital What?, a podcast series where we join UNDP personnel and experts in conversation about the digital communications questions you've always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.
Today we speak with Natalie Gouché, a social media coach and trainer based in Los Angeles, about how we can improve our Twitter strategy. We like to keep our guests on their toes, so we asked Natalie if she was a hashtag, what she would be, and her answer confirmed why she's so good at her job. In this digital world, she still keeps it real—her hashtag: #saneandsocial.
Natalie:
Saneandsocial...so that to me is a hashtag that defines me...is that I am a very social person. But I also have to kind of step back and recognize when things are like triggering for me or making me feel like I'm not my best, which the internet can do a lot. Right. So there is a way that you can be sane and social at the same time. So I probably would use that one.
Elyse:
Thirteen years ago, Natalie was a small business owner. And when she realized how much time she was spending assisting her colleagues with tips on how to use social media, she pivoted and started her own business, doing exactly that -- social media training. So today, she really knows her way around social media, but even still, like the rest of us, she can find it overwhelming.
Natalie:
I actually don't like social media as much as people think I do. Obviously, this is what I do for a living. But there is, you know, this kind of darker side of social media that just absolutely breaks my heart. You know, when it comes to how it affects, you know, people in general their self-esteem. So there's that piece of social media that I really, really despise, which is the reason why last year I took a whole six-month break from using it. People were flabbergasted that I took a six month off to, you know, decide not to use it.
Elyse:
Understandably, we all need a break or just straight up detox from social media from time to time. It can be a draining world, where everyone has an opinion and is shouting it over each other. And this can be especially true for Twitter. So let's start there.
Natalie:
Twitter is I would describe Twitter as like the stepchild of all social media. So it's one of those platforms that you're either, you know, super excited to be on or you're not interested in at all. It used to be, you know, only allow you 140 characters to get your point across. Now we have two hundred and eighty, which is a little bit more. But it is not built like the other networks, but it can be really, really beneficial if, in fact, you are into news and journalism and what's trending now. It's the place to be.
Elyse:
And Twitter is also the place to be for nonprofits.
Natalie:
For nonprofits, you get to be the voice in your industry. You get to engage and interact and be the person, the go-to person, the go-to nonprofit. And you know what? I think every social network has a different culture. And for me, what comes to mind is people that are just very bold, excited to share. And I literally imagine someone on top of a roof, like with a bullhorn kind of yelling out their message. That's the imagery that I get when I think about Twitter. So if you're a nonprofit, you get to debate. You get to share all of your good information. You get to find others that are using words that would let them know that they're in your tribe and interact with them. So it's very easy to do that on Twitter.
Elyse:
So given that Twitter is the go-to platform for reporters, nonprofits, and shall we say, certain politicians, it's no surprise why it can be a noisy place. Despite working in journalism and nonprofits and being a news junkie, I have to admit that I kind of have been a ghost on Twitter compared to other social media platforms because it can be intimidating.
Natalie:
So Twitter just moves so rapidly. And so, you know, when we're talking about news and debates and, you know, rapid-fire things that, you know, are changing consistently. It all kind of unfolds on Twitter very seamlessly, whereas, on Facebook, it's a little bit harder to kind of follow those things all in one place, in one stream. And Twitter really allows us to do that pretty effortlessly, which is why I think journalism and hot topics live on this network.
Elyse:
And aside from how quickly things happen on Twitter, it can also be a hard environment to break into because of hashtags. In order to really optimize the benefits of Twitter, you have to know what a hashtag is and how to use it.
Natalie:
So hashtags in the plainest form are simply ways to find others that are talking about the same thing. And if, in fact, you're someone who wants to be identified, you know, for me, I am the social media coach. So I often use the hashtag social media coach. And I have been booked for speaking events, for using that hashtag. I have been booked with brand partnerships because they have found me through using that hashtag. So you can use it to find others that you want to get involved in your conversation, or you can use it to position yourself, so others find you when they're talking about a particular conversation.
Elyse:
One of the keys to twitter is knowing what this hashtag landscape looks like so that you are in on the conversation or even starting it. That's why in addition to becoming the go-to news source, Twitter has also become a place that attracts bloggers and influencers because they can rapidly interact with their audience in real-time. But it's also a place for a lot of people like us at UNDP, who might be seeking a digital community around an issue that we care about.
Natalie:
People who are really gung ho about a cause, whether that be a nonprofit, you know, domestic violence, climate change, any of the things that they really want to be vocal about, Twitter would be the place for them. And that's where they would go to voice those opinions pretty heartily.
Elyse:
So Twitter is really a platform that makes sense for organizations like UNDP. It's a place where...
Natalie:
You likely will find other organizations that can support you or other people who are willing to step out and share stories, you know, in Twitter threads. And just very vocal about their passion for it. And I think that's why organizations flock to Twitter because they feel that they will find other people that are like-minded there.
Elyse:
Finding like-minded people comes down to "connectability". And that brings us back to hashtags.
Natalie:
The hashtag features on Twitter, in my opinion, are so much more robust than, let's say, on Facebook, where if you're searching for something through a hashtag, you know, you'll find different pages and people that are using it. But on Twitter, I think it's a very, very intentional effort. So if we're talking about, you know, climate change or obviously what's happening now in this pandemic that is Covid 19, you can search and not only do just a regular basic search on Twitter, you can do an advanced search of that hashtag, and you can lump a few of them together to find out how many people are talking about the same thing that you want to talk about or engage in, and you can see them all in one place, very streamlined. And so that's one of the features that I do love about Twitter, is that you can really maximize intentionally using hashtags and finding other people who are wanting to get into that conversation as well.
Elyse:
So, how do we start? Natalie says you kind of just have to dive in. You can create your own custom hashtag or search for what hashtags are already trending.
Natalie:
Whether you're a nonprofit with a mission, whether you're just a person who loves to talk about certain topics, do some research and go in and just have some fun and type in certain hashtags into Twitter and see what audience members are using that and in what context. And, you know, just get a feel for how you can jump into that conversation and really like immerse yourself into that community.
Elyse:
To do that, Natalie suggests we make a list of the main topics that are important to us and start searching for those words -- see who else is using them. So once we do that, how do we get a sense of how well we are using Twitter?
Natalie:
Well, measuring success truly depends on what is important to you, right? And so some people that is followers, other people that is engagement, other people measure that in terms of how many people you may have gotten to personally email you in and take the conversation further. So the first thing is just understanding, what are you there for, right? What is the sole purpose of this? And that's the first thing. And then to measure that, I would just simply put some benchmarks in place. So if it's a follower count, well, you're certainly going to have to do some engaging and commenting and following on other accounts in order for people to notice you. If it is to drive people to a landing page or to a Web site or to somewhere else, that you can measure that by the amount of people who actually did that at the end of a seven day period of time. And then one of the easy ways to just see if your tweets are reaching a certain amount of people is simply just to click on the insights or the analytics of that particular tweet. And you don't need any special tools to do that. Although there are some really great tools out there, you can just see how many people it reached and how many people interacted with you. And if you're not happy with that number, you may need to do some more engaging on your end or putting some different hashtags in there or commenting on other people in the industry so that you can get more people to see what it is that you're sharing.
Elyse:
And when it comes to writing our tweets, it can be hard to know what to say. Natalie says, don't overthink it -- stay focused on your objective.
Natalie:
So we always want to think of the goal in mind. Is this just to send information out? Is it to push traffic? And where is it to get supporters? And so you always want to think if your information is compelling enough to get people to do what you want them to do. And every tweet is not for that. Some tweets may just be general, right? Just to spread knowledge where others are directly to get people to do something. So having a call to action is simple as it may seem. If we want people to do something, you've got to ask them to do that. So don't assume that they're going to click the link if you want them to click a link to a blog post or to the website or Twitter video, actually tell them to do that. Right. So be very specific in what you want them to do. And then, as I mentioned before, if you're one of your goals is to be visible, take a moment before you hit tweet to think about, you know, four or five hashtags that you can put in there that are going to help you be found for the cause that you want to be found for.
Elyse:
And of course, given how quickly things can escalate in the Twitter landscape to avoid tweeting something you regret, simply be mindful.
Natalie:
Just think to yourselves, could this be offensive? Is this something that could be taken out of context? Could it be taken the wrong way and kind of move from that space? So, you know, if you're out here listening to this and you're thinking, oh, God, look, I don't want to make a mistake, just kind of use most common sense when creating your content. And I think you should be fine.
Elyse:
So yes, there will be some learning curves, but once you get the hang of it, Twitter can be a fantastic resource, especially when you find and begin to follow the people or organizations that you want to connect with. To do so, Natalie has a great tip for us:
Natalie:
There is a really nifty feature that I particularly love on Twitter, and you can create lists. So this allows you to find people, let's say, thought leaders in an industry or people that are very active and put them in a list. So like, I have a list of different journalists who I love their work. I love to retweet them. And then also if I have a picture, I have something that I think would be really great for them to write about. I can immediately get to them. Go into Twitter login and look on the left-hand side, you'll see an option to create a list. And you literally can create a list for anything. It can be for two people that you think would be supporters of your cause. It could be other thought leaders in the industry. It could be press. You know, think of whatever makes sense for you. And just start to add people into that list so that when you want to kind of immerse yourself into that particular topic or industry or group of people, it's easy to access, and then you'll be able to see everything in one place.
Elyse:
That all sounds pretty good to me. And considering how quickly our world is changing right now, Twitter makes a lot of sense for us to embrace at UNDP. As Natalie says, it's today's go-to platform to stay informed and connected on the latest locally and internationally.
This episode of Digital What!? is produced by Oscar Durand and myself. Our theme music is by Lemon Guo, and additional music is by Chris Zabriskie, and Epidemic Sound, and sound design by myself. Special thanks to social media trainer and coach Natalie Gouché for taking the time to speak with us. To listen and subscribe, go to wherever you find your podcasts or DigitalNow dot UNDP dot org.
I'm Elyse Blennerhassett. Stay with us.