Host A Killer Twitter #EdChat - 1 Tip for Success fr @Eileen_Lennon

I've covered how to write a killer Tweet, how to create a killer blog post, and how to give a killer presentation. I’ve also shared how to host a Twitter chat. Today I will tell you how to take that Twitter chat and make it a “killer” chat.   

That’s exactly what happened this week when #NYCSchoolsTech partnered with @CommonSenseEdu to host our very first Twitter chat. Tech teacher and all around nerd, @Eileen_Lennon was the moderator and she rocked the HOUSE with 1.2 million impressions. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the analytics below (or click this link if it's too hard to read) then scroll on down to read the one tip behind her success.

This is one tip (you can read others from @Eileen_Lennon here) is the one that all the cool moderator Tweeps will be using from here on out. This one tip will make you look like a rock star if you want to bring a chat to where you work.

The one tip is this...

5 Ways to Determine If You Wrote a Killer Tweet Using Twitter Analytics - #EdcampNYC Takeaways

I recently shared my #EdCampNYC discussion on the "The Anatomy of a Killer Tweet." We came up with the five elements that make a Tweet killer. At the session, participants were challenged to write their own killer Tweet, but how would they know if they really nailed it? The answer: Twitter analytics. This is a free tool helps anyone who has had an account for at least 14 days receive details on tweets' engagement, clicks, retweets, favorites, replies, and more. 

Here are some ways to see how you've done.

If you're interested in an individual Tweet, you can look at just that Tweet by clicking on the date. If you right click on the date, you can copy the link to that Tweet. 

Analytic #1) Single Tweet:
Once you're looking at that Tweet, you'll see a bar chart symbol. When you click that you can see impressions, engagements, retweets, likes, profile clicks, link clicks, and more.  

Analytic #2) Comprehensive View

That's how to see how one Tweet is doing, but you can see how all your Tweets are doing with Twitter Analytics.  Check out the picture below to see how.

Once you select analytics, Twitter brings you to a comprehensive dashboard where you'll find information like the number of Tweets you had for the month, number of impressions, mentions, profile visits and new followers. You'll also learn about what made it to the top Tweet, mention, follower, and media Tweet.  Here's what that looks like.  

Analytic #3) View all Tweet Activity

On the left side of the picture above, under Top Tweet, you have more options to "View all Tweet activity" and to "View followers dashboard." Here is what that looks like. You see number of impressions, engagement, and impression rate broken down by Tweet.  On the right, you also see an overview of overall engagement rates, link clicks, retweets, replies, and likes. Here is what that looks like.  

Analytic #4) View Followers Dashboard

Next, check out the followers dashboard. You know your followers already made the smart decision to follow you, but this dashboard will show what else they may have in common. You can track your follower growth over time, see their top interests and uncover their demographics. 

Analytic #5) Benchmark Your Numbers

You can also benchmark your numbers against the total Twitter user base and find out what makes your community stand out. For example, I can see that I have 88% more followers in the area of Education than Twitter users overall. Here's what that looks like:

Extra Credit

1) Tracking Links:
At the session, Ann Oro pointed out that in addition to checking out your Twitter Analytics, it's also a good idea to track links within your Tweets. (You can additional reflections from Ann here.) She suggested using Google Shortener which you can access at https://goo.gl. Once there, you paste in your long url and Google gives you a short one. After that you can visit https://goo.gl and click "Details" to find the analytics.  Here's how you get to Google url shortener:

Google link analytics tell you the number of clicks, which sites people came from, the browser they used, the country they were in, and which platform they were on. Here is what that looks like:

2) Tracking all social media

It's one thing to track your own Tweets, but what if you use a hashtag and want to know what everyone is saying across platforms? Use Tagboard! It collects what people are posting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Flickr, and Google +.  Here's what it looks like: 

Now it's your turn.

Write your killer Tweet using these five tips, check out your analytics using what you learned here, and let us know how you did. If you have any additional tips or insights, please share in the comments.  

5 Elements of A Killer Tweet

I recently became intrigued by HS principal @DavidGeurin’s ability to write a killer tweet. For example the Tweet below has hundreds of retweets and likes.  

Those who are adaptable learners will own the future. #sunchat #edchat #futureready pic.twitter.com/qeLCY9hI11

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) December 20, 2015

And, while this is his pinned Tweet (which helps it garner attention), many of his Tweets get a lot of attention. Here are some other examples:

Whoever Is Doing the Talking Is Doing the Learning https://t.co/ZU940owJ9r #edchat #cpchat #leadupchat pic.twitter.com/tBHrkpi0Gq

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) January 1, 2016

The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply. #edchat pic.twitter.com/RnYpHyi3Vq

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) January 5, 2016

If learning is a top priority, then making learning exciting must be a top priority too. #edchat #leadupchat pic.twitter.com/SC9BxnWa9W

— David Geurin (@DavidGeurin) January 1, 2016

So I started paying attention to what he was doing. To help me, I decided to discuss it and host an #EdCampNYC session called, “How to Write a Killer Tweet.”

Credit to Ann Oro for snapping this shot of me
discussing the Killer Tweet at #EdCampNYC.

We started by looking at and noticing some of what David does.  

Here is what we found:

1. Link: He often includes a link to something useful to learn more.  
2. Hashtag: Use appropriate hashtags. Know the hashtags that are popular. You can get started by checking out the list of hashtags shared by @cybraryman1  at http://cybraryman.com/edhashtags.html.
3. Meme: He often creates a meme. I started doing more of this too using http://imgur.com.
4. Media/Tags
   He uses an image to tag others with large followings in his post once he selects the image.  The beauty of this is that you can tag up to ten people without using the number of characters it would require to do so. You can see how to do this in the below screenshot.  

1 Word of Caution: Starr Sackstein (@mssackstein) pointed out the importance of tagging intentionally and respectfully. Among other things, make sure you have a relationship with this person and the post is relevant to them. No one wants to feel used, so make sure you tag responsibly.

Here is the anatomy of a Tweet looking at all five elements.

Those are four tips for a killer tweet and one word of caution.  Try it. Tweet this post, tag me @InnovativeEdu for a guaranteed like, and let me know how it goes in the comments.
_____________________

Check out more insights and reflections from Ann Oro at http://annoroteaches.com/2016/01/09/first-edcamp-of-2016-part-i

5 Strategies To Trend On Twitter at Your Next Event

My office runs a yearly NYC Schools Tech Conference with about one thousand attendees. This year we wanted to focus on getting the buzz going in social media. One measure success was if we could trend on Twitter that day and we did. 

Here are some things we did to make that happen.

5 Benefits of Using a Hashtag for Events

At our recent NYC Schools Technology Summit, many participants were using our hashtag #NYCSchoolsTech in Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites for the first time. Doing so enabled them to discover the following benefits of placing a simple "#" before a carefully chosen descriptor of "NYCSchoolsTech." 

1. Being in touch with the buzz that was being generated via the attendees.
2. Enabling attendees to have conversation with a network of people who shared interests about what they were seeing and hearing.
3. Providing participants with an additional level of excitement both at the actual event and in the online community.  
4. Serving as a tool to capture and memorize the day right from those in attendance. 
5. Bringing a community together and strengthening relationships. 

You can see a recap of the day's Tweets as well as analytics below.

2015 School Technology Summit - Overview
Click the link above to view.

5 Rules for Using @ThunderclapIt to Make an Impact + Amplify #StuVoice

Is there a cause or idea your students want to spread? Thunderclap is a great resource to do just that. As described on their site, Thunderclap is the first crowd-speaking platform that helps people be heard by saying something together. You come up with the message and if you reach your supporter goal, Thunderclap will blast out a timed Twitter, Facebook, and/or Tumblr post from all your supporters, creating a wave of attention.

Here's a visual overview of how it works:

Hashtag How Tos - Figure, Configure, Follow, Find, + Find Others

When I speak with educators about the power of hashtags in social media, I get four questions.

1. How do I figure out which hashtag to use and set it up?

2. How do I know what people are saying?

3. How do I know what hashtag people are using if I want to find conversations about an area of interest?

4. How do I know who is using the hashtag?

There's a few great sites to help you answer these questions. They are Tagboard, Hashtagify.me, TOPSY, and Twitter.  Let's take a look and how to use these platforms to most effectively answer these questions.

The New “Talk.” When Your Teen Wants to Tweet.

Editor's note: If you're an innovative educator in secondary school, you are likely to have parents ask for your expert advice on teens and social media. You can give them this article directly or use it to get some ideas about how to best approach the conversation.


If you are a parent of a teen, you already have a lot of experience working with your child(ren) to help them figure out how to engage safely and responsibly in the world. You've thought about which (or if) school is the best, which clubs they should join, which friends they should hang out with, which groups they should be a part of, and when and where they can go and hang out safely.

When your child becomes a teen there will be some new places for you to think about your child being a part of. That is because at 13 your child legally old enough to join popular social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and more.

The good news is you are prepared to do this. You have experience in making sure your child is engaging safely and responsibly in environments that are beneficial. What you've done in the physical world is exactly what you should do online.

When the time comes, be prepared to "discuss" not "tell" your child how to remain safe and responsible online. It is likely they already know what to do if someone writes something that makes them, or someone they know, feel uncomfortable.  For example, you can block or report them to the space. Also discuss what to do if they find someone is making someone else uncomfortable.

Here are some things to think about when, or ideally before, that day comes.

How to host a Q-and-A Twitter chat

Cross-posted at Smartblog on Education

Many educators are aware of education Twitter chats and some have even participated in one of the hundreds of chats that take place each week. The reason Twitter chats are great is because they let you dive quickly into an issue with others around the world who share your passion. The people whose input you find valuable are ones that you can follow and connect with in the future.

For those who don’t know what a Twitter chat is, it is a way to bring together people from across the globe — tweeps — at a set time to discuss a topic of interest in a fast-paced format using an agreed upon hashtag. It can also give tweeps access to experts they otherwise might not be able to connect with. It gives experts a great vehicle to connect with others who care about their work.

Face off: @Twitter verses @Remind101 for family outreach via texting

To engage or not to engage? That is the question when it comes to figuring out the best platform for strengthening the home-school connection with texting.

Schools know that texting is a great way to reach out to families. It’s better than the “robo-calling” that is only one-way, is overwhelmingly reported as an annoyance to the Better Business Bureau, can disturb parents at work, or set off all the school staff phones ringing at the same time. They also know texting works well if you have a population that is less likely to have reliable, ongoing access to the internet. It’s also one of the best ways to get information right from your school and into the pockets of those who care about students.  

But with so many choices out there, which is the best one to choose?

Twitter and Remind 101 are two of the most popular free services available to text parents. But how do you know which one is best for you?

Safety first but don't forget what's next when students use social media

I was looking forward to checking out this post from my Twitter feed:

Students Talk #Facebook on #Vimeo | @scoopit http://t.co/Ky5mAz9Iu2 #KSFY #SocialMedia #digcit #edchat #edbublogs
— ICTPHMS (@ICTPHMS) February 19, 2014

I'm thrilled that schools like the Patrick Henry Middle School are willing to put themselves out there and share in the mainstream media that Facebook isn't something to be afraid of, but rather we can teach students to use it safely.

Maybe I'm just impatient, but aren't we ready to move past the conversation about the fact that Facebook won't kill you and travel toward this:

Keep up with Twitter conversations with Conweets

Have you ever wanted to recall what you Tweeted with someone else or have an easy way to know what two tweeps have been tweeting about to each other? Some of you may have used Bettween for this, but unfortunately, they have ceased operations. Fortunately, Conweets has jumped in to do just that! Simply sign in via Twitter, enter the handles of two users and Conweets will display conversations.

Here's what that looks like.

First you enter two Twitter handles.


Next you can see the conversation between the Tweeps.