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How to schedule a tweet
You can schedule tweets automatically through an online source. Social Flow, Shoutlet, TweetDeck, Buffer, HootSuite and others are apps, sites and organizations that make scheduling easy to plan. Scheduling allows you to spread your content throughout the day, to plan out posts so they can be seen at peak points of traffic and to keep your audience engaged by spacing them throughout the entire day, always allowing for breaking news, of course.
Why keywords are effective
For example, if you're sharing a story about a prominent person in your town, use the full name in a tweet to improve the chances that a reader will find that story in a search bar. Use phrases that are precise — instead of vehicle, use the model — Ford, Subaru — which may be more likely to be used in searches. Just as you would write your online headlines to display in search engines, craft tweets with the same care.
When to respond to tweets
It’s very important to establish a policy about engaging and responding to readers, both on social media and in comments on stories. For community newspapers, it’s critical to keep that community base engaged. Using Facebook or Twitter to ask readers what questions they have about breaking news stories is a great way to build a relationship with the community you’re covering. Tweeting directly at readers or responding to them from the professional account isn’t recommended. Should a tweet merit a response, we recommend having the reporter or editor send a message to the reader to determine another way to talk about the issue.
What direct messaging can do for you
Direct messages, or DMs, are private messages sent from one Twitter user to another. As a journalist, using DMs can be a great jumping-off point when looking for a source or trying to contact a source. DMs are best for brief introductions and getting contact information, not for interviews. You can’t use direct messaging unless the source is following you. If you don’t feel comfortable tweeting personal contact information, use Twitter to connect with a source, advise them to follow you and request initial information.
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