I came across a great post by Ann Handley on Mashable, “Everything I Need to Know About Twitter I Learned in J School.” She goes over 8 mantras she learned in journalism school and how they apply to Twitter:
1. Make every word count
In traditional news journalism, and on Twitter, you only have so much space. On Twitter, of course, it’s a mere 140 characters. As I learned in journalism school, writing short is a lot harder than it looks. It’s a lot more work to choose your words wisely, and be concise, than it is to ramble on luxuriously.
Keeping a tweet really short – like close to 85-100 characters – also makes your tweet more “Retweet Friendly,” since it allows a little wiggle room for forwarding.
2. Keep it simple
The best news reporters tell a story simply and clearly. Similarly, don’t try to cram too much information into a single tweet. On Twitter, less is often more.
Also: Link directly to blogs or other online sources, and always link to the full story, rather than trying to juice up page views by, for example, linking to the home page. Shorten URLs through bit.ly or similar services. Most Twitter clients will usually condense your links, but I like bit.ly’s rich click-through and retweet stats.
Finally, avoid the temptation to fit more into a tweet by the liberal use of abbreviations. Such shorthand might maximize your character count, but they make your tweet read like a teenager’s text message.
3. Provide context
News reporters do this by plugging in some of the back story on any given news item. On Twitter, offer context by using keywords and hashtags, when appropriate, so that readers can more easily get the gist of a conversation, thread, or topic.
4. Lead with the good stuff
In journalism, the “inverted pyramid” style places the most important information at the top of any story, and then the ensuing narrative explains and expands on it. In other words, the first paragraph should contain enough information to give the reader a solid overview of the entire story. Approach sharing links or information on Twitter in a similar manner, giving the strongest and most compelling bit in the tweet, and then link to the rest of the story elsewhere.
5. Write killer headlines
Headlines “sell” a news story or a blog post much like a great tweet invites a reader to click. Author tweets that are short, punchy, and are compelling, either because they tell the reader precisely what you’re offering (”How to…” or “27 Ways…”) or because they’re clever or funny.
This applies to so much for B2B marketers – subject lines, blog posts titles, Press Release headlines, etc.
6. Graphics expand on the story
A good image or graphic complements a news story. Similarly, a picture on Twitter tells a story with far more impact.
7. People make things interesting
News reporters often focus on how people are affected by a given situation or event. On Twitter, it’s also the people that keep it interesting. That means talking to (or “@ing”) folks liberally, as well as adopting a conversational tone and community spirit.
And this applies even when you are representing a brand. This can be hard for B2B Marketers to remember but never forget that people buy from people. Personal outreach from your brand makes people feel like they are really connecting to someone.
8. Consider the reader
Journalists spend a lot of time coming up with the right angle for a story. On Twitter, be similarly thoughtful in your approach. The immediacy of Twitter might tempt you to dash off a tweet with little forethought. But if you respect your audience of followers similar to the way journalists consider their readers, you’ll spend more time thinking about what to tweet, than you will actually doing it. Believe me, your followers will appreciate your efforts.
A good question to ask yourself before you tweet – “Will anyone care?” If it is what you ate for lunch, probably not. If you ate the best buger of your life, maybe so, of course not if all of your followers are vegitarian.
For examples of each mantra be sure to check out the full article.
