5 Ways to Get Started with Micro-blogging

It’s important to remember that even though there are plenty of uses for micro-blogging, users will ultimately determine how they want to use it. But as a communication leader, you can help guide that process. 

How to get started using micro-blogging in a corporate communications setting: 

1. Start small. Find a group of employees, like an employee action team or project team, that are open to trying out a new technology. 

2. Encourage your pilot team to use the channel whenever they sit down to write an e-mail with more than one person in the CC field; to check the stream of updates whenever they check e-mail or alternate between checking the two; and to engage each other by using the channel for asking questions, sharing links and distributing information. 

3. Provide the tools to spread the word. Make it easy for your pilot team to involve other users by sending invitations or by making the account creation process simple. 

4. Lock in others. Eventually you want to get the knowledge or subject-matter experts engaged so that they can answer questions about HR, financial performance, etc. 

5. Over time, you can build an internal communication channel that is great for broadcast messages (e.g., crisis communications or major announcements that are relevant to everyone -- an action team can help calibrate whether particular messages are relevant to the front-line), personal news (e.g., found: car keys), and also bite-sized 1-to-1 messages that can be summed up in 140 characters. 

Still have a question? Call Dulye & Co. at 845-987-7744 or send an e-mail to ehansen@dulye.com.