Part 1: Influence
Since the start of the semester, I have increased my Twitter followers from 411 to 438. As I look back on my tweets, it is clear that the ones that are generally most effective have something in addition to simply words; for example, many of them have either a link or a photo. The tweets that were less successful when they didn’t include some type of link or photo and were only my voice. Additionally, some of my live-tweeting efforts didn’t garner much engagement, such as when I live-tweeted a John Kasich campaign stop. That could be because not many people care about Kasich, but I should also look to improve my live-tweeting skills.
My Klout score increased from 40.95 to 44.24 over the last 90 days.
Part 2: Execution
My story on SU still practicing facilitated communication, a discredited technique with dangerous effects: https://t.co/TFyp2bUISb
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 11, 2016
This tweet was a link to one of my Daily Orange stories. I aimed to give the reader a reason to click the link and ready my story, and I believe the wording, “discredited technique with dangerous effects.” The piece was critical of SU, which is evident from the tweet and something I believe makes people want to read.
Andrew Brendel is dropping out of the @SAatSU presidential race, he has told The Daily Orange.
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 13, 2016
For this tweet, I simply tweeted out the information that Brendel was dropping out of the race as soon as I learned it. I believe it did well because people care about the SA elections and it was a pretty important moment in the race.
Brendel's statement: pic.twitter.com/9G6cYIBvKf
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 13, 2016
Here, I immediately took a screenshot of the statement Brendel sent The D.O. and tweeted it out to give anyone who cared easy access to the statement and a chance to learn why he dropped out.
A line of people here at NRG Stadium are waiting for a photo with Stephen A Smith. pic.twitter.com/k42KNSNdoC
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 3, 2016
Here, I snapped a photo of Stephen A Smith at The Final Four and the people waiting in line to take a photo with him. I felt it would be an interesting tweet since he is a celebrity, and I was correct, given the engagement it garnered. I also made sure to use key words such as his full name and the stadium where the Final Four was being played.
SU prof on @SUSchoolofEd facilitated communication advocates: "In the case of FC we have a fact: It does not work." https://t.co/uSUrQ3saFB
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 20, 2016
Similarly to when I tweeted out my original story, here I simply tweeted the link to the letter to the editor with a quick note on something interesting from the letter.
Syracuse –> NYC –> Charlotte –> Houston. It was a long day, but The Daily Orange has arrived at the site of the Final Four.
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 1, 2016
I composed and published this tweet immediately after our plane landed in Houston. I just figured giving a brief recap of our day of travel would be interesting to my followers, since it’s a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at things, and it was quite the day of traveling.
.@dailyorange For transparency regarding the latter part of this story, here is Galovski's full quote: pic.twitter.com/zlu2oGVrxN
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 13, 2016
In similar fashion to when I tweeted out the statement, I wanted to get the subject’s entire quote and post it on Twitter to give my followers a chance to see everything he said, as I believed this was something they might be interested in. I had used part of the quote in another story, so I also wanted to be completely transparent about the context, so my followers could be sure that I had not pulled it out of context.
Is D.O. news editor @alexa_torrens overrated? Let me know. (h/t @Sam4TR) #NHsmc
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) March 23, 2016
This tweet did well and it was also my lone poll tweet of the semester, so perhaps that was why it did well and I should consider doing more polls. I also tried to make a poll that would engage my audience, particularly by Daily Orange followers, by keeping it light.
Nothing like spending part of my night reading that day's copy of The @dailyorange #NHsmc pic.twitter.com/5C6AtV3YGx
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) February 17, 2016
I believe this tweet was successful because of my use of photos and tagging The Daily Orange account, since it is a relatively popular publication. The tweet was also able to garner engagement, once again, from my Daily Orange peers who are also my followers.
Packed house here at Le Moyne's Henninger Athletic Center a few minutes before John Kasich's campaign event begins. pic.twitter.com/AFkfZ6yjkC
— Michael Burke (@michaelburke47) April 8, 2016
Here, I included a photo of the crowd to give my followers an idea of whom he would be speaking to in addition to giving them a reason to open the tweet, and I was also sure to mention John Kasich and the location at which he was speaking, because I believed people might be searching those things.