While Twitter is still at the “oof they forgot to put brown sauce in my sarnie” level for some PRs, others seem to be getting more sophisticated, using the tool to draw in media and other reader interest with the power of words. Much like baiting journalists with potential stories by phone, those 140 characters are being put to some innovative uses. Meanwhile, others trip over their own feet. Some things never change.
Look on the bright side, at least it’s improving copy skills. Kind of.
Some stereotypical editorial behaviours by PRs spotted on Twitter recently:
1. Twascal: mischief-maker who stirs it with sarcastic comments about another story, hooks in hacks who comment and then bids to tempt hacks with a dull briefing “opportunity”. Cheeky
2. Twease: makes a statement to get the conversation going, punts it about a bit to get replies and retweets, and then the ‘big reveal’. Delayed drop style
3. Tweasel: sneaky approach; infers information will add more juice to existing news item or take dramatic new twist to spark new story. Success rate mixed
4. Twhore: overblown statements in the hope of dragging in desperado hacks – “..product is so hot it is getting me all excited..”
5. Twoady: retweets journalists’ tweets in the hope that they will then notice their own tweets more, much like telling a hack by phone that you just loved that story they wrote in last week’s magazine..
6. Twumpeter: aims to tout clients’ information just by shouting louder. The digital editorial equivalent of a voiceover man on a 1980s local furniture store TV ad
7. T-wit: always first in with the wisecracks when a journalist tweets, yet has nothing of editorial interest to offer. Great at ‘journalists relationships’ though. Spends too much time on Twitter, employment days possibly numbered. Avoid
8. Twazor: as in as sharp as. Quick off the blocks and usually muscles in on the conversation and copy. Polar opposite of the above. Keep
9. Twimpleton: tries to wade into the debate, but normally laughably late, with a blindingly obvious non-statement and displaying total lack of understanding of what they’re dealing with
10. Twambassador: pops up to try to gain brownie points simply by plugging client, yet forgets this sort of content delivered by phone would make them look utterly foolish. Oh, it does by Twitter too
What about “Twoccasional” – a PR person who only logs on when instructed to by employer/client and pitches own story to echochamber of followers?
Twoccasional definitely makes the list.
Continuing the line of thought, TWOCer (as in Taken Without Content, or joyriding). The joyriders of Twitter are those who retweet with gleeful and wanton abandon but rarely contribute anything of any interest themselves. Perhaps because nothing they say or think is of any particular interest.
How do you pronounce Twhore?
Like t’war, as in how an old bloke from Doncaster would talk about the 1939-1945 armed conflict.
Twanker – over blown and frenzied self-congratulation
Twat – “A derogatory term for a person whose behaviour is considered to be extremely or intolerably ignorant, obnoxious, offensive or moronic.” – Urban Dictionary
Here’s another one for you:
Twoverkill – person sending out multiple tweets saying the same thing but slightly differently and linking to the same article.
For those Twoverkillers, here’s some good 140 character advice Twitter engagement from Econsultancy editor, Chris Lake:
Lakey – If you post multiple tweets promoting the same blog article via slightly different headlines then I will unfollow you #noisefail
Nice one!
How about Twosser – one of those people you worked with who you knew was shite at their job and was in PR for all the wrong reasons…and then sends a Tweet that proves it. Similar to a T-wit accept for some reason the Twosser is always more senior than you…
Thanks for clearing that up Steve
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