Leveraging global conversations with Twitter
When people want to make a statement, they turn to Twitter.
Whether you’re a government official in Canberra, a student in Adelaide, or a TV news producer in remote Australia, if it’s happening now, you’ll see it break on Twitter.
Journalists are the world’s eyes and ears. They’re the disseminators of the stories that define our world. For those in pursuit of the truth, Twitter is an important way to reach audiences at the crucial moment. The urgency of these moments has never been more important than it is now. Many news, social and cultural movements have started, been revived, or reached new audiences through social media.
To facilitate this, Twitter is constantly launching new product and safety features to help people discover what’s happening and join the conversation. The growth of social media platforms and the internet has brought together communities that would have never otherwise been connected, raised issues that become movements, and united people.
The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was the most discussed political topic on Twitter last year and an interesting study of how important moments can capture the world.
Twitter was a vital platform in the lead up to the announcement of results. Australians had millions of conversations about marriage equality, and people used Twitter to share personal stories, while organisers, government officials, and journalists were able to get out campaign information, tactical instructions and data.
Twitter exploded when the Marriage Law Postal Survey results were announced, with almost 4,000 tweets per minute as Australia and the world reacted. @ABCNews’ Live stream of their announcement coverage also registered over 1 million views on Twitter alone.
Live broadcasts and video content are integral tools in 21st century reporting. They’re the most effective way for people to have a clear understanding of what’s happening anywhere in the world, conveying your message in just a few seconds.
The mantra ‘show me, don’t tell me’ rings true on Twitter, and media-rich content creates some of the most engaging stories on the platform. In fact, images travel at four times the rate of text on Twitter, and video travels at six times the rate of images. Features like Twitter’s Media Studio make creating, managing and sharing live video and pre-recorded video, GIFs, and photo content seamless and easy for anyone in the media to use.
The Twitter user base is passionate, switched-on, and engaged in consuming content that matters to them. News organisations and individual journalists participate in these global conversations by leaning into what’s happening on Twitter, listening to their audience, and seeing which stories are impacting them.
As our means of communication evolves, the global world will continue to become smaller, as journalists and audiences all over the globe are able to connect and share stories.
We know Twitter is a powerful tool for journalists; we see it in practice every day. To help you keep up to date with how the platform is being used as a vital tool in reporting, sourcing, and sharing news, we’ve gathered some of the most pertinent case studies on the platform to share with you on Tuesday, May 15.
Join us at Twitter HQ on Tuesday, May 15 at 6:00 pm to dissect and discuss how to build a voice and speak to your audience on Twitter in a practical workshop with our partner The Walkley Foundation.
