Tweet Release

Do you think of #Twitter as a #lens or a #megaphone? Are you a #Twitter #wallflower? Do you see #Twitter as helping you to become a better #communicator? 

Ok, enough of the #hashtags. #youcangetalittlecarriedaway....

I just wanted to update you on the new "Short and Sweet" Twitter Guide for communications professionals published by Fenton Communications.  I may not formally be called a communications professional but I try to communicate professionally and professional communications form a large part of my work in the sustainability arena. Whilst I have not yet written a Sustainability Report in tweets (yet) (hmmm, that's an idea) (has anyone?), Twitter has fast become an indispensible platform for communicating in business in general and in sustainability in particular. I have been quoted as saying that “Twitter has done as much for corporate responsibility as the great thought leaders through sheer accessibility" and I stand by that. I also posted about the role of Twitter in sustainability communications some time ago in a post called "What Twitter does for CSR".

Fenton believes in the power of Twitter for professional communications and with this publication they urge you to make Twitter your lens and to immerse yourself in Twitter as a media tool. The Guide provides information about what Twitter is and how it works for you, how to use twitter and aha! a Tweet Cheat Sheet to make you lives easier when while you are immersing yourself. Go on, twimmerse yourself.

This is not just a standard layman's guide to what to include in your Tweets. It's an important education on the way information flows. This is essential to understanding how to leverage information flows to help spread your message more effectively. Fenton's description of  "Twitter as the new press release" is no exaggeration. Learning how to deploy Twitter for improved positioning of your company or organization is an essential communicators' skill in this, the twitteronic century. Doing your daily 30 minute Twitter workout is probably habit for Twitter veterans but for those who haven't got there yet, the Fenton guide gives you the heads-up. The Tweet Cheat Sheet may sound pretty basic for the more tweetified among us, but for those who have not yet mastered tweet-art, it may be just what you need.

Fenton are not just preaching about Twitter. They do it. Susan McPherson, SVP at Fenton, is the mind behind the bi-weekly Twitter chats on CSR (#CSRchat) which draw tens of professionals in each session to share views on a range of issues in an intensive hour of fast-moving, high-quality, content-rich, informative and insightful 140 character blasts. And a few jokes too. To see summaries of #CSRchats to date and get updates of forthcoming #CSRchat topics, check out the Fenton CSR blog or search the #CSRchat hashtag on Twitter. (If you don't know how to do that, check out the Fenton Twiter Guide :)).

So, the only thing that isn't mentioned in the Fenton Twitter Guide is that, for CSR and sustainability, you just have to follow @Fentonprogress and @susanmpc1. Oh, and the fact that Tweeting and Ice Cream go very well together.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices  Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (Beyond Business, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)