Get your Bishop on Twitter… and keep him there! Annette Gonzales Taylor Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Dallas Cynthia Gill Bates New Media Specialist, Catholic Diocese of Dallas

Why should your bishop be on Twitter?

And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Acts 2:4

Believers are increasingly aware that, unless the Good News is made known also in the digital world, it may be absent in the experience of many people for whom this existential space is important. - Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the 47 th World Communications Day

Twitter Stats Monthly Active Users: 255 Million Daily Active Users: 100 Million

Average time per month spent by users on Twitter: 170 Minutes

Percentage of Twitter users that check Twitter multiple times a day: 29%

Percentage of Twitter users that use it at least once a day: 46%

Source:

Source: Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Catholic New Media Use 9% visit parish website regularly 4% visit their diocesan website 2% regularly use a website associated with one of the Church’s educational institutions (from elementary schools to colleges) 2% regularly use a Catholic news website Source: Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Source: Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Catholic New Media Use One of the main concerns for the Church’s presence online Reluctance by Catholic Church leaders to use the internet (42%) Source: Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012Catholic New Media Use in the United States, 2012 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Image Credit:

Making the proposal Talk to your Bishop about getting on Twitter

Step 1: Do your homework and have a plan

What will be expected of Bishop?

Find options to support Bishop with tweets

Automated content?

Select Technical Support and Graphic Design contacts

Define chain of command for crisis management

Step 2: Open the discussion with Bishop

Make sure to say: EASY SIMPLE YOU CAN DO THIS!

Show the benefits of a Twitter account

Show examples of other Tweeting Bishops

Mentions: A Tweet containing another user's Twitter username, preceded by the symbol Negative Mentions – what should you do?

Refine your plan as needed

Step 3: Get your Bishop set up on Twitter

Sign Up for Twitter Select a good Twitter name! FirstLast Location (Coakley) Catchy (Vann, Orange County)

Find people to follow

Create a bio (160 characters) Bishop Kevin Farrell was appointed Seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas on March 6, 2007 by Pope Emeritus Benedict.

Twitter Graphics Header Photo 1500 pixels wide by 500 pixels high (Tip: Upload high-res or 3000x1000) Profile Photo 400 pixels by 400 pixels

Step 4: Teach your bishop to use Twitter

Easiest Way: Twitter phone app for iPhone or Android

Tweet online: Twitter.com

Twitter terms Tweet #hashtag

Tweet: 140 Characters of text May include image May include link Source: Twitter.comTwitter.com

Mentions: A Tweet containing another user's Twitter username, preceded by the symbol Source: Twitter.comTwitter.com

Reweet: Sharing content of others with their handle Two-click update Source: Twitter.comTwitter.com

Reweet:

@Replies: A reply to another Twitter user’s Tweets Source: Twitter.comTwitter.com

Source: Twitter.comTwitter.com Hashtags: Trending topics made searchable #cmc14

BONUS ROUND Advanced support and maintenance for Twitter accounts

Follow tweets via text msg Text follow [username] to Source: Twitter.comTwitter.com

Schedule tweets with

Four steps for getting your Bishop on Twitter: Do your homework and have a plan Open the discussion with Bishop Get your Bishop set up on Twitter Teach your bishop to use Twitter Source: Twitter.comTwitter.com

For More Information on Twitter as well as a copy of this presentation

How you can help  - Feeding topics  - Automating content  - Advising of breaking news that should be address  - Significant anniversaries in his presbyterate  - Define chain of command for crisis management  - Define who monitors comments/retweets  - Working with your team to maintain

Opening the discussion with the bishop  Benefits of having a Twitter account  - Ease of use  - Proposing and refining plan  - Show examples of other bishops and their styles

Doing your homework and have a plan  Offering options (ghost writers, expectations)  - What can be automated (readings for day, pope info, blog posts, etc.)  - What kind of following can a Bishop expect  - Finding someone to be responsible for graphics, tech support