What’s a Twitter Storm?

Just What Is A Twitter Storm?

A Twitter storm has become a popular way to draw attention to breaking news or a controversial debate.

Some of our union clients, including The Utility Workers Union of America, have hired our company to manage and participate in Twitter storms for them lately.

Tweets are created and specific hashtags related to a subject are used in Tweets the flooding of the hashtag makes it a “Trending” subject.

We all know once a hashtag bubbles up to the top of the trending list, one can’t help but click on the subject to learn more. An example of this is the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty with hashtags:  #NoFastTrack #TPP.

Twitter Storm In Action

The majority of Americans have no idea what the TPP treaty is, why it’s so awful and we should be aware of it. However, just like seeing a celebrity on the trending list, people can’t help but click on the hashtag for #NoFastTrack. Users quickly become aware of the subject and how it will affect them. Traditional media also keeps an eye on the trending list, so if all goes well, your subject will get picked up into mainstream media and get even more attention.

A twitter storm is free. It’s a great tool for organizations and unions to use to raise awareness and support. It does take some planning to coordinate what hashtags should be used and at what time (usually an hour, one or two days a week) the Twitter storm should take place. Your planned storm should be communicated to your allies and locals. From there you can hire an agency like Appletree MediaWorks to manage and run your Twitter storm or have a staff member do it.