Many thanks to @cjpr: Christina Jensen, Christina Jensen PR; @CarnegieMatt: Matt Carlson, Carnegie Hall; @dotdotdottweet: Steven Swartz, DotDotDot Music; @SarahBaird: Sarah Baird, Boosey and Hawkes; @BklsweetMedia: Amanda Sweet, Bucklesweet Media; @glennpetry, @seanmgross, @PhilipWilder: Glenn Petry, Sean Gross and Philip Wilder, 21C Media Group; and @mlaffs: Maura Lafferty, New Century Chamber Orchestra for their help with this. Now stop Tweeting and answering blog questions and revise some bios!
These interviews were conducted via carrier pigeon, i.e. e mail.
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How long have you been using Twitter?
@cjpr: Since March 2009.
@CarnegieMatt: About seven months.
@dotdotdottweet: Since last winter – don’t recall exactly when I started, but it was definitely BO (Before Oprah).
@SarahBaird: I began listening in March 2008 but didn’t join the conversation and start tweeting until March 2009.
@BklsweetMedia: One week!
@glennpetry: We began using Twitter last season 2008-2009.
@seanmgross: I signed up for Twitter over a year ago, but I didn’t start actively using it until about six months ago.
@PhilipWilder: I began my life as a tweeter about 9 months ago.
@mlaffs: Since April or March?
Were you motivated by personal or professional reasons?
@cjpr: Professional.
@CarnegieMatt: I was initially motivated because Carnegie Hall was planning its own Twitter account (now launched @carnegiehall) as part of an expanded social media effort. So I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. That said, my feed is really meant to be a personal account – I comment on non-musical matters as well, and it’s linked to my personal email account. If I could do it again, I suppose I wouldn’t have picked @carnegiematt as my handle since it’s not reflective of everything you read there.
@dotdotdottweet: Mostly personal – thought it might be fun. Its promotional potential wasn’t immediately obvious to me.
@SarahBaird: I was curious about Twitter and I appreciated the ability to see trends and participate in conversations, share experiences. The major impetus for me to join was SXSW. I was heading to Austin and knew that I’d only be able to see about 20 of the thousands of showcasing bands, and meet about 20 of the thousands of interesting people. So Twitter was a way for me to tune into the larger conversation and tweet-up with people who were zipping around to different venues. I’d say it’s personal-professional for me. I tweet as Sarah-Baird-Who-Works-for-Boosey-&-Hawkes. So a person who follows me isn’t following a company megaphone, but the same person they’d see if they were my colleague, working in my office. None of my personal friends follow me on Twitter (who aren’t involved in the industry).
@BklsweetMedia: Professional but just like most things in my life, those boundaries are blurred. I actually sent out a tweet last week about DC Green Works and my great meeting with them about bayscaping in my yard.
@glennpetry: I would say we were motivated by both personal and professional reasons, which is why we maintain both “personal” and “professional” Twitter accounts.
@seanmgross: I use my own Twitter account mainly for personal reasons. I let my
friends and “followers” (although I don’t like that word…it makes me
sound creepy, like I’m trying to be David Koresh) know about a new
restaurant that I discovered, an interesting article I read, or
something unusual or funny that happened to me that day. However, I
don’t share anything that is too personal, since my Tweets can also be
seen by colleagues and clients. For our company, I oversee a separate 21C Media Group Twitter feed that is one of several ways that the press and public can elect to receive information on our clients (other ways include our website, news release emails, RSS feed, and Facebook page). Each tweet includes a one-line news item and a link to a news release on our company’s website. It’s not meant to be the most interactive Twitter feed. We encourage our artists to Twitter on their own if they are interested and have the time to commit to it, as this is where the true power of Twitter lies. Our feed is engineered to be more of news feed, like CNN’s but with a much more singular focus.
@PhilipWilder: Since I travel tons for work, as well as my life as a “bi-coastal”, it initially seemed to be a good way to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. Now, I have a good amount of followers – friends and strangers – and have many discussions with them over Twitter and through email when 140 characters isn’t enough. Of course, 21C posts daily Tweets on breaking news about our clients too. Mine are more of an inside view from Behind the scenes.
@mlaffs: Initially, I wanted to get to know the tool and the user base before even considering using it for my company, since I’ve seen a lot of arts organizations mis-use social media. Since then, the relationships that I have built have offered both personal and professional value.
How often and in what ways do you interact with members of the press on Twitter?
@cjpr: Occasionally
– mainly passing around links to interesting articles. I have never
pitched anyone on Twitter. I would say the majority of my interactions
are with musicians, other arts professionals, and some people I only
know on Twitter. I’ve also found it very useful for finding out what’s
going on in my neighborhood – for example, when the Schnitzel Truck is
stationed in my ‘hood, or when there’s a free concert in a gallery
nearby.
@CarnegieMatt: I
follow some writers just to find out what they’re currently into and
writing about, sometimes commenting and retweeting if I particularly
like a story or tweet that they’ve written.
@dotdotdottweet: Just about every day, in all the ways Twitter offers — direct messages, messages, @ replies, RTs.
@SarahBaird: I
log into Tweetdeck in the morning (my NASA Command and Control Center)
and leave it open all day while I’m at the office. I have different
groups set up for colleagues, press/writers, composers, biz news,
pr/new media interest, etc., so I can easily follow different types of
conversations. Often I’m just listening, taking the pulse of the day
but if I feel moved I’ll join in. I post press releases first on
Twitter before sending to my e-mail list, so that journalists who
follow me get some added value. I also use Twitter to share interesting
audio/video links, factoids, and composer news that wouldn’t be best
served in a press release. Like when I learned that Donald Trump
included an entire paragraph about the genius of Steve Reich in his
latest book. Perfect for Twitter.
@BklsweetMedia: I might respond to them if I see an interesting tweet but thus far, it’s been infrequent.
@glennpetry: Quite
a range for this answer. Sometimes numerous times in a day, sometimes
daily and at a minimum numerous times throughout the week on Twitter,
both passively (ie, we’re reading each other’s tweets) and actively
(ie, responding to tweets).
@seanmgross: Since
in my job I alternate between wearing a marketer and a publicist’s hat,
I find Twitter–and most social media–is more effective in energizing
fans and the “classical music community” than it is the press.
However, there are also members of the press who follow us on Twitter
and Facebook.
@PhilipWilder: I
have interacted directly with a few members of the press on Twitter.
However, most interactions have been a bit passive so far like
retweets, etc… It’s difficult to quantify the professional advantages
to Tweeting, but I can say that I have many new sets of ears all over
the world. They respond to things I write, give me tips on cities where
I travel, share their opinions about artists I’m about to hear and
sometimes ask to meet in person. I’ve been invited to parties, concerts
and even asked to host an online radio show by new Twitter
acquaintances too. In a way, it has allowed me to practice public
relations in its purest form.
@mlaffs: Twitter
has been a great equalizer for me. I interact with members of the press
just as I do many of my other contacts and friends. I never sought them
out specifically, but I came to value our relationships. I hope the
value and advantage that these relationships have brought to my work is
reciprocated for the other parties.
Do you feel you’ve ever gotten a feature or a review for one of your clients or projects exclusively via Twitter?
@cjpr: Possibly
once, but it’s hard to say. There is an elusive critic whose personal
contact information I don’t have, who follows me on Twitter. He
reviewed a concert I Tweeted about, but it’s possible he heard about
the concert another way too.
@CarnegieMatt: No.
Although it may one day become a tool for such a use, I still feel that
communication via e-mail, press release, or phone is the professional
standard.
@dotdotdottweet:
Very hard to tell — anyone I’m communicating with on Twitter is
probably getting my propaganda through other means as well. However,
immediately after I was on the Bang on a Can Marathon Live Twitter
Team, I received inquiries from two new potential clients — a
completely unexpected bonus.
@SarahBaird: I’ve
gotten at least three stories directly from Twitter. A story about
Steve Reich/Twitter, a review of a recording, and connection with the
writer of a major composer profile in the UK.
@BklsweetMedia: Not yet.
@glennpetry: I couldn’t prove that we have gotten a feature or review exclusively via Twitter.
@seanmgross: It’s
hard to tell if our being on Twitter actually results in more press
coverage, but what we do know is that it is certainly effective in
getting our information out there virally. Arts organizations often
“retweet” our posts when they pertain to artists who are performing on
their series, and people occasionally comment on our Tweets and ask us
questions about our clients and services. In summary, I do feel that
Twitter has made the world a better place.
@PhilipWilder: Not yet!
@mlaffs: I
secured two online articles through relationships built on Twitter, but
the communication was obviously not exclusive to Twitter.
How
much of any given day do you spend on Twitter? How much of any given
day do you spend writing and sending out press releases?
@cjpr: I
enjoy Twitter and Tweet regularly about what I’m working on or what I’m
reading, and I like to see what other people are Tweeting about – it’s
a good way to stay informed. But I don’t have enough time to devote to
it to get very involved in discussions with individuals on Twitter –
going back and forth in conversations. Someone will @cjpr me and
sometimes I won’t see it for 24 hours – so I feel like my responses are
always delayed, and I feel some Twitter guilt. The majority of my day
is definitely spent on other forms of communication – such as writing
and sending out press releases.
@CarnegieMatt: A
few minutes here and there on Twitter. Not too much really. Of course
that will change as more and more writers and musicians start using the
medium. As for press releases, I spend too much time writing and
editing press releases, but that time is spent on making them as
topical and compelling as possible so when they are read, it leads to
interest.
@dotdotdottweet:
Twitter: varies, but I try to look in and post a few tweets at least
twice a day. I’ve installed Tweetdeck, which allows me to post
simultaneously to Twitter and Facebook, saving a lot of time and
energy. I definitely recommend it. Press releases: varies quite a bit
depending on the time of the season, the kinds of projects I’m working
on, my artists’ calendars… But writing and sending certainly take a
major share of my time.
@SarahBaird:
I’d say I might Tweet 0-8 times, depending on the day. My position
encompasses advertising, marketing, publications, website, social
media, and press for B&H, so I’m not always wearing my PR hat. I
probably do an average of three press releases a month and five
eNewsletters a year, only focused on the most major news, which is why
Twitter is a nice outlet for some of the other news and information
that might not otherwise be served.
@BklsweetMedia: Thus far I would say I spend about 45 minutes total on Twitter. The second question varies greatly but let’s say 1 hour/day.
@glennpetry: Time
on Twitter does vary widely as well, really depending on the nature of
the day and if there are Twitter-able events. 2 minutes to 1/2
hour….perhaps all told in a day. Writing and sending press releases
is considerably more time consuming. A few hours each
day…..typically. Now if we could keep our news releases down to 140
characters we might be able to save some time there….!
@PhilipWilder: Every
day is different. Tweets have gotten more targeted and clever, so it
can be easy to follow links and trails for a while each day. But
generally, I spend no more than 15 minutes on Twitter every day. Most
of my day is spent writing releases and materials about my clients. And
many of my tweets are inspired by news releases or general updates
about my clients. I also tweet about music and musicians I hear for
fun. Glenn Petry at 21C does the sending.
@mlaffs: My
job is so varied (marketing, PR, customer service), that it’s hard to
say. I keep Twitter running throughout the day, and check in on it
periodically, like email. There’s no way to keep up with everything
that’s going on, but I like to have a sense of what people are talking
about, and try to join in on conversations whenever possible. I’m
leery of just using Twitter to make my pitches or promote my product. I
know that my colleagues can be turned off by such an approach. My goal
is to offer quality content, engage in conversations, and build
relationships, so that when I do pitch something, it’s more meaningful.
Press releases are somewhat infrequent in my office, compared to my
colleagues at bigger organizations. A typical release takes a couple
days to draft, edit, and receive approval before going out. Sending the
release takes an hour or so (we do it the old way, by BCC’ing everyone
on the press list from my email).
This is great! Always fun to read the interviews.
And you inspired me to create my own list of classical music twitterers. And you can update and add your own information.
http://bit.ly/7nOUh