Should I use a Twitter account? Or a Twitter HashTag for my local organization?

Question

I'm just curious to know what is better for establishing an organizations presence on twitter. I'm a new user to twitter.

I see it like this Twitter HashTag:

• More social, unofficial, shows the buzz on Twitter. I can dress up a page that feeds from the RSS feed from search.twitter.com and any mention of my organization via its HashTag anywhere shows on the site.

And the Twitter Account like this:

• More formal, requires someone to want to post as the account and then re-tweet that. I'm the core of the organization most of the stuff done will be done by me. I don't mind people knowing that I'm the one doing it.

It seems to me like making your organizations presence on Twitter with a HashTag might be better. Does Twitter offer any integration between a regular account and an official account (e.g., Facebook Page and Admin User)? Are there any guides to using Twitter for a non-profit?

Answer 1

My recommendation would be to use both, but if i had to pick one i would say a formal twitter account.

As you yourself noted in your question both the hashtag and account serve two very different purposes but work well together.

The hashtag is a great way to attach a subject to a tweet. Although getting people to use your specific hashtag can be a challenge at times.

A formal twitter account would allow let other twitter users engage with you ( or whomever is running the account ) on a more intimate level. While at the same time letting you broadcast and start conversations with other people.

m