Twitterpated in Door

According to a Pew Research Center report, Twitter use has grown from 2 percent to 15 percent of online adults since 2010.

There’s a lot of potential in 140 characters, something many local businesses and organizations have realized.

“Twitter is much more conversational than any of the other social media platforms out there,” said Barbara Luhring (@barbaraluhring) of 3W Design Group.

Twitter is an online social media site that allows users to post and read 140-character messages, or “tweets,” follow other users and search for tweets based on content. It’s used by 15 percent of online adults, according to Twitter Use 2012, a Pew Research Center report.

That’s up from just 2 percent in 2010.

Door County businesses and organizations are taking advantage of Twitter’s increased numbers by using the platform to reach out to visitors and trade experts around the world.

And for some of them, like Diane McNeil of Ellison Bay Pottery (@ebpstudios), Twitter has turned into profit.

McNeil tweets often with pictures of pottery and store news, as well as things about her family and life. She interacts with other potters to share techniques and inspiration, and she keeps her followers updated about what’s going on at the shop.

Some of those followers turn into customers. McNeil guesses she’s sold six items over Twitter in the last year and people who find her on Twitter sometimes seek her out at pottery shows or at the store in Ellison Bay.

For most users tracking the real value of Twitter is hard, a common criticism of social media marketing. But that doesn’t stop organizations from using it.

Pam Seiler, executive director of the Volunteer Center of Door County (@volunteerdoorco), started tweeting about two months ago. She sends out information on volunteer opportunities, hoping to reach a younger, web-savvy demographic of potential volunteers.

Although she can’t tell if using Twitter has led to an increase in actual volunteer hours, website visits have skyrocketed.

“When we started, opportunities that were just on our website would maybe get seen six to 12 times in a matter of weeks,” Seiler said. “When we first started tweeting these opportunities…in probably about two hours we had 35 to 40 ‘seens.’”

Some organizations, like the Door County Visitor Bureau (@MyDoorCounty) hire help for Twitter use to take advantage of marketing companies’ manpower and expertise.

“It’s not like we just pay them, and they do their own thing. We’re working with them on a regular basis to make sure everything’s going as it should,” said Jon Jarosh of the Door County Visitor Bureau. “They help us stay on top of it.”

The visitor bureau comes up with content for tweets and relies on NOISE, Inc. to use social media to send out the messages. If breaking news arises, like rescheduled fireworks, the information can still get out quickly.

“Twitter is a part of that online toolbox that you have to use these days,” Jarosh said.

Some Twitter experts, like Luhring, focus on attracting followers to reach a lot of people with their messages, while others, like Stephen Kastner, focus on finding and posting intelligent, thoughtful tweets with no thought to a number of followers.

Luhring, who is hired by a number of local businesses to promote them over Twitter, has over 5,000 followers. She tweets on a variety of subjects, from technology, to cartoons, to Door County. Her followers are people interested in one or all of those subjects, and she makes sure to engage them all.

“When you make the universe bigger your information gets out to more people,” Luhring said. “There’s an advantage to having access to more followers.”

Kastner, owner of DesignWise Studios, takes a different approach and thinks about who he follows more than who follows him.

“Some people are looking at having 20,000 followers,” Kastner said. “I basically use [Twitter] to keep track of people I want to follow that I think are intelligent, and I use it to post notes to myself. If I think those notes are valuable, other people will too.”

Kastner operates many accounts, including @doorcounty for Door County Style Magazine and @by_designwise for technical information on social media marketing and technology.

To maximize his Twitter use, Kastner looks for feeds he thinks are interesting and smart. If he senses a Twitter user is trying to sell him a product or only promote a business, he doesn’t follow the account.

“You can tell right away when someone has some kind of agenda,” Kastner said. “There’s so much intelligence out there, but you have to be selective.”

Some businesses, like The Blue Ox in Baileys Harbor (@TheBlueOxBar) have a more whimsical approach.

“We just like to have fun with it,” said Shane Kwaterski, one of the bar’s Twitter operators. “We throw spontaneous stuff up there, and on specific nights we like to let people know what specials are going on.”

Although staring at a screen or remembering to update a Twitter feed doesn’t fit many people’s lifestyles, Luhring and Kastner agree it’s worth the trouble. Twitter is a free resource, a way to reach a huge number of people and a way to learn and share information.

“It’s not about how you or I use [Twitter], it’s about how it’s being used and promoting a conversation,” Luhring said. “By taking part in it you’re really maximizing your participation in that conversation – that’s really what it’s all about.”