Twitter e-mail digest shows importance of building community

Twitter launched a new weekly e-mail digest this week, which will be rolled out to all users in the next few weeks.

In addition to being a statement that e-mail is still a very effective marketing tool (see Timehop), this new service has some important implications to news media.

The digest shows two things – “the most relevant Tweets and stories shared by the people you’re connected to on Twitter.” Let’s face it, a link to my blog is never going to make that list. But articles from news organizations with their great content and large following can and should appear in every one of those e-mails.

Here’s a snapshot of my first e-mail from Twitter.

When I click on that second story, it takes me directly to a Des Moines Register article. Not a Twitter-branded page and then the Des Moines Register article – directly to the Register article.

Want to make sure your content gets included in these e-mails? Here are a few things to remember:

1. Make it easy for people to share your content on Twitter by having a “tweet this” button.
2. Tweet about content that people will actually want to share with their friends (see: 5 reasons people share news).
3. Include @ mentions of relevant people in your tweets. There is a lot of noise on Twitter. To make sure important people see your content, simply give them a mention in your tweet. The Des Moines Register’s original tweet about the story above should have mentioned @ypcdsm, a group with a large following on Twitter that was directly related to the story.
4. Connect with your community on Twitter. People are more likely to share your content if you actually interact with them on the platform.
5. Thank people for sharing your content.