Seven Tips to Harness the Power of Twitter for Your Cause

3. Build your base.
Do outreach. Start by following staff and interns with personal Twitter accounts. Follow other organizations that work on similar issues to yours. Follow major news outlets or high-profile bloggers and journalists who cover your cause.

Then reach out to your constituents. Some ways to do this recommended by Holland and Ruben are linking to your Twitter page from your Web site; posting a link or sending an announcement about your new Twitter account on other social-media sites your organization uses; featuring your Twitter account in an e-newsletter or adding a link to your Twitter page in your e-mail footers; reaching out to bloggers and tweeters you have relationships with, asking for their help in promoting your new SM presence; and adding a feed of your tweets to a place on your Web site or blog.