Any twitter experts out there? Novice needs help!

[IMustNotForgetMyPasswordAgain]

I'm trying to publicise the fact that our council are trying to sneak things through over Christmas and have a specific consultation process going on, which people need to be aware of and give views to, before the 8th Jan. At the moment, no-one knows about the consultation and most people are too busy organising Christmas to care, but it is one of those important long term things which we could all do with actually giving feedback about.

I've done everything I can, every other way, and now I really want to give twitter a try, as I can't think how else to get word out.

So I have worked out that it would be useful to @localpaper and @localTV, but have no idea what else to do!

I have only one follower so far, is there an easy way to get more?

I can't cope with the word limit, is there any way to get more space, or do you have to use txtspk to make it work?

Any help much appreciated!

It is POSSIBLE to get longer messages on Twitter, but I don't know how it is done.

Could you use Change.org as that is the place for petitions? I answer plenty of them, but have never needed to set one up, so I don't know what the constraints are.

On their first page though there is a big red button "Start a petition" so you could give that a try.

Is the Council on Twitter? If so, you could see who they are following/who follows them and follow, or tweet your message at some of those people in the hope that they will share it. I'd choose carefully though and perhaps go for organisations rather than individuals. If any of the Councillors are on Twitter it is also worth messaging them directly or tweeting at them.
140 characters is the limit for Twitter but you could tweet a short message with a link to a website with more information. WordPress will let you set up a site for free and is quite easy to use.

Will have a think about anything else you could do. I'm far from a Twitter expert though, hopefully other people will be along with suggestions soon!

Oh, and look at twitlonger.com for getting longer messages on Twitter, I haven't used it so not sure how it works.

Follow lots and lots of people. Around 1/3-1/2 may follow back, but will only do so if you look like a real profile. Make sure you have a pic (a logo is fine) and that your bio is full (a great place to put a change.org link).

Search for related hashtags (eg #localtown) and @ people who discuss the town. Target local politicians, local celebs, papers, schools, community groups, individuals alike.

A tweet like this local council are trying to sneak in harmful changes! Details here (website) Please RT! gives you loads of space for the link.

Write everything you want to on a Word document. Do a screen grab and turn it into a picture. Post that on Twitter.

Well I have acquired 6 followers since I posted the original message (go me) one is a local news app thingy, which has done a story! The petition has been on the go since we first heard (300+ signatures through mainly fb and word of mouth), just trying to get word out to a larger audience. Will get properly back on the case once Christmas is out the way...

Have a look for a Twitter 'hour'. its usually for local businesses to sell to each other, but a good way to get more followers. It'll be called something like @yourtownhour

Follow everyone you can find who you think might be/should be interested, local businesses, schools etc
Also you can't message someone unless the follow you.

That sounds good. Even if you can't message people you can still tweet @them can't you? Just no-one can see except you and them?

I think I'm probably going to WordPress, or twitlonger as the letter count seems to prevent any meaningful communication... Have emailed local paper, not sure if they're more likely to pick up from Twitter, or if it's just not the right time of year to get hold of anyone!

I am totally confused with Twitter! I click on something and then when I go back it's disappeared. If I make a comment it doesn't appear and then I find it in notifications. I think it's fast moving isn't it and that's a problem as I only try going on it now and again. I follow about 30 and they follow me but I don't really know what I'm doing.

Any advice please - like the ABC of twitter- thanks.

Even if you can't message people you can still tweet @them can't you? Just no-one can see except you and them?
No, that's not right, if you @someone it appears in their timeline anyone can see it. You don't even need a Twitter account.

Although if you have a private account, only people who follow you can see your tweets.

Nananini - I don't use Twitter a lot, but I find the mobile version much easier to follow than the desktop site.

Twitter tips from a Mumsnetter.

Use lots of hashtags. People search on them and it gets your tweet seen by so many more people even if you don't have the followers. Try not to make one up though. If you use one that is already out there it will be seen by so many more people. Oh and try to follow back people if they are relevant to you. Good luck.

We have had fairly mixed twitter results, to be fair it's the equivalent of trying to start a fb campaign when you only have 4 friends! We managed to get a lot of publicity (eventually) through traditional phone/ email contact with the local paper. We did find one really good contact through twitter though, so it was still worth doing.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who suggested things. It did help and I am hopeful we've done enough, one way or another!