Note: Twitter recently announced that in the near future, it will no longer provide free access to its API. Unfortunately, Granicus, along with scores of software and service providers around the globe, were provided very little notice of this change and the impacts it could have on our customers and users. Given this current state, we do expect disruption to integrations with Twitter across several of our products, as is being experienced by other software companies. Here are product specific details that will help you understand some of the expected disruptions as well as current steps to workaround this change.  We will update this article as more information becomes available.



Twitter is a social media network where participants post 280-character "Tweets". Integrating with Twitter can grow your audience and engage your citizens in new and interesting ways. With the prevalence of emergency situations and the proof of important use cases in which social media has kept citizens informed and engaged in trying times, integrating with Twitter can help keep your subscribers informed and engaged both on a regular and also in public emergencies when social media may be the only information outlet some people have access to. govDelivery offers seamless integration with Twitter and other social media services, allowing your agency to streamline the information you are creating and maximize its reach, by dispersing it through the social media channels of your choosing. 

How does govDelivery integrate with Twitter?

Post to Twitter

Associating your organization's Twitter account with your govDelivery account allows you to efficiently post the information you are already creating and sending to Twitter with the click of a button. From within govDelivery, you can tweet a link to your bulletin's shared bulletin page, expanding your reach beyond your current subscribers.

Before you can post to Twitter from govDelivery, you must follow the steps under Getting Started below. For instructions on posting bulletins to Twitter, see Selecting your Bulletin Audience and Channels.

Let Citizens Share your Bulletins

Every time your organization creates a public bulletin through govDelivery, a shared bulletin page is created with its own unique URL. You can link to this page and send social media followers or website visitors directly to these links. The header on this shared bulletin page features social media buttons, allowing users to interact with or re-purpose the bulletin content.

With the click of a button, citizens who may not be subscribers or social media followers of your agency can view, engage, and share your agency's content via the social network of their choosing. Allowing citizens to share your bulletins via Facebook, directly from shared bulletin pages gives your content better overall visibility and higher chances of being seen by those who are not already invested in your organization. 

See Bulletin Sharing and Viewing Options for more detailed information on bulletin sharing.

Send Twitter Digest Bulletins

govDelivery's Page Watch capabilities give your agency the ability to automatically collect tweets over a certain period of time and distribute them to your subscriber base. Page Watch is an automated process, and by automatically monitoring your Twitter account and sending out digests of tweets to your subscribers, you can consolidate and streamline your communications efforts, generating more Twitter followers and maximizing the reach of your communications efforts. For more information on how to set up a Page Watch topic for Twitter, see Automating Social Media Updates by Email.

Link to your Twitter Profile from your Bulletins 

You can include a link to your Twitter profile in your bulletin footer, driving more citizens to your page. 

For more information, see Managing Footers

Getting Started

Authenticating Your Twitter Account

The first step to connecting Twitter with your govDelivery account is to either add your first account, or to authenticate an existing Twitter account that you have already added. To do this:

  1. Log in to govDelivery and click the Social Media tab in the left navigation.
    Note: If you do not see the Social Media tab, remember that this option is only available to Account Administrators, and you must have Social Media Notifications enabled for your account. If you need assistance with this, simply contact Customer Support for help enabling this for your account.
  2. Click the Add Twitter Account button. This opens a Twitter login screen in a new window, prompting you to authorize govDelivery to use your account.
     

    Twitter_Authorize.png

  3. Enter the credentials for the Twitter account you wish to authorize, and click Authorize App.

You now have the ability to post bulletins to this Twitter account, or use Page Watch on Twitter, to bundle and send tweets to subscribers in an email format. You must select at least one Twitter account using the button under the column that reads Use for Page Watch. Note that this does not mean you can only use Page Watch on that account, it only means that this is the account Twitter will use to allow govDelivery to see yours and other people’s Twitter timelines.

Assigning Twitter Access in govDelivery

When you associate a Twitter account with your govDelivery account, you publish your govDelivery updates directly to your social media account(s). You also have the flexibility of limiting which administrators have access to your social media accounts, meaning that only designated administrators can publish updates to Twitter.

By default, no administrators will be automatically assigned to a newly added (authorized) Twitter account. However, once connected, any govDelivery administrator can be assigned to the account. 

To associate your Twitter account(s) with certain administrators:

  1. On the left toolbar, click Social Media.
  2. On the right toolbar, click Twitter.
  3. Click the Twitter Account.
  4. Click the Administrators tab.
  5. Select the administrators that have permission to post to the Twitter account.
  6. Click Save.

Twitter Integration Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why do I need to enter my Twitter credentials if I'm not posting to Twitter?

A. Twitter's API requires authentication for all access to Twitter content, including viewing and posting from a background integration. Twitter does not provide govDelivery with the ability to access your Twitter timeline as an entity. Therefore, you must enter your credentials allowing Granicus to view Twitter as a whole on your behalf, which includes seeing your organization’s timeline.

Q. If you send a test message, will it post to Twitter?

A. No, test messages will not post to Twitter.

Q. Can you link more than one Twitter account to a govDelivery account?

A. Yes, you can link multiple Twitter accounts to your govDelivery account.

Q. How many Twitter accounts can I monitor with a Page Watch topic?

A. As many as you'd like. Keep in mind, however, that Twitter does enforce a rate limit on API use, so your account could be rate limited if you attempt to pull down too many tweets over a short period of time.

Q. If I link my Twitter account to govDelivery, do I have to post every bulletin I sent to Twitter?

A. No. You cannot automatically post all bulletins to Twitter. When sending a bulletin, you must indicate that you want the bulletin to post to Twitter.

Q. If my bulletin includes graphics, will those show in the Twitter feed?

A. When sending your bulletin, you have the option of including a "featured image" along with the message you would like to post as a tweet. This image will be used as the preview image within your tweet, as long as you include a link to the shared bulletin page, via the [[SHORT_URL]] macro in the text of the tweet. For best results, we recommend uploading an image that is 600x314 pixels, and under 1MB in size. The minimum image size is 200x200 pixels. When a user clicks on the URL to read the full bulletin, all the images within the bulletin will display.

Q. I decided that I no longer want to post updates from govDelivery to Twitter. Can I unlink my Twitter account from govDelivery?

A. Yes. To unlink a Twitter account:

  1. Click Twitter Accounts on the Account Area toolbar.
  2. Check the box next to the Twitter account you want to unlink. 
  3. Click Unauthorize Twitter Account(s). However, be sure that you still have a Twitter account with credentials entered in your govDelivery account, or you will no longer be able to use Page Watch with Twitter.

Q. If someone is subscribed to my Twitter RSS feed, will he see updates sent from govDelivery to my Twitter feed?

A. Yes.

Q. Can I preview my Tweet before I send my bulletin?

A. Yes. When you click Preview, the bulletin preview includes a section with the text of the Tweet. Note that the tiny.url in the preview is a mock up and will not actually link to your shared bulletin page.

 Q. My organization uses its own link shortener. Do I have to include the short URL that govDelivery creates?

A. No. You can remove the short URL link by clicking the Include short URL to shared bulletin page box. To include your own short URL, include it in the Tweet field.

Q. What happens if my subject is more than 280 characters and I include the macro in my Tweet?

A. When you enter a subject line longer than 280 characters and enter the macro into the Publish to Twitter section, govDelivery will post a truncated version of your tweet that ends in an ellipses. If you include the macro as well, space will be made to include the shortened URL at the end of the tweet, and the subject text will be truncated before the link begins.