StacyKinney.com » Social Networking

How To Build Your Brand On Twitter

stacykinney — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:15:08 +0000

When you building your brand on Twitter you have to remember that perception is everything. It is important to learn how to build your brand on Twitter and learn what to do and not to do.

What is Twitter?

•Twitter is a social networking and microblogging site that was started in 2006. In 2007, approximately 1.2 million tweets were posted.

•As of June 2010, Twitter has 190 Million Users Tweeting 65 Million Times PER DAY.

•Interestingly, most of the users on Twitter are Adults, not teens. Teens only make up 11% of the site’s demographics.

•Businesses use Twitter for customer service, marketing, and to monitor their reputation. It is also a place where you can assess client’s needs and research social trends.

•Twitter is where the conversation between you and prospective clients START. It is a place for building and maintaining relationships.

•If social media was a dinner party, then Twitter is where people would socialize before dinner was served.

Setting up a Twitter profile:

•Your Twitter profile is fully brandable. You have full control over how your profile looks (except for the format).

•Upload a picture of yourself. Preferably the same picture you use on other social media profiles.

•Use a custom background and color scheme that is consistent with your blog and/or website.

•TwitBacks.com: Backgrounds for your Twitter profile.

•Have fun with your bio. Be professional but show your personality.

•Link to your blog rather than directly to your business site. If you don’t have a site link to one of your other social profiles.

Twitter definitions:

•RT = Retweet: When you repost another member’s tweet to your audience.

•Hashtag: Twitter’s version of categories. You can tag your tweets as well as search by hashtag for tweets other users have tagged.

•Link Shortners: Use Bit.ly and similar services to truncate long links to allow more room for the tweet.

•Follow: To sign up to see a person’s tweets on your home page.

•Unfollow: To stop getting updates of a person’s tweets

•DM: Direct Message. Twitter’s private messaging function.

•Trending Topics: Topics that are popular for the moment

•Lists: You can categorize your followers and people you follow into lists to help organize your account. (private or public)

Twitter Etiquette:

•DO NOT SPAM. Spam on Twitter comes in several forms.

1.Only promoting your stuff 24/7

2.Sending DMs that ask people to visit your business or buy your stuff

3.Sending tweets to people asking them to visit your site or buy your stuff

4.Letting robots tweet for you

•However, don’t go the other way and never promote your stuff. Find balance.

•Log in regularly to check and respond to messages. 100% automation is not recommended. People want to talk to you, not a robot.

•Thank people for following you and retweeting your content.

•Don’t be afraid to be controversial but be smart about it. Engage in friendly discourse. Avoid public Twitter arguments.

•However, unless you can take the heat, avoid hot button topics like religion and politics.

•Promote your Twitter account like any other web property you own.

•Don’t just talk business. Talk about your other interests as well. Be a real person.

•Find what works for you and do it.

Tweeting:

•You are there to connect with people. Therefore your tweets should be interesting and high quality.

•Focus on providing information that your target audience is interested in receiving.

•It is okay to tweet links to your blog and business. However, it shouldn’t be the only thing you are tweeting.

•Tweet tips and advice to help your target audience with their problems.

•Comment on the tweets of other members.

•Avoid Auto DMs or at least make them interesting

•Tweet consistently. Once every day, 5 times, etc.

•Find a few blogs in your industry and tweet links to articles of interest from them.

•How much you tweet is a personal preference. Some people love to talk and some don’t. The important thing is to be consistent.

•Try to tweet at times when your target audience is on the site. Popular times include in the morning before work, at lunch time, and after work.

•Retweet and promote other people.

•Engage in conversation.

•Be yourself. No one else can do the job.

The Wrong Way To Tweet : Example in video

My Twitter Marketing Strategy:

•Self promotion – to my blog, articles, etc.

•Promote other people

•RT people

•Funny stuff – StumbleUpon & find on other blogs

•Quotes

•3rd party blogs. ( Mashable, Social Media Today, Tree Hugger, Discovery, Inc Magazine)

•Tweet Tips and Suggest Tools

•Participate in FollowFriday and EcoMonday

•Engage, Engage, Engage

•Have Fun

Getting Twitter followers:

•Add a link to your Twitter account to your website

•Add a link to your email signature

•Place a link on your business cards

•If you do article marketing, link to your Twitter account in your resource box.

•Place a link in your forum signature

•Follow other people. Most people will follow you back.

•Engage, engage, engage

•Avoid programs that claim to get you thousands of followers. Most times they only cause your account to get banned for spamming.

•Share your link on other social networks

Building Your Twitter Network:

•Know who you want to network with. Determine who you target audience is.

•Use a Twitter directory, like Twellow to find people by categories. Add yourself to directories so people can find you.

•Some people follow everyone and some people don’t. This is a personal choice. Use lists to manage your followers and contacts.

•Go for quality over quantity. Take the time to get to know the people in your network.

•Don’t be intimidated by “Big Names”. If you like what they are saying, follow them. You may be surprised.

•Follow news sites for your industry so you can retweet interesting news.

•Don’t be afraid to unfollow people who have stopped tweeting, only tweet spam, or don’t engage with you. Quality over quantity.

Twitter Tools: Explained in video

Have Social Media Sites Shaped Our Way Of Life?

See Original Source — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:57:46 +0000

Have Social Media Sites Shaped Our Way Of Life?

The buzz about social media sites is that they are changing the way we live, the way we interact and the way we work. Well this new technology does not shape our way of living. In fact, it is being shaped by the economic, technical, political and social circumstances in which it is designed, developed and utilized. This technology does not shape the way we go about our live, nor change the way we live.

We have to think about how social sites came to life and why they exist. The simple answer is capitalism! Capitalism is the primary context that influenced the development and use of Facebook and Twitter, to name a few. The emergence of these sites responds to the expression of certain class and gender interests. Therefore the idea that social media sites have a causal effect on society is rejected by some people.

We all think and believe that this new technology is wonderful, marvelous. But we do not think things have changed for most of the people out there. Maybe some businesses are using these sites to leverage what they already have and getting more customers through the doors. But as an individual, have you noticed any real change? It is said that people don’t like change. If people have been using an old technology before embracing social media sites, there is a big chance that they will return to their old ways someday.

However, some people may have noticed that some significant change had taken place associated with the introduction of Facebook and Twitter. This technology is streets ahead of what we used to have. You can create a virtual organization and people will know about you within minutes. Yes, thanks to this new technology, this article is being read by most people; which would have been impossible five years ago.

If you think that social media sites have changed the way you live, you have to be aware that this technology emerged as a powerful instrument because some powerful actors or groups imposed it upon us. Thanks to Google, Youtube is what it is today. Thanks to powerful investors, Facebook is the number one social media site. Bebo is now part of AOL, etc… There is maybe another technology out there, but if a powerful group is not interested in, it won’t make its way through the mainstream.

From this point of view, yes, media social sites have a powerful impact on organizations, individuals, employees, working practices, skill requirements, etc.. If businesses, or individuals do not use Facebook or Twitter, they risk being labeled ‘out of touch’, or not being ‘proactive enough’.

One’s view or perception of social media sites in part depends upon where one is coming from, such as the job, experience, personal upbringing, etc., one has. Some people are of the view that this technology is more-or-less complete. Others think it is just the beginning and the possibilities are endless.

Ivoireconsultancy.org is an online outsourcing site where businesses and consultants meet to work on projects.
Article from articlesbase.com

Contact me for more information on marketing and social media strategies.

Are You Missing the Social in Social Media?

stacykinney — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:38:54 +0000

Social Media is About Being Social

Communicating with people, whether they are customers or clients, is the key to building a successful business. Social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook, make it easy to engage in conversation with others and build the trust necessary for good business relationships.

Unfortunately, more often than not, instead of using social media as a two way conversation relay, many businesses are using it as a bullhorn. They are telling their audience all about their business but not really engaging them in a way that encourages them to be their most passionate fans.

Getting to this level requires that you get to know your followers and allow them to get to know you. That means putting the social back into social media.

The Benefits of Getting Personal on Social Media

Engaging in real conversations with the people in your social network provides many benefits. Primarily, it allows you to get to know their likes and dislikes, what motivates them, and the things they are passionate about. Additionally, it allows them to learn the same things about you which promote a comfortable relationship between you.

You will be in a better position to meet the needs of your customers and prospects if you know what their real goals and dreams are. For example, most people want to make more money. There are hundreds of ways that can be done but, generally, people have a specific idea on how they would like to earn that income.

If you are selling a business opportunity, you won’t really know whether or not the business is a good fit for them unless you take the time to get to know what your prospects are all about. Your business opportunity may require them to handle inventory. If they don’t want to deal with that, then you may be wasting time trying to convert someone who isn’t really interested in what you are doing. And if you manage to get that person signed up, they will be more likely to drop out because that’s not what they truly want.

Your social media marketing will be more effective because you will have a deeper understanding of who your target market is and how best to approach them with your marketing message. Lastly, but certainly not least, you’ll be building long lasting relationships that will enrich both your business and your life.

How to Bring Social Back to Social Media

Getting personal on social media outlets is really not that difficult. All it really takes is an adjustment in your mindset. Instead of talking shop all the time, bring up other subjects of interest. Look for common ground between you. For example:

* If you both are trying to go green, you can talk about environmental issues as well as share tips on how to live a more eco-friendly life.

* For those with children, you can talk about the challenges of parenting.

* Current events are always good conversation fodder although some topics, like politics and religion, can be tricky.

* Go to their profile and see what they are talking about and join the conversation.

* Visit their blog and talk to them about topic they wrote about.

It may feel a little awkward at first, especially if you are not used to just starting a conversation with “strangers”. The more you do it, though, the easier it will become. Eventually, it will feel like you are conversing with old friends. After all, strangers are really just friends we haven’t met yet.

Download my free social media checklist (sign up in sidebar) for a daily to do list of all the things you need to do to increase your following. For personalized help, contact me for a free consultation on the best way to market your business online including using Twitter and other internet business tools.

(photo credit: PublicDomainPictures)

For more tips on how to use social media to rock your business, visit my archives.

What is # Follow Friday on Twitter?

stacykinney — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:30:25 +0000

Discover some tips and tools to help you on Follow Friday

I remember my first Friday on Twitter. I was completely confused & had no idea what was going on? Why do I see #FollowFriday? What does it mean?

Every Friday people will send out their favorite people and recommend that others follow them. Many times you will see tons and tons of tweets like this….

#FollowFriday @Terry_Allison @ckinney @mmangen @williger @David_Kaufer @MirrorFinish @Mastocytosis @westham999 @AnthonyTilghman @Msbbp404

#FF @DeanBenninger @MyGreenSide @billbudgets @teamarete @EcoFan @amous @eQuin2010 @ArwenTaylor

After a Follow Friday or two I felt like my eyes were going to roll back into my head. Fridays had now become chaotic & almost stressful for me. I had so many followers and it was too much to try and recommend them all and how was I ever going to keep up with it?

I found an awesome tool to make Follow Friday so much easier. The Twitter Tag Project, which allow you to scan the last 200 tweets, count the dups, and return your most active friends.

The results will display: (you hit tweet and that is it) – So Easy!!

Latest update and breaking news about Follow Friday:

Many more Follow Friday went by before I started to realize that my eyes were still rolling in the back of my head. The tweets all day long looked the same to me. It all looked like a bunch of noise & was not really following any new people on Friday. That is when I decided to do things very different then everyone else on Twitter.

I decided that it is all about creating value & that each person deserves to know a little about that person & why they should follow. I also decided that I would make #follow recommendations every day of the week & not just on Friday. This way the recommendation would really stand out apart from all the noise.

Now my Follow Friday recommendations look like this….. (Some of my Favorite peeps )

@Terry_Allison Great friend who does Joint Ventures w/ Authors, Speakers, Trainers, Real Estate and Niche Experts for Promotion/Profit.

@ckinney Good friend. Always engages- very helpful here on Twitter & She markets a Carwash Magazine. Take time 2 get 2 know her..

@mmangen Great girl – My friend. Does Bookkeeping & Property Management Virtual Assistant. QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Excel Queen.

@williger Darren is a tea drinking, guitar playing, low-carb eating, wine making sales maker who writes 4 MyLowCarbPages.com – Luv it !

@David_Kaufer awesome guy -good friend to follow – Great Tweets – He is a marketer, entrepreneur & Passionate #Green advocate

@MirrorFinish Frank is super guy. Always here to help & he tweets to help keep your car and boat like new. Mobile detail biz

@Mastocytosis An incredibly brave women & great person who is always helpful. Follow her & learn about her cause to raise awareness….

@westham999 Really great guy who always engages and is very helpful to me. He mixes it up with music & fun.. Be sure to follow

@AnthonyTilghman He is a great guy who always engages & here to help.

@Msbbp404 Awesome – always engages and RT’s – truly a wonderful person!

@DeanBenninger He is a great guy to know. Always engages here on Twitter & very helpful person. check him out !

@MyGreenSide She is awesome lady… Mother & wife — I am learning great #green info from her… check her out

@billbudgets Jessica is very cool girl. Good friend to have. Always helping others & she takes the stress out of bill paying…

@teamarete He is Entrepreneur, Bringing 25+ years of business development experience to the home business industry. Super guy to follow!

@ecofan Super guy & father. Always engages. He is an Entrepreneur that LOVE’s Alternative Energy. check him out

@amous He is a super guy who really helps out & engages on Twitter. He is holding the famous bunny on twitter #amousbunny – check him out!

@eQuin2010 He is super cool & helpful. He engages and RT’s. Great friend to have. Check him out! Has new #green biz too!

@ArwenTaylor She is great & engages. She also writes articles for people & does SEO. Internet savvy girl.

@davorado Great guy who does magazine design, media, & publishing. He is all about Sharing, learning, and meeting new people. #follow

@AmericanWomannn My fun & passionate friend & the lady who started #Hunkalert & #babealert. She is always on here & will engage!

Those were just a few of my favorite peeps on Twitter. There are so many wonderful people that I have connected with that I wish I could name them all.

I now keep a word document with all the people I feel deserve to go on my list & then I will recommend them throughout the week including on Follow Friday and even promote their business. I continue to add more and more people that I feel add value & are worth tweeting about on Twitter.

I think people deserve to know why they should follow others on Follow Friday and those you recommend deserve to be in the spotlight!

Use Twellow to Find Your Target Market on Twitter

stacykinney — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:30:37 +0000

Use Twellow to find your Target market on Twitter

Twellow lets you find people on Twitter by location and category as well as find people that have your same interests.

Be sure to register so that you are listed in the directory and put yourself in categories like Green, Eco, Music, etc. This way people can find you by category. Then you will want to go and search for people in these categories and follow them.