Social Media University » Twitter

On Board or Left Behind?

Griff — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:39:46 +0000

A little more than 3 years ago when I was preaching it, the locals here in my community told me I was crazy. Many still are. My retort:

Look for a product, TV commercial, billboard sign or delivery truck these days without either or both the Facebook and Twitter logos. Timing being everything remember what the Morton Salt tagline says… “When it rains, it pours.”

Companies take heed; the conversation is well underway. If you’re not present there are several things likely to happen including but not limited to the following. Your competition will be and you’ll lose market share as a result. Are you going to get on board or be left behind? Its pouring out there.

On Board or Left Behind? is a post from: Social Media University

Social Media Revolution 2011

Griff — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:31:05 +0000

Social Media Revolution 2011
Let’s take a couple of moments and revisit the relative impact that Social Media has on the world today. Imagine that at the rate we’re going before long Facebook will have over 1 Billion members. Each member lists from basic amounts to fully developed personal profiles containing all of their preference, likes and dislikes. Please forgive the pun. Their activities are harmlessly tracked and data stored and accumulated. Servers are added to manage the increased amount of activity.

Now step into the world of targeted advertising using Facebook. Criteria can be fine tuned to locate the most reliable of criteria for qualifying potential clients. One can select keywords, locations, ages, genders and a myriad of other criteria to better efficiently and effectively target the group of people they want to reach. Each setting demonstrates an immediate number of the number of Facebook users that will be reached by the advertisement when done this way. Adjust and adjust. Terms are set and advertisements are launched. It is just that simple.

Within an instant the two meet on the right hand column of the profile page. Not only are the advertisements found there remarkably similar to the profile users own preferences, in fact exactly so, but friends of the profile user are cited as having liked the product. In fact they did. Is this type of marketing intrusive? On the contrary it is with permission and it serves a very useful purpose. No longer do people need to wade through distracting and annoying advertisements about things that they do have interest in, want or need. Only the things we want, by having defined them ourselves are presented in front of us. As time goes on and more people join and more information is shared and collected it will become better still.

Facebook is but one channel of the Social Media Revolution. Besides it there are literally hundreds of other channels from the well know and largest platforms from resources using websites and blogs like Blogger, WordPress Tumblr and Posterous to Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Yelp, etc…, and a long tail of other platforms, groups and forums. There is a platform or a group or a place where anyone with access to an internet connection can go and find others of similar interest or need, locally or globally.

Please note I said the the process was simple and that I did not say it was easy. The distinction being that good sound experience can help to maximize your results. Experts, who in this case simply refer to someone that can help you to accelerate your process are very valuable indeed. For best results social media marketing consulting can help you to bake better use of your well earned dollars. This is an area where we at Social Media University can be of great help.

Social Media Revolution 2011 is a post from: Social Media University

Twitter Tips

Griff — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:21:18 +0000

The single most difficult part of using Twitter or any new social media network is in simply knowing where to begin. What do I do? How do I behave? What do I say? Here are some useful tips for using Twitter.

Set up your profile: The first thing you need to do is to set up that profile. See that bar on top of your twitter page? Click Settings and start filling up your profile. The notable areas in here are URL, bio, picture and design. Put up a link to your site or blog in here along with a brief description. Upload a picture to differentiate yourself from the others and then tweak your Twitter design. Like any other social networking site, it is important to completely express what you are or what you stand for in your profile.

Follow people with similar interests: Now that you have a profile, start following people. You can find these people in Twitter directories. I use Twellow and JustTweetIt. These sites can introduce you to Twitter users that have the same interest as yours. Follow these people and observe their tweets. You may also try following who these people follow but read up their descriptions and visit their blogs to make sure you’re still on the right niche. Being on the right niche will make it easy for you to build a community with a similar interest.

Get into the conversation: So now that you are following people, you will now see some tweets on your board. Read up on what the people your following are up to and reply if it interests you. For example, a person narrates how he is going to conduct a meeting. You may then reply with ideas. When someone asks a question, don’t hesitate to answer if you know it. Don’t be afraid to interact.

Don’t spam: Spam is the cause of many unfollows on Twitter. There is a character limit for a reason. Do not send repeated messages to people. Do not constantly direct message (DM) them with links.

Update daily: Alright so you’re blending in the community. Now update daily if possible. I know some Twitter users who unfollow because of inactivity. Reply to people and update people with what’s going on with your life. Soon you’ll be recognized and you’ll get some follows.

Find the latest buzz and contribute: Now it’s your time to contribute. Find a topic that will interest your niche and tweet it. Since you have established relationships with your followers (through replies), you will get more attention. It’s a nice strategy to always append “please retweet” at the end of your tweet. There will be some people who will be so interested that they will retweet. There are others who will reply to you about the link you tweeted. But you are not a “nobody” anymore. You are not just talking to yourself. People are now responding to your tweets.

Help other people out: The famous saying “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you” holds here. Before you can receive retweets, you must help others first by retweeting their messages. Help the people in your niche. One day you’ll be surprised on how eager they are to help you back.

Create relationships: Now it’s time to create constant connections. Soon you will find that some users are more active than others. You will get to talk with the same group of people at the same time every night. But don’t get bored. Interact with these people and create relationships. Ask how they are doing and try to touch on their interests.

Integrate Twitter with other social networks: Have a blog? Then post to Twitter when you have a post that will interest your niche. Have a Facebook profile? Then ask people to add you. Twitter is really a vital part of web 2.0. It can serve as the core. It can let you build relationships that can branch out to other social networks.

Establish relationships even outside Twitter: Have a lot of friends on Twitter? Then take it to another level. Ask for their messenger and talk to these people on a more intimate level. Call them through Skype or even arrange a meet-up. Twitter can create real relationships.

Social media is an integral part of life today. Let’s get onboard and see where it takes us. Better still, let’s join in the conversation, even lead in it, and a have a say so in creating the future ourselves.

Twitter Tips is a post from: Social Media University