Tag: Twitter

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Should Local Businesses Use Twitter?

Twitter is the big buzz on the Web, but if you sell or service locally should you consider Twitter a must have in your marketing arsenal?

Personally, I feel based on strong Twitter use for my own business and that of my clients that Twitter is best used by businesses that are selling nationally or globally. Typically we see responses to tweets from around the world and just not the local service area. Based on that interaction, unless you have the budget for Twitter on top of money set aside for Google AdWords and Facebook, I would not consider tweeting practical for targeting local customers.

I do however feel that if your budget is limited that you should still consider social media, but maybe move Twitter down on your list or priorities.

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The New Must Haves for Every Business Owner

It used to be that if a business did not advertise in the Yellow Pages, you were out of the game.,Now there are new “must haves” for business owners to consider to be a part of our new “connected” global business marketplace. These new “must haves” are a blog, a Facebook presence, and a Twitter account.

If you look at each of the three items I mentioned, they have one thing in common, they allow a connection with users who want information fast and to connect with and interact with the real you versus reading  a brochure-like website. It is important to note that I am assuming that you have a website already by this point. If you don’t have even that, then instant remediation is needed quickly.

The Web has changed our world and how we do business drastically, but social networking is now changing how we interact on the Web with each other. So let’s talk about these three important components briefly and why you should have each.

Blogs
There are so many SEO benefits that are derived from blogging that to not now have an on domain blog puts you at a competitive disadvantage. As a blog is written in a more conversational style and allows for comments it is a wonderful way to start interacting with prospects and get tangible organic search benefits at the same time.

Facebook Presence
Facebook has gotten so big that you just cannot be using it at this point in time. It is like how a  website was considered a few years ago. If you didn’t have one you weren’t in the game. This is the same now with Facebook. Many businesses will start out with a personal profile, as I did myself, and then move to expand interaction through a Facebook Fan Page. Whichever direction you take it’s important to get in the game at this point. Recently, Facebook even eclipsed Google in user activity. Facebook  is a huge sleeping giant that can be harnessed to drive traffic, interact with customers, find prospects, and share information about yourself and your business. When Facebook finally figures out how to monetize itself properly the returns will be huge.

I have gotten quite a bit of business from Facebook over this last year and that was just from my personal profile. I have sold and closed a several thousand dollar custom website project, and in the last two weeks alone, I have gotten a new ghost blogging client and a press release client. So, if you take the attitude that Facebook has too much “fluff” and is just full of games, think again. Serious business is being done through Facebook interaction.

Twitter
Twitter has grown tremendously in popularity with 300,000 new users each month and over 10 million using Twitter already. This application has potential written all over it. Twitter is not about spamming others with what you sell, but about interaction, answering questions, providing information, and sharing information. It is not as rich as an interactive environment as Facebook, but its viral marketing potential is stronger than that of Facebook.

Big business has flocked to Twitter. Say anything in Twitter about Kohls, and a real person will direct message you. Say you have a problem on Twitter about Network Solutions, and a real person will chat you up to make sure that all is well. Using mentions and search queries you can monitor what is being said about your business on Twitter and interact with others with similar interests. Twitter is growing so fast that it makes sense to get in “before the curve” and not “after the curve”.

I am always watching for the next big thing to check it out for our own business and our clients early. I’ll let you know a secret, the next big thing I’m watching is being tested by Google Labs in India. It is SMS Channels. This new application allows you to set up a channel of content and allow subscribers to receive your information directly to their mobile phone. That should be a biggy. I’ll let you know when it comes to the US.

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TweetMeme Allowing Others to Share Your Content on Twitter

I have just recently added TweetMeme to my blog. That’s the little icon to the right of each post that allows you to click the word tweet and share my content on Twitter, plus tracks how many people have retweeted a blog post.  This is similar to the Digg icon you may have seen on the Web on other sites.

Both TweetMeme and the Digg icon allow for easy ways to encourage the sharing of your content in new innovative ways. Take a look at the bottom of our blog post and you will also see our Share This icon. This WordPress plug-in gives your readers more options to share your content on Facebook, Twitter, and social bookmarking sites.

The reason I have chosen TweetMeme over the Digg icon is simply that I am much more active on Twitter at this time than I am on social bookmarking sites.

It is very simple to set up TweetMeme on your blog or on your web pages.  Here is a link to the TweetMeme plug-in page for WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and other applications. If you prefer to install TweetMeme on a web page, here is the link to the code creator for pages, RSS feeds, emails, and other ways to share your content.

By encouraging the sharing of your content you reach a much wider audience and create more opportunities for your content to go viral. TweetMeme makes it easy!

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How Do You Know if Your Twitter Account is Hacked?

Twitter is an important marketing tool and you want to make sure to protect your followers from blocking you or not trusting you by watching your tweets. Having your Twitter account be hacked can create havoc with your ability to have an authoritative voice in your arena.

You will not always know your account has been hacked but here are some tips to help you keep tabs.

1. Use a Twitter application like HootSuite or TweetDeck and make one of the columns set to show all your own published tweets. You know what you’ve written, so if you start to see tweets that are not yours take immediate action. If you use a tweet ghost writer, make sure that you yourself periodically go to Twitter.com and check your tweet list and direct messages. Sometimes you will see problems or tweets with links that do not belong.

2. Guard your Twitter password and be very careful with the third party applications that you give access to your Twitter account and Twitter password to. If you suspect a problem, just immediately change your Twitter password to lock out potential problem applications.

3. If your blog is hacked and you are using any Twitter plug-ins, most likely your Twitter account has been hacked as well. Now’s the time to change your password on your blog AND on Twitter.

4. Watch your direct messages in Twitter. In many cases followers will let you know that you sent them something weird and out of the ordinary. Don’t blow that off, start digging as most likely you have been hacked. In many cases the tweets from a hacked account will go out in the middle of the night so you may not see them first thing in the morning unless you have a column set up as in number one.

I recommend vigilance. Just watch what is happening on your Twitter account. You don’t want to lose the loyal following you’ve created with a hacked account that posts garbage alienating your followers.