Jaynesez: I'm on Twitter...Now What?

First, you need to decide what your goals are for being on Twitter:

• Send People to your blog?

• Keep track of what people are saying about your company?

• Get people interested in your company by showing your personality?

• Solving customer service issues?

• Announce events or new products?

• Make friends in the same industry or with people interested in the same hobbies?

• Search for topics people are talking about right now?

You can create more than one Twitter account. It is smart to have at least two accounts; one that you use to follow mentors in your line of business, the other geared for gathering followers. You can use the links and information being handed out by the industry leaders to pass on to your followers! It is very important to tweet with links that your followers will find interesting. Think carefully about the names you choose. Again, you want to be original, unique and personable.

80% of your posts should be free information! Then, you can showcase your business for the remaining 20%, as long as you aren't “selling”. Where do you get free information? I really like http://stumbleupon.com and http://popurls.com. They are great resource sites. Here at POP Marketing and Design, we are also offering a new social media service that will help companies set up social media and will send out great links for them.

The next step to finding people to follow is to sign up with http://twellow.com. This is a great place to find people by category or location! It is free and easy to use. Make sure you add the categories that you want to be found under as well.

So, let's sum this up! Twitter is a like a party that allows you to meet people with common interests and industry leaders. This is what you should remember:

• Show your personality

• Give value and content

• Get at least two twitter accounts

• Post resources, compliment people, ask questions

• You are not “selling” on Twitter

• Determine your goals and guide your followers to your blog or event

Most importantly, Have Fun!!! If you need help or have questions, please feel free to contact Jayne with POP Marketing and Design.

Jaynesez: Learning about Twitter

Why should you Twitter?

I know that most business owners don't have time for one more marketing strategy, but being on Twitter opens the door to potential clients, allows you to see what people are saying about your business and gives you a chance to solve customer service problems quickly, and it is a great way to announce events or new products. It is time consuming and it is easy to get sidetracked with all the great links people post, but Twitter is going to continue to increase in popularity and it is a good time to get involved.

How do I use twitter? I was interested in joining a company on a project so I searched to see what real people had to say about them. Then I sent direct messages to some of the people on Twitter to see what their experience with the company had been like. I think this is the future of search engines; would you rather hear what real people are saying or pull up a random list? So, getting your business name out in Twitter gives you an advantage.

Do you want thousands of followers? Twitter allows you to build a huge list, but for my business and other service businesses, I suggest getting fewer people to follow you and really get to know them. Treat Twitter as a place to meet people like you would at an after business networking event. Talk about your hobbies, give free advice or free links to cool sites. This is not the place to sell your service or product directly! Get them interested in you and provide a link to your blog so they can get to know you better, then you show links to your business. The world is changing and people do not want to be “SOLD”...just put yourself out there and be interesting, targeted people will follow!

Go set up a FREE account here: http://www.twitter.com

Next Time...I'm on Twitter, what next?