JulieInc.com

So far we have looked at getting started on Twitter and understanding the lingo…now we’re up to making this work for your business.
That starts will growing your Twitter list or Followers and communicating with them.

Here are some good (and easy) ways to start:

• Click on the “Find People” tab on the top right side of your Twitter page – the page that comes up will give you options to find people, browse interests, find friends and invite people by email
• Search on Twitter and identify your niche then start following people in your niche area
• Add your Twitter URL to the bottom of all outbound emails – your URL should look like this https://twitter.com/JulieIncCom
• Email your clients and notify them that you now have a Twitter account and let them know that you will be posting great content via this service – perhaps even special offers only available to Twitter users
• Link your Twitter to your LinkedIn account
• Share with your Facebook list

The question that gets asked most often in relation to Twittering for business is “How often do I have to Tweet?”

And the answer is, “Well, that depends on how quickly you want to grow your business?”

Dainaz Illava of http://socialmediapowercoach.com suggests doing 6 to 8 tweets per day otherwise it will take ages to grow your following.

“What!!!!  I don’t have time for that!  And even if I did what am I going to tweet about?”

Well, in regards to not having time – remember, you are not writing an essay just a sentence.  Below are some of Dainaz’s tips on ways to create daily tweets…

1. Do the 70/30 rule – 70% talk about your industry/niche/service/product  and 30% talk about you (not what you ate for breakfast though)
2. Keep it relevant to your niche/industry/service/product
3. ReTweet often – in fact 75% initially
4. Ask questions
5. Value add and provide interesting and new information when you can
6. Share your unique thoughts and passion, your vision or mission
7. Post useful links to video/photos etc
8. Be responsive and answer tweets
9. Remember the art of sharing not selling
10. Acknowledge people with RT and acknowledge those who RT you – just say “Thanks for the RT”
11. Converse using the @username and recommend using the @username
12. Most of all have fun

The next post will be on handy tools to use with Twitter – making your Twitter experience easier.

Until then, have a great day!

Are you having a hard time getting a handle on Twitter?

Seriously, with so much to learn about social media – facebook, myspace, foursquare, flickr, linkedin and the list goes on (and on, and on, and on), I had found that I really hadn’t paid attention to the impact of Twitter and how to use it effectively for business.

That is, until I went to hear Dainaz Illava of http://socialmediapowercoach.com/ spoke to the Social Media Meetup Group in Brisbane the other night.  There was so much great information that was covered, so I will break it into a few sections:  how to get started correctly, understanding the lingo used in Twitter and how to grow your list.

Here are some of Dainaz’s top Twitter tips for getting started.

• Twitter is search engine friendly so remember to use your keywords in your Username, in your Bio and in your tweets (for those who don’t know what a tweet is – it is the message you put on Twitter)
• Try to keep your Username short if possible so that it reduces the number of characters when people retweet your message (a retweet is where other people will share your message to their followers)
• Make sure you use the same photo/image across all the social media accounts you use – that way people will recognize you more readily
• Write a good Bio – make sure you use the keywords for your niche and mention what you do and include a link to your website
• Browse the “Top Tweets” and study their style
• Make your first post impactful about who you are – remember first impressions count (even on Twitter)

Dainaz spoke about how Dell added $7 million to their bottom line just by having one twitter account.  Dell have harnessed the power of Twitter to connect directly with their customer base and now have added many Twitter accounts, each account targeted to a specific part of their market.  If you would like to see how Dell are using Twitter for their business then go to http://twitter.com/DellSmBizOffers and study their customer service and marketing style.

Oh, and here’s a tip from me…don’t follow heaps of people to begin with as you will feel overwhelmed trying to follow everything that is going on.  Start small and grow stronger…remember, you want people to follow you – not for you to be following everyone.

Next time…Twitter Lingo and Design Tips.