Twitter 101

At only 140 characters per tweet, the same as an SMS (Text) message, Twitter has been used as a tool by many celebrities, businesses, and organizations to get the word out about what it is they’re doing and how it affects “Tweeple” or “Tweeps” (a.k.a. people of Twitter) around the world. With Twitter, it’s not about quantity, but instead it’s about quality, and when tweeting (a.k.a. posting information) on behalf of your business make sure you are always aiming to interest others. Be aware of the target audience, and what it is they want to hear. Always retweet (a.k.a. Tweet another person’s exact tweet) interesting tweets, but only if they pertain to your company or the focal topic of your Twitter. Retweeting is a great and easy way to gain followers and spread important and interesting information.

Another benefit to your business or organization is the concept of a hashtag (represented by #____). Using a hashtag in a tweet will put your tweet on a twitter feed (a.k.a. list of tweets) sharing the same hashtag. For example: “I’m trying to take my #dog to a #dogpark. Where can I find a good one in #Sacramento?” is a tweet that will show up in the #dog feed, #dogpark feed and #Sacramento feed. Someone is more likely to see it and help answer this Tweeter’s question quickly. This Tweeter may even gain followers who have the same question or common interests, like owning a dog in Sacramento. Hashtags are very simple, and it’s recommended to start one to help brand your company. However, be wary: don’t just flood your tweets with hashtags. It is only recommended to have, at most, 3 hashtags per tweet. Flooding is frowned upon in the Twitter community and can lead to a loss of followers.

In reality, this is only scratching the surface of the vast Twitterverse. Remember: Twitter is about quality NOT quantity. Twenty random posts per day is not as great as one or two posts per day about a specific topic. Tweeps (a.k.a. Twitter “friends”) follow you because they wanted to know more about your company and your topic. Less is more, and if you have a lot to say, there’s always a way to link your larger posts from other websites (like this blog, for example) to one of your tweets… but we can save that lesson for Twitter 202.

What One Thing Do People Associate With Your Business?

It may not be what you think, such as your main product or service. It might be something seemingly insignificant to you, but particularly memorable for them. It may not be as simplistic or as silly as associations children may have with a place (e.g. “the red store” or the bank where “the nice lady gives out candy”). However, remember each interaction a consumer or prospective client has with your business, whether it be in person or online through social media, can have a direct impact. Your business may stand out from others simply because your tweets or Facebook updates feed them valuable tips or make them laugh. Your business might stand out in their minds from your competitors if you went above and beyond your normal business routine to give them exceptional service or follow up to see how they are doing some time after the sale or time of service. The good news is, through social media, you can tailor your message daily to help sculpt the positive experiences and interactions with your customers and seek their nearly immediate feedback as well.

Social Media’s Immediate Feedback Saves the Gap

Okay, “saves” may not be the right word, but thanks to social media, the Gap realized very quickly how dissatisfied fans and consumers were with their recent logo change. One such story regarding this week’s gaffe can be read at Mashable.com. Kudos to the Gap for listening to their followers and reverting to the former, well-loved logo.

We realize that not every business decision can be submitted to all your supporters for their approval, but I think this example illustrates the value of listening to their opinions nevertheless.

2 October blog post ideas Inbox X work X Reply | Melinda Jones Here are two ideas for October blog posts, the first one of more immediate re… Oct 13 (2 days ago) Melinda JonesLoading… Oct 13 (2 days ago) Melinda Jones to Sonja show details Oct 13 (2 days ago) Here are two ideas for October blog posts, the first one of more immediate relevance, and the second one could be used at any time. Let me know what you think.     *jumping on checking on all those SMP accounts now…* — Social Media’s Immediate Feedback Saves the Gap Okay, “saves” may not be the right word, but thanks to social media, the Gap realized very quickly how dissatisfied fans and consumers were with their recent logo change. One such story regarding this week’s gaffe can be read at http://mashable.com/2010/10/11/gap-logo/. Kudos to the Gap for listening to their followers and reverting to the former, well-loved logo. We realize that not every business decision can be submitted to all your supporters for their approval, but I think this example illustrates the value of listening to their opinions nevertheless. — What One Thing Do People Associate With Your Business? It may not be what you think, such as your main product or service. It might be something seemingly insignificant to you, but particularly memorable for them. It may not be as simplistic or as silly as associations children may have with a place (e.g. “the red store” or the bank where “the nice lady gives out candy”). However, remember each interaction a consumer or prospective client has with your business, whether it be in person or online through social media, can have a direct impact. Your business may stand out from others simply because your tweets or Facebook updates feed them valuable tips or make them laugh. Your business might stand out in their minds from your competitors if you went above and beyond your normal business routine to give them exceptional service or follow up to see how they are doing some time after the sale. The good news is, through social media, you can tailor your message daily to help sculpt the positive experiences and interactions with your customers and seek their nearly immediate feedback as well. — Reply Forward Reply | Sonja Dyess to me show details Oct 13 (2 days ago) I saw that about the GAP and was thinking the same thing!!! These are both good. Go with it. Don’t forget to fill out the tag section and categories when posting on the blog. Make sure you did those with the other postings you have done. J Great job as usual!!! Sonja Dyess “I’ll Tweet You Right” Social Media Platform 904.429.7519 www.smp4you.com www.facebook.com/smp4you www.twitter.com/smp4you From: Melinda Jones [mailto:melindaj7@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 1:07 PM To: Sonja Dyess Subject: 2 October blog post ideas – Show quoted text –   Here are two ideas for October blog posts, the first one of more immediate relevance, and the second one could be used at any time. Let me know what you think.     *jumping on checking on all those SMP accounts now…* — Social Media’s Immediate Feedback Saves the Gap Okay, “saves” may not be the right word, but thanks to social media, the Gap realized very quickly how dissatisfied fans and consumers were with their recent logo change. One such story regarding this week’s gaffe can be read at http://mashable.com/2010/10/11/gap-logo/. Kudos to the Gap for listening to their followers and reverting to the former, well-loved logo. We realize that not every business decision can be submitted to all your supporters for their approval, but I think this example illustrates the value of listening to their opinions nevertheless. — What One Thing Do People Associate With Your Business? It may not be what you think, such as your main product or service. It might be something seemingly insignificant to you, but particularly memorable for them. It may not be as simplistic or as silly as associations children may have with a place (e.g. “the red store” or the bank where “the nice lady gives out candy”). However, remember each interaction a consumer or prospective client has with your business, whether it be in person or online through social media, can have a direct impact. Your business may stand out from others simply because your tweets or Facebook updates feed them valuable tips or make them laugh. Your business might stand out in their minds from your competitors if you went above and beyond your normal business routine to give them exceptional service or follow up to see how they are doing some time after the sale. The good news is, through social media, you can tailor your message daily to help sculpt the positive experiences and interactions with your customers and seek their nearly immediate feedback as well. — Reply Forward

Spelling it all out

As I was driving down a local highway, I noticed a local tire repair shop’s outdoor sign advertising “WIFI YL U W8.” It was interesting to note that while they were advertising the availability of WiFi to customers who are waiting on service, they also were using text-speak to do so. With the prevalence of text messaging, Twitter, social networking, instant messaging, and such, most passersby probably read the ad with no problem, but I wonder if any customers felt put off by the message.

What do you think? Should they have spelled out “WiFi while you wait” (which easily falls into the common billboard advertising guideline of keeping your message to seven words or less), or are they “keeping with the times” by using such abbreviations? Is this a good way to make their business memorable? It certainly got my attention. Let us know what you think – would you use “text speak” to garner attention in your more conventional marketing methods, e.g. print, billboards, outdoor marquees, etc.?

Top persuasive words in advertising:

Top persuasive words in advertising:
• Suddenly
• New
• Announcing
• Introducing
• Improvement
• Amazing
• Sensational
• Remarkable
• Revolutionary
• Startling
• Miracle
• Magic
• Offer
• Quick
• Challenge
• Wanted
Are you using these terms in marketing strategy?

Recession Got You in a Pickle?

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was driving from Jacksonville, Fla., to Pensacola, Fla., and I noticed there were a ton of empty billboards. I could remember years ago seeing billboard after billboard full of ads, and now they are empty or have vanished. Where did they go?

Once I arrived at my destination, home, I ,of course, logged on to Facebook.  The next thing I thought was there were all my billboards.  Facebook has its own billboards known as Facebook ads. Times have changed and for the better. Marketing now is much more affordable. Instead of waiting for someone to drive by, and hopefully, see your billboard that costs you $15,000 a month, they go to the internet, put in a great keyword, and there it is. Now don’t get me wrong. A few billboards, like the ones in Time Square, are useful to a point, but if you don’t have massive amounts of cash to fork over, than the point is mute. Another point is Time Square is probably one of the places this can possibly happen, even the billboards that are mobile, i.e. buses and vans with constant changing signs, are basically useless and a waste of money.

First of all, these means of advertising could one, not catch folks attention because they are busy driving. Another point is how many folks will pass your billboard before they see it, much less be interested?

Billboards are all over the internet, and they show up based on what you search.  How great is that? Another form of billboards are social networking sites.  This brings me to what I have been seeing in the news.

I was watching Charles Gibson on the nightly news, and there it was again.  One more way social media is a must in today’s economic survival.  Businesses are tweeting about their holiday sales, and hospitals are making videos to create awareness of breast cancer.  Social media has taken over large and far, therefore, it is not business as usual.

If you plan on surviving in today’s world of business, take in account that you must use social media in various lights.  Social media is not only a great marketing tool but a powerful public relations tool.  Best Buy uses Twitter to answer complaints, and now their customer satisfaction has increased significantly.

When looking at this year’s marketing budget and marketing plan, this is an area that needs to be pondered and strategically considered.

To learn more about how Social Media can drive your business to new heights, go to http://budurl.com/smp4you