Archive for the ‘Twitter’ CategoryWhy Not Understanding Social Media Etiquette is Impacting Your EffortsJanuary 11th, 2012Hi All! Back in 2012 I wrote a blog post entitled “Do You Suffer from Social ‘Me’dia Syndrome?”. It was picked up by tons of other blogs and also led to my being asked to write variations of it for several online business communities and magazines. I bring this up because yesterday I spoke to a good friend of mine who was asking me about Social Media tips. After my chat with her I realized that it was a good time to revisit this topic in 2012. Why? Because MANY people are still clueless about proper Social Media etiquette! Here’s the deal…you have to participate to make it work for you. If you make it all “about you”, you’ve lost the entire essence of what Social Media is about! I find that many new clients who come to me are not getting much out of their Social Media and online marketing efforts because they’ve forgotten ONE little detail…they forgot about the word “social” in their Social Media strategy. Here are a few tips that will quickly illustrate my point: 1. Comment on other peoples’ blog posts. If you have a blog and want people to comment on your posts, you have to comment on OTHER peoples’ blog posts to start generating traffic to yours. It’s simple: If you read a blog post you like or have an opinion on, don’t just “keep it to yourself”. POST A COMMENT! 2. Retweet other peoples’ tweets: If you like a tweet from someone else, take a split second to click on the retweet button to share it with your followers. That’s why the retweet icon exists! To SHARE info with everyone and help cross-promote each other to help increase awareness for other people. It’s amazing how much more tweet-love and traffic you’ll get if you retweet, reply and comment on other peoples’ tweets. AGAIN…it’s part of being “social” in tweet-ville…and it’s part of Social Media etiquette! 3. Comment or Like other peoples’ posts on Facebook or in LinkedIn Groups: If you want more people to comment and/or click on the “like” button on your Fan Page or Profile posts, then do it more for other people! It takes less than one second to click “like” under someone’s post and sometimes just a couple of seconds to write a comment. Again, if you see a post that you like or find interesting, rather than just THINK to yourself, “That’s funny!” or “That’s cool!” or “That’s interesting!” or “That’s really helpful info!”, move your cursor up to the word “like” under it and simply click. Or type a short comment to acknowledge what that person posted! This may all sounds like common sense BUT it’s NOT common practice…which is why millions of social media hobbyists and small business owners are involved in Social Media but frustrated with it. They constantly just focus on posting stuff about THEM, their businesses, their products or events, their books, their families, their vacations, their kids, the songs they like, food they like to eat, etc., but they rarely take the time to acknowledge what other people post and share online. So…here’s my challenge to YOU: If any of this describes how YOU participate in the world of Social Media, make “improve my Social Media etiquette in 2012″ one of YOUR resolutions in the new year! You’ll be pleased with the results and will truly be participating the way the world of Social Media was intended! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa  Queen of Twitter Shares Social Media Tips for Small Business OwnersAugust 01st, 2010Hi All! Are you curious to know what it takes to get 70,000 (yes, I wrote 70,000) followers on Twitter? Are you interested in knowing basic tips that can potentially generate an increase in traffic to your website of over 5000%? Then you need to know about the fabulous Jessica Northey! She is pushing 70k followers and she has helped some of her clients see an increase in their web traffic by that gigantic percentage using Twitter as the driver. Jessica recently wrote a quick-hit list of around 30 tips that can help small business owners, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs (such as: coaches, consultants, trainers, speakers and authors) have more success using Social Media in their overall Marketing Plan. And she gave me the thumbs-up to share 15 of those tips here…and, sure, you may already know some of them. But, you may not. And unless you’re totally content with the amount of followers you have, and you’re totally happy with your web traffic numbers, keep reading! But before we jump into the tips, just who IS this Queen of Twitter on the verge of hitting a mega amount of 70k followers? Well, aside from being a Social Media Expert who is contributing a chapter to my new book due out this fall, “The Promote U Guru Guide to Branding and Marketing”, Jessica has 20 years of experience in the Media industry, including Television, Radio, Internet and Print sales, as well as being an on-air personality. Now, as The SocialMediologist, she is known for being able to create complete successful marketing campaigns and bridge partnerships. Plus, she is the Associate Editor and Social Media Expert for the popular entertainment industry blog, FullThrottleCountry.com. In her weekly column, Finger Candy Friday, she offers advice and opinions on social media trends and topics. So what are 15 of the 30′ish quick tips she advises? Here you go: 1. Set a strategy for Social Media optimization and be consistent. Nothing looks worse than months without activity! 2. Take advantage of the free applications like ping.fm to streamline your Social Media efforts. 3. Don’t forget the blog! It is such a great way to control your own content & establish yourself as an authority in your industry! 4. Think of Social Media like you were scheduling radio commercials. When is your target audience listening? 5. Don’t spray and pray. Narrow your message to your target audience. 6. Connecting with other people should be your number one goal. 7. Educate yourself and understand how your target audience uses Social Media. 8. Don’t put all your “eggs” in one basket. Diversify your Social Media efforts and use multiple platforms. 9. Add Social Media Platform Participation links to Business cards, letterhead, vehicle wrap, Broadcast and Print Media. 10. On Twitter, register with wefollow.com & twellow.com and use to find people w/similar interests to get social with. 11. Define your goals and manage your own expectations. 12. Don’t get caught up in the Social Media drama & try to stay connected to positive people. 13. Budget at least half an hour a day to Social Media efforts. 14. Download Tweetdeck, Seismic or Twitterific for a better understanding of how to use Social Media platforms to their full potential. 15. Use Social Media to have discussions w/followers. Ask them for feedback and see what they want! CLICK HERE TO READ THE FINAL 15! And don’t miss the last 15 tips…she shares names and links to tools to support and improve your social media marketing efforts. Want even MORE great tips to build your personal brand or business brand awareness, increase traffic to your website, and drive your target audience to your social media communities? Then also be sure to CLICK HERE to access my YouTube Channel! View short “how to” videos loaded with marketing, PR, social media, book marketing, and branding tips. Thanks for the great info, Jessica And to all of you… Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa How Do I Find My Target Audience on Twitter & Get Them to Follow Me?April 18th, 2010Hi All! Many of my clients, and audience members in my seminars and workshops, ask this question: How do I find and get the target audience that I WANT to attract to follow ME on Twitter? As business owners, professional speakers, authors, consultants, coaches, etc. (whatever your business is), it doesn’t do you much good to have thousands of followers if most of them are people who would never have interest in your services, products, etc. I’m a firm believer that it’s all about quality and NOT quantity. But that’s a very hard concept for many people to grasp…everyone gets so hung up on “how many” Fan Page fans they have, how many Twitter followers they have, etc. But I can tell you that Twitter benefited me in many ways even when I only had around 100 followers…why? Because I had the “right” followers. I started building relationships with other experts (who followed me) who I am now doing strategic partnering with, online events with, etc. So even though some of my followers are not potential clients of mine, they will refer clients to me and we’ll generate revenue together by doing paid events together. And this may shock you, but a recent marketing report answered this question: How many Twitter Followers does it take to affect lead generation? Answer: At least 100. NOT 1,000! NOT 10,000! NOT 1 million! 100. Read the article with details by clicking here. However, as I was saying before that tangent, is that it IS possible to find the people you want to target for business on Twitter…the people who CAN become your clients or buy your products! Here are (3) ways that will enable you to find them: 1.) http://search.twitter.com : Type in keywords that describe the people you’d like to reach (example: Event Planners) and search results will come up. 2.) http://www.twellow.com: Twellow describes its service as a “directory of public Twitter accounts, with hundreds of categories and search features to help you find people who matter to you”. And it’s FREE! 3.) http://listorious.com: Listorious describes its service as “…makes it easy to find who matters on any topic with the best Twitter people search on the web. We empower thousands of people to curate Twitter by allowing them to tag their list in our Twitter list directory.” And here’s the basic benefit: You can find lists that other Tweeps have created that are of your target audience. So you may be asking yourself, “Great. I’ll find a ton of people to follow who I really want to follow me. But how do I get them to follow ME?” Short answer: Begin to follow them, and over time (if you retweet them a lot and send good content vs random junk), you have a good chance of them following you. And if they post questions or comments, reply to them. It’s all about being “social”! And I’d like to say “Thanks!” to Mirna Bard, Social Media Expert, for sharing the Listorious.com tip with me OKAY! You have 3 ways to get you started on finding YOUR target audience on Twitter. Get movin’! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa Why Having Social “Me”dia Syndrome Will Cause You to SufferApril 08th, 2010Hi All! As a Marketing Consultant and Business Coach, I speak with clients, colleagues, or audiences everyday who ask me why their Social Media efforts are dismal. To which I reply: “Have you taken the word ‘Social’ out of Social Media?” To which many respond with, “What do you mean?” People who approach Social Media as Social “Me”dia, struggle. So what DO I mean? Well, see how you answer these questions to see if you’re suffering from Social “Me”dia Syndrome: 1. If you have a blog, do you follow other peoples’ blogs and make (good) comments? Or do you just expect people to follow your blog and show interest in yours? 2. Do you really participate in the Facebook Fan Pages or Groups you’ve joined? Or do you expect everyone just to flock to yours? 3. Do you answer questions or provide solutions to people you follow on Twitter? 4. Do you re-tweet their tweets? 5. Do you thank people for re-tweeting you or following you? 6. Do you take the time to participate in #FollowFriday #FF on Twitter and give props to tweeps you really like so your followers will then know about them, too? 7. If you have a Facebook Fan Page, do you actually go there, daily, and post questions or helpful info that your Fans can respond to? 8. If you have a blog, do you invite Guest Bloggers to write posts and then source them clearly? 9. Do you reach out to people on LinkedIn, participate in Group Discussions, offer advice when questions are asked? 10. On your Facebook Fan Page, do you post interesting questions on the Discussion Board, let your Fans know, encourage them to answer the questions, and/or post new questions? If you answered “No” to more than 3 of these questions, you are suffering from Social “Me”dia Syndrome. You’ve taken the word “Social” out of Social Media and you’ve focused too much on the “Me” in Media. This means your branding, marketing, sales and lead generation efforts will suffer. And this means you and your business will suffer! Take 2 aspirin, shift your perspective, reassess your goals and efforts, and contact me in the morning. Chances are within a few weeks you’ll be feeling much better about your Social Media efforts…and the RESULTS!!! Cheers! Lisa Does Twitter Baffle You? Check out this free guide for tons of answers to common questions!March 04th, 2010Hi All! In all of my seminars and workshops for small business owners about social media marketing, questions about Twitter always seem to get asked the most. Audience members, and my one-on-one clients, always ask things like: 1. What is Twitter? 2. What is a retweet? 3. How do I retweet and why should I? 4. How can I customize my Twitter page? 5. How can I build more traffic on Twitter? 6. How do I find people on Twitter? 7. What’s a tweetup? 8. How do I share vids and pics on Twitter? 9. How come people aren’t following me on Twitter? 10. What is a #hashtag? If you can relate to any of these questions, and want the answers to them (and many others), I strongly suggest you check-out Mashable’s FREE online Twitter Guide Book. They cover just about every aspect of Twitter you can imagine, and explain everything in a very easy to understand way. I think you’ll find this to be very useful as you embark on getting the most out of your Twitter presence! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa P.S. Follow me on Twitter @PromoteUGuru for on-going branding, marketing, PR and social media tips & resources! Blog for Entrepreneurs Seeking Branding, Marketing, and PR TipsJanuary 26th, 2010Hi All! Welcome to my blog. For 20 years I owned an award-winning marketing agency in Silicon Valley where I developed brand platforms and marketing strategies for some of the biggest names in technology (Sony, SanDisk, HP and many others). Now, as the Promote U Guru, I offer all my knowledge and expertise to small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers. As a Publicist, Marketing Consultant, and Business Coach, I offer a unique blend of real-world experience to my clients. Have I written books? yes, I’ve written 2. Have I owned a business? Yes, I have been self employed for over 20 years. Have I had to launch and create a brand platform for myself? Yes, on several ocassions. So, I know what it takes. I’ve been in the trenches. And my clients benefit because of it. I encourage you to follow my blog…I’ll post guest blogs from other marketing experts, as well as offer helpful info about book writing, brand building, social media and much more. You can also follow me on Twitter for great tips and resources: @PromoteUGuru. I look forward to meeting you online or in-person…and helping you achieve the success you want. No hype. Just results. Cheers! Lisa |
