A huge number of companies now have a Twitter presence. Some massive brands use the micro-blogging platform to manage their reputations and spread awareness. Other smaller firms use it to build relationships and directly find work and sales.
But whatever you want to achieve, what do you need to know in order to get started?
Some brands are still scared, or at least cautious about taking that first step onto Twitter. So let's run down this list of 10 tips on the best ways to get started on Twitter.
1. Using Twitter is Simple; Using it Well is a Challenge
However complicated it may seem when you first log on to your new account, Twitter is a simple platform.
You can write 140-character updates that will be seen by your followers and also watch a news stream of comments left by people you follow. To direct a comment at a specific follower, simply prefix their name with "@" -- for example, "@ + your message."
Send a direct message (one that can't be seen by anyone other than the recipient) by prefixing a name with a "d" -- for example: "d kevgibbo + your message."
Twitter has also created new grammar -- the hashtag. This allows people to conduct simple searches and see what people are saying about a topic -- for example, #leadersdebate during the U.K. election.
Some people use the hashtag ironically or to convey humor, without expecting their chosen term to catch on. For example, someone might tweet about how marvellous their recent SEO campaign has been and then add #modesty.
That's the bare bones of using Twitter. Using it effectively is much, much harder, which you'll see in the next nine tips.
2. Twitter Needs a Strategy
Before you begin investing time and energy in Twitter, sit down and work out what you want to use it for. Using Twitter only because everyone else is using it won't win you success.
3. Your Account Must Look Professional
Before you start using your Twitter account, make sure it looks professional. Update your bio, add the company logo as an avatar, and customize your page.
Some people's first interaction with your brand will be via Twitter, so make sure it's as professional as your website and office space.
4. You Should Search for Mentions...
Monitor Twitter for mentions of your brand, products, well-known staff -- any terms that people might conceivably use in reference to you.
Twitter will present you with any specific mentions of your account name but you can also run searches. Using software like TweetDeck allows you to set up permanent searches and be presented with relevant tweets as they happen.
5. ...and Reply
You're using Twitter in order to have conversations with people. If there's a positive mention of your brand, thank the person who made it. If it's negative, then get your customer service team to address the problem -- often a positive resolution can turn a critic into a fan. If someone asks a question then answer it.
Be as polite on Twitter as you would be at a conference or some other industry event where you deal with people in person.
6. Spamming Harms Brands
Several brands (and even politicians) have fallen down on Twitter because they don't really understand how people use it. The platform is social and has to be used socially. If you're intrusive, you'll alienate the people you want to win over.
Tweet links to blog posts, comments, thoughts, questions, even special offers now and again. But don't simply pour out sales pitches. People won't follow you and anyone encountering your tweets won't leave with a good impression of your brand.
By the way, following thousands of people to try and build your own followers is spam, even if you aren't sending them sales pitches.
7. Automated Actions are Useless
Twitter needs to be hand fed because it's all about quality, not quantity. You can't automate personable, social tweeting.
Also, the roll-out of top tweets means that quality is already beginning to be more rewarded, while those aiming for quantity of tweets will quickly gain a bad reputation as spammers!
By auto-following new followers, retweeting mentions, and automatically tweeting blog posts, you may have a working Twitter account, but it won't be working well.
8. Your Followers Want Value
Why should people follow you on Twitter? What will they get out of it? Whether it's humorous tweets, inspired analysis and tips, links to fascinating blog posts, industry breaking news, or discount vouchers, you must add value to their Twitter experience.
Otherwise you're spamming and you'll struggle to gain any followers.
9. Make Your Tweets Retweetable
You may only have a few followers -- certainly at first. So you want your followers to retweet your posts to their followers, spreading the word about your brand. If your tweets are valuable enough, then that shouldn't be a problem.
Also, make it easy for people to retweet. Keep your comment as short as possible because, when people retweet it, they will have to add "RT username" at the start. If you've used all 140 characters, then people will have to edit your words or chop off the link -- or, even worse, use the new retweet button!
10. Twitter Magnifies Mistakes
Get it wrong on Twitter and you risk a storm of mockery, especially if your brand is well known. Or, if a disgruntled employee tweets something abusive from your corporate account, it could be retweeted hundreds of thousands of times before the company even knows it's happened.
Even a small brand that tweets too intrusively will find that recipients complain to their followers.
When you work out your strategy, work out some ground rules and make sure that everyone using your account understands them.
Doing social media badly is far worse than failing to do it. So behave well on the platform and treat people as you would like to be treated.
Need Social Media Marketing for your Website or Blog?
In the past year, social media has become a vital tool for internet marketing. Experts say that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are now essential for search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns. In a bigger scale, SEO is becoming an essential part of ad campaigns in general.
These days, major brands have profiles in Facebook and Twitter, where they can interact with clients and customers at a more casual level.
Twitter is crucial for SEO and advertising. Brands with a Twitter account can use it to update people about its latest developments, offers, and products. Companies can also use its Tweets to redirect browsers to its sites.
Social networks contain a vast market that spans all demographics. In the last estimate, there were over 400 million member in Facebook and more than 80 million in Twitter.
Social Media Marketing is marketing through social media networks and online communities. Social Media networks generally attract a lot of users. They are online platforms where users share thoughts, discuss ideas and interact with each other on a variety of subjects. Social Media is a meeting of minds where everything is user-generated. The user gains prominence in a social media network. His ideas, thoughts and opinions gain utmost value and importance. Social Media is the easiest route to reach the customers.
Social Media Marketing is a type of internet marketing which leads to achieve branding and marketing goals through participation in various social media networks such as Orkut, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Hi5 etc. Social Media includes websites where news, photos and videos are user-generated. Many innovative and interesting social media networks mushroom in the online world everyday. Sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Furl, Reddit, Del.ici.ous and others are social bookmarking sites where users bookmark their favorite web pages and share with others information about web pages which they find interesting or useful. All these websites include certain mechanisms to allow users to vote for the content submitted by the other users. Through this, a particular content’s popularity is gauged.
On the other hand, Social Media Marketing is also a vibrant marketing strategy for marketing your site. You can manage the creation and distribution of content through the social media easily and effectively. Social Media is the latest kind of viral marketing. Messages sent through social media reach customers quickly. There is also no fear of the message being twisted or misinterpreted in the process. Moreover, in Social Media Marketing, you can expect a great inflow of comments/critiques and reactions for your marketing messages. In a way, all these will help you know the expectations of your customers. It is indeed a step in gauging customer psychometrics.
Social Media Marketing is the most popular upcoming marketing concept of the dotcom world. There are various marketing techniques which are very closely related to social media marketing, such as Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, and Social Media Optimization. Social media sites provide a huge variety of subjects, topics, and discussions to choose from. A social media web site can be defined as a common ground, where individuals gather together to share their views and opinions. Social media has also adapted various mediums such as audio, video, and textual mediums. There are few guidelines in order to successfully implement social media marketing. Improve the ability of your website, so that it can be linked to other sites easily. All the incoming links are unique, so treat them properly by providing dedicated space for them.
In order to be successful at social media, the following steps can also be very useful. First, create forums on your own web site. Provide interesting topics so that people would like to participate and interact with each other through your site. Keep updating information and news to attract your visitors. Compose podcasts and use the clips to promote your products.
Social Media Marketing gives exposure for your site in a larger site or amidst a larger group of people. Use the social media in the best way possible and gain results.
There are lots of ways to increase traffic on your blog or on a website and Social media Optimization is one of them. Lots of people know a lot about SMO but they are unable to use it effectively. In this article, you are going to find five easy steps to make your SMO technique more effective.
1. Targeting the right sites
There are several hundred thousands of social websites that you could be using on the internet. Obviously, none of them can offer you their full features to use. You will also find some of the websites extremely boring and you will not want to waste your single minute to surf them. So the best thing you will do to start your SMO campaign is you will certainly look for some social sites that belongs to your areas of interest. Off course, you will definitely look for del.icio.us, Digg, facebook and StubleUpon because of their popularity and extremely high traffic. It is also good for you to develop strong profile on websites like Digg and del.icio.us because if you have a strong profile on these websites then you can promote any type of content on it.
2. Consistent use
If you want to become an authority on social media then you have be consistent in your approach. You have to browse your targeted social media websites so that you will be familiar that what type of strategy works for you and what not.
3. Development of the content to the audience
If you want to drive immense traffic on to your website by using social media then you really have to work hard on the content development of your websites. Creating a dead blog does not mean that you will able to attract your visitors. You have to present something informative to the reader so that more and more users like to read your interesting blog posts. Normally users like to read about sex, Hollywood & Bollywood Gossips, news, breaking news, controversies, and gossips on blogs.
4. Networking and helping others
The two very important steps of social media marketing are content creation and networking. If your website has a strong content but you don’t have well planed network to promote it then it will take time to popularize the content of your website but a great content with great network is just something which you have dreamed for. You can easily form a network on social media websites by getting yourself involved in voting, adding friends, leaving comments, and generally communicating with the users so that they get to know about you and your business.
5. Conversion
Well, if you are able to drive massive traffic on to your social media website then this traffic will not be fruitful for you unless are successfully convert them into your potential buyers.
So, you have now fully understand about social media optimization and now it is your turn to explore it more and more so that you can get some good momentum with social media websites for your business.
Google Analytics is an incredible tool. With Google Analytics, you can decide exactly what you want to measure on your site. This tool is easy to personalize and get working for you exactly the way that you want.
This is a tool which puts you in control; letting you decide on the specific goals and objectives of the measurements you want from the system. If you only need to know who your visitors are and how they found you, Google Analytics can certainly do that. But the real value of this tool is that you can define whatever filters will best help to analyze the traffic going to your site.
What does all of this mean for you? Let's have a more in depth look to give you a better understanding of how exactly Google Analytics works for you. Google allows you to set all of the specific objectives to pinpoint what you are trying to do in many aspects of website management.
Objective: The big picture - what do you want from the visitors to your site? What is your site's purpose; and how can you work with your visitors to achieve that purpose?
If your site is an e-commerce site the answer is simple - you want to sell things and make a profit. However, you will want to know what is selling (and what isn't) to determine what you should sell more of and what it may be better to remove from your catalogue.
This would be an objective.
Goals: Objectives are the long term aspirations for your site, goals are short term ones. What do you need to do to hit your goal? Do you need to track visitors who enter from a certain page? Or is your goal to sell more of a particular item within a set time frame?
This is possible using Google Analytics. You can set these goals from within the application itself.
Specifics: Knowing your objectives and goals prepares you to really use the full power of Google Analytics. Specifics are the steps you need to take to make your goals and objectives a reality.
For instance, you can set up your dales page and a funnel (using Google Analytics for the funnel) to evaluate where traffic is coming to your site from. Google will be able to tell you where visitors enter and exit your site. This will give you an understanding of how people interact with your site and the kinds of responses your site tends to elicit in visitors. This in turn gives you the starting point you need to go to your pages and fine tune them in order to further your progress towards your goals.
Google has made it easy to set up. They'll do the initial metrics and it's all free!
You'll need to add a little code to your webpages; if you aren't tech savvy you can have your webmaster or an IT staffer take care of this part. As soon as the code is placed, Google Analytics will begin collecting stats - in a matter of days, you'll be able to look at all manner of statistics about your site.
Once you're comfortable with the user interface, you can set the goals and specifics for your site. You can access all of this data online; setting your parameters at any time you want.
One of the other many useful features of Google Analytics is the ability to set different sections or "profiles" of your site and watch them independently of others, which heps you to fine tune your site.
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