SOLO MOMPRENEUR

Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

I’ll openly admit that I’m a Twitter-holic. (I know. They have support groups for people like me).

There’s something fun and really easy about Twitter’s micro-blogging platform that fits nicely into my marketing strategy.  And it’s a free social media platform so it definitely fits into my marketing budget.

Once in a while I am challenged, though, to fit my Tweets (messages) into 140 characters or less.  Sometimes I just need 5 or 10 more characters and sometimes more than that.

I discovered a great free tool that allows me to Tweet longer when I want to.

If you find that you’re also in need of extra characters when you’re tweeting, check it out.  It’s called “Twitlonger”.

Visit www.Twitlonger.com

While we’re on the subject of Twitter, did you know that you can schedule your Tweets in advance?

As a busy mom, small business owner, and online marketer, I’m always on the lookout for time-saving and organizational tools that will help to make my days run a lot smoother and less stressful.

“Social Oomph” is a no-cost tool that I can’t be without!  If you’d like to save lots of time and get your Twitter messages scheduled a day in advance or a week or more, check it out.

Visit www.SocialOomph.com

Are you a Twitter fan, too?  What Twitter tool or application do you like best?

Listen to this post if you like!

I’m a big fan of Twitter and I believe Social Media Marketing is essential if you’re trying to build your business online.

You can’t turn a blind eye, ignore the fact, sweep it under the rug, or crawl into a hole of denial.  Take a look at television ads these days. Social media venues are here to stay!

The last time I checked, Twitter is growing in popularity by 40% a month! If you’re struggling or confused about out how to utilize Twitter as an effective, results-driven marketing tool, let me share some strategies that will help you to get the most out of Twitter.

Keep these guidelines handy for using Twitter to brand yourself and market your business:

• Provide value and share biz tips and tools
• Create anticipation
• Drive conversation
• Showcase your Biz
• Announce important events and product launches
• Build community
• Be helpful and answer questions
• Brag a bit! You deserve it. And show a little personality!
• Experiment with giveaways, discounts, and contests
• Post surveys

In keeping with proper and acceptable etiquette, make sure that less than 10% of your Tweets involve any kind of selling or promoting. So what should you be Tweeting about?

Re-Tweet information from your followers that you find useful, funny, or relevant.

Share Twitpics – the most opened links on Twitter!

Communicate newsworthy items and events and be sure to ask your followers to Re-Tweet messages for you.

Speak in your authentic voice and show why your biz and you are pretty cool!

Send out welcome Tweets to new followers (no selling, please) and become the go-to person in your niche by providing helpful tips and resources and answering questions from your target market.

Promote what you want to promote, but keep relationship building your highest priority.

Not quite sure how to “brag” the right way on Twitter?

The biggest challenge is getting over the “fear” of bragging. My friend and colleague, Cathy Goodwin, can help. Just get her mp3 recording and 25-page workbook by going to: BRAGGING 101 (This is my affiliate link and I give it my highest recommendation) Tiny investment – Big results!

Nothing spells disaster faster than not having the right tools to market your business – especially if you are trying to market on a shoestring budget.

This is a sequel to a recent post on the Solo Mompreneur blog entitled, “What’s Your Business Building Cast Iron Skillet?”

I’m writing this because Bobbye, Martha, and Heather asked. These are three exceptionally talented bloggers and small business owners I met through joining a 30-day blogging challenge.  (Be sure to click their names and check out their amazing talents!)

These three lovely ladies asked me to share the tools I use to market my business – my “Cast Iron Skillets”.

So here’s what I use to cook up some tasty marketing messages and spread the word about my business:

Free Headline Analyzer: I love this tool and consider it a must-have.  It measures the “emotional marketing value” of your words.  It’s great for crafting blog post titles, landing page & sales page bullet points, and article headlines.  And it’s fun to use!

Social Oomph: This is the best time-saving tool in my arsenal.  I use it to preschedule Twitter updates – a day or two or three in advance!  So when I am away from my computer or working on other projects, my Tweets will automatically show up in my Twitter stream at specified times throughout the day.

Ping.fm: With one click of my mouse, I can send out a post/message to ALL of my networks at once!  I’m currently subscribed to 15 different networks.  It’s another time-saver and a real convenience.

Survey Monkey: I really like this free easy-to-navigate platform for creating surveys and polls.  Google Docs are also a great choice.

Audio Acrobat: I have lots of fun recording Audio Notes here to send out to my list, publish in my ezine, or post on social networking sites.  They have some really cool templates, too.

My Marketing Cornerstone: This is a series of OUTSTANDING webinars and accompanying workbooks created by my mentor and colleague, Jessica Swanson.  I return to this information again and again!!  This $97 bootcamp took me from ZERO success to targeted subscribers and sales!

To search for other bloggers in my niche and to keep up-to-date on what people in my niche are talking about, I use:

1) Icerocket

2) Blogpulse

3) Technorati

So there you have it – My business building Cast Iron Skillets!

Tomorrow I will be publishing my final post – my last contribution – to the 30-Day Blogging Challenge hosted by Connie Ragen Green.

I want to share my list of all the wonderful takeaways, lessons learned, and unforgettable experiences as a participant in this event.

“C” is for Challenge.  But during this challenge, I came to realize that “C” stands for so much more!  It also stands for …

Commodities – Friendships are the best and most valuable commodities you can acquire.  The friends I made during this challenge are some of the most talented, bright, and creative people imaginable and I cherish every single one of them.

Commitment – Writing 30 posts in 30 days was a huge undertaking for me as well as for some others who participated.  Commitment shows character and builds character.

Capacity – There was no such thing as limited space or limited seats to join this challenge.  Everyone was welcome.

Cooking – I got my hands on some new recipes and learned some culinary secrets during this event!  What a treat to have a couple of food experts on board.

Concentration – The only real way to make it all the way through this challenge was to become like a horse with blinders on and focus, focus, focus!

Collaboration – Bring a variety of personalities, skills, and expertise together.  Combine that with energy, inspiration, and motivation … and lookout!  Joint ventures, interviews, and an upcoming collaborative radio show are just the tip of the iceberg for this group!

Comedy - Laughter is the best medicine.  I had a blast meeting others who value a sense of humor as much as I do!

Cooperation – Everyone did a fabulous job of visiting lots of blogs, posting wonderful comments, following networked blogs on Facebook, staying updated at TweetChat, giving support, and Re-Tweeting posts.

Communication – Some of the best stories I’ve ever read were communicated during this challenge!  People offered advice, a listening ear, business building tips and tools, relaxation techniques, tutorials, book recommendations, and how-to’s.

Compliments – I will forever embrace the words of encouragement and all the positive, uplifting comments I received during this event.  There was rarely a day that I didn’t witness someone paying someone else a confidence-boosting compliment.

Complaints – There were none!!

Have you ever noticed how Twitter and Facebook have become ideal “help desks”?

People ask their burning questions and other people answer them.  And just like email and text messaging, it happens in real time. That’s pretty amazing.

So I got to thinking today about another platform you can use to get an answer to, “What topics should I blog about?”

If you’re stumped for ideas for blog posts, why not ask your readers for suggestions in a blog post?!  You might be pleasantly surprised what they have to offer.

What’s really cool is that you’ll be accomplishing two important goals at once.

Your question will become a post so you’ll be creating fresh content for your blog.  And you’ll be encouraging “interaction” with your readers, which makes for the best kinds of posts.

But if you’re in a REALLY BIG hurry and need some ideas RIGHT AWAY for topics to blog about, here’s a list of 100 ideas!

It’s on the house – enjoy! (Pay special attention to #9)

1.  How I Use Facebook

2.  Ways I Embrace My Audience

3.  Should My Town Use Social Media?

4.  A Community I Love

5.  Technology That Empowers Me

6.  How Flickr Did it Right

7.  How Best to Comment on a Corporate Blog

8.  Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference

9.  How I Find Blogging Ideas

10. Somebody Has to Say It

11. My Children Will Do it Differently

12. How Schools Could Use Social Media

13. The Best Parts of Marketing

14. Presentation Skills for a New Conversation

15. How I Find Time to Make Media

16. Empower Your Best Customers

17. After the Event- Carrying the Conversation Forward

18. Just Jump Into Podcasting- Heres How

19. My Community and How You Can Engage It

20. Twitter Jaiku Pownce Facebook- And Then What

21. Making a Miniseries

22. If I Were an Advertiser Today

23. My Mother is On Facebook

24. Does a Big Brand Need You

25. Books I Want to Write

26. Serving the Deep Niches- How I Do It

27. How Women Use Social Media

28. A Hard Look at My Media Habits

29. If I Were a Television Producer

30. Social Media Marketing vs Traditional Marketing

31. Elements of a Marketing Campaign

32. Social Media Campaigns are NOT Traditional Campaigns

33. Idea Making and How I Make Something

34. What I Spend Money On

35. Do Rock Stars Need Social Media Strategies

36. How I Use My Website

37. Book Shopping- Buy These Books

38. MTV Changed the World in the 80s- Here is What Comes Next

39. How I Process Blogs and What I Do With All That Info

40. Ten Guilty Pleasures

41. The Internet Application I Havent Seen

42. If I Worked for a Venture Capital Firm

43. My Day Job Versus My Passion

44. The Difference Between Fark and Truemors

45. Fixing Conferences

46. Making Marketplaces for Media Makers

47. When I Feel Frustrated

48. Branding Strategies I Use

49. Your Ideas And My Ideas- How We Play Together

50. Friends I Cant Wait to Meet

51. The Art of Chaos

52. Telling My Boss About Social Media

53. Could I Quit My Day Job

54. When to Cut Back on Web Habits

55. Breaking Down My Favorite Blog

56. Explaining Social Media to Your Chamber of Commerce

57. Non-Internet Equivalents to Internet Tools I Use

58. Considering Media for the Rest of the Globe

59. Twitter is Too Simple- Twitter is Just Right

60. The Future of Podcasting

61. Video Made Simple

62. Facebook Applications I Love

63. You Are Here

64. Blogging Tactics- How to Keep it Fresh

65. I Want to Brag A Minute

66. Who Says What About Your Brand

67. Tools for Blogging

68. Wordpress Plugins I Use And Why

69. Media Topics That Need More Coverage

70. Comments versus Blog Posts

71. How I Drive Traffic to My Site

72. News- Is it Useful and How I Might Fix It

73. Which TV Network Gets Videoblogging and PodCasting

74. Franchising My Media

75. Handling Critics

76. My Audio Tricks

77. Ning Sites I Like and Why

78. Controlling My Brand

79. Sharing and Contributing

80. How Twitter Improved My Blog

81. Email After Twitter

82. Facebook Video Improved My Social Network

83. Letting Go

84. Downtime- What I Do Offline to Recharge

85. How I Went From Very Shy to Less Shy

86. The RIGHT Number to Track for Podcasting

87. PodCamp Has to Change

88. Shaking Things Up

89. Joining A Network- Things to Consider

90. Newspapers and How I Would Change Them

91. Interview With a Veteran

92. The Countries of My Social Media World

93. Giving it Away

94. Consulting Strategies for Social Media Experts

95. Turning Media into a Business Card

96. Podcasting on a Budget

97. For Every Excuse a New Strategy

98. Just When I Think I Am Done

99. Buying Gear- My Shopping Tips for Podcasters

100. When is Free Better- When Not

I’m a big Twitter advocate and enthusiast.

So many of my followers are the most fascinating  and most wonderful people you could ever want to meet!

Today I am excited and proud to introduce you to some extremely talented and amazing bloggers!

My Follow Friday Shout Outs for this week are:

@HetherBestel ~ Heather can help you move from mad dash to organized serenity.  Just call her “The Queen of Calm”!  She’s the author of “More ME Time” –> The busy woman’s 3-step plan to reclaim your life and find joy every day.

Words that describe Heather:  Creative and Compassionate (and generous beyond belief!)

@MarthaGiffen ~ Martha’s got the “Lingo List” –> The free list of internet marketing definitions to help you get started and to guide you through the MAZE of online marketing.  She takes the guess-work out!

Words that describe Martha:  Witty, Warm, and Wonderful (and very responsive!)

@MarciaHoeck ~   Marcia can show you how to turn your existing staff into a successful team that makes your business more $profitable$. She won her husband’s heart by juggling and in the fourth grade she was the Hula Hoop Queen!

Words that describe Marcia:  Polished and Poised (with a tremendous sense of humor!)

@BobbyMiddendor ~ Bobbye’s expertise is copywriting –> She’s the keeper of words that bring heart to your marketing and soul to your business!  Bobbye shows Conscious Creators how to craft copy for the web.

Words that describe Bobbye:  Soulful and Sensational (and intellectual, to boot!)

Following any or all of these fabulous friends will definitely enrich your life and your business!

Another Friday will be rolling around soon and Twitter enthusiasts everywhere will be joining the popular weekly event as an opportunity to recommend their favorite followers to others.

Some people choose to post at #followfriday and some prefer the shorter version, #FF.  If you’re brand new to #’s (hashtags), visit http://hashtags.org or do a search for hashtags on Twitter to learn more.

Follow Friday recommendations are oftentimes referred to as “kudos”, “mentions”, “reco’s”, and “shout outs”.

Here are my Four Best Tips for getting desired results using Follow Friday recommendations:

1) Don’t just “clump” a pile of names (Twitter ID’s) together in the same post.  It’s the standard approach I see all the time and it won’t work to get your favorite followers the attention they deserve. No one wants to take the time to rifle through name after name in order to check out each person’s profile.

2) Don’t create posts like: “Follow so-and-so” or “Follow my friend, so-and-so, he’s great.”  Does that really make you want to check the person out?  No, I didn’t think so.  You may think your Twitter friend is great, but why should I?

3) Give each of your recommended followers their own chunk of the spotlight.  Praise each one individually to share their talents, skills, expertise, and personality!  For example:

Be sure to follow @shoestringgal to tap into the most Powerful Free Marketing Platforms! #followfriday

Look to @ConnieGreen for a 5-pronged approach to online writing success! #followfriday

Check out @CathyGoodwin for copywriting savvy & the best doggone dog blog on the planet! #FF

4) And my all time favorite tip is to place your Follow Friday recommendations in a BLOG POST.  A blogging platform is the perfect venue to make your Twitter followers shine!  You can include a bio, a short story about each person, or a list of products or services they promote.  You might also want to share how you met and why you decided to follow these folks.  Posting your Follow Friday shout outs on your blog gives you total creative freedom and flexibility!

Would you like to follow me on Twitter?

You can call your Twitter followers any endearing name you like.  I call my followers “Peeps”.

Twitter is a cool little micro blogging platform that small business owners should not overlook or discount.  It’s one of the top venues for establishing authentic relationships, sharing your expertise, and building your brand.  So the rumors are not true.  Twitter is NOT a waste of time.

Without question, Twitter is my all time favorite social media marketing site.  I like the rapid fire conversations and the challenge of keeping posts at 140 characters or less.

If you’re looking for an ALL-INCLUSIVE FREE Twitter webinar on how to “Twitter Your Way To The Top”, mark your calendar for April 29^th.  My friend and colleague, Jessica Swanson, founder of Shoestring Marketing, will be the host.  All of Jessica’s webinars are jam packed with tons of information, tips, resources, and action plans!

Some online marketers seem to be at a loss for WHAT to Tweet about.  Here’s a list that will help to lift the fog and eliminate the confusion:

• Use interesting quotes related to your target market
• Talk to your followers with @replies
• Link to someone’s blog, article, video, podcast, or picture
• Ask questions
• Answer questions
  
• Re-Tweet valuable and helpful information
  
• Announce an upcoming event (webinar, teleseminar, meet up)
• Make a comment
• Pay a compliment
  
• Use #hashtags (www.Hashtags.org)
• Introduce followers to your products, programs, and services
• Post a survey
• Take a poll
• Create Twitter lists
• Share Biz Tips and Tools
  

20% of your posts should be promotional and 80% should consist of interaction, instruction, and education.

If you follow this rule of thumb, you’re going to generate traffic to your site and obtain qualified leads for your business!

Here’s the link again to the Free webinar: “Twitter Your Way To The Top”

It’s not because I don’t like you and it has nothing to do with your ethnicity, color, creed, political party, or gender.

When I get a new follower notification from Twitter, here are the factors I consider in making my decision to follow you back … or NOT.

PHOTO: Right out of the gate, if you don’t have a picture on your profile, I’m gone!  And I don’t mean a company logo or some silly avatar or cartoon.  And please don’t use an off-in-the-distance snapshot of yourself.  In order to build a relationship, I need to see your face.  You don’t have to hire a professional photographer to take a pricey  head shot.  Just use a digital camera or upload a photo you have on file.

BIO: Tell me “why” I would want to follow you.  What is your expertise?  Who do you serve?  What words describe you best? I need you to zero right in and grab my attention. If your profile is missing a bio or your bio is bland and boring, I’m gone!

REPLIES: Are you interacting with your followers?  Are you Re-Tweeting interesting and valuable information posted by others?  Or is your home page filled with one-way conversations?  If all your Tweets are “me, me, me” focused, I’m gone!

Twitter is a great platform to showcase your expertise, build community, drive conversation, be helpful, and provide value.

So if you want me to follow you back, please let me see your face, tell me about yourself, and show me that you’re interested in building relationships by interacting with others.

Social media marketing is absolutely necessary if you’re trying to build your business online.  You can’t ignore the fact, sweep it under the rug, or crawl into a hole of denial. Just take a look at television ads these days.  Social media sites are here to stay.

The last I heard, Twitter is growing in popularity by 40% a month!  If you haven’t figured out how to utilize Twitter as a marketing tool, let me help you get on board in the most effective ways possible.

Keep these guidelines handy for using Twitter as a marketing tool:

1.)  Provide Value

2.)  Create anticipation

3.)  Drive conversation

4.)  Showcase your biz

5.)  Announce something important

6.)  Build community

7.)  Be helpful

8.)  Brag a bit! You deserve it

9.)  Show a little personality

10.) Experiment with giveaways, discounts, and contests

As a general rule, less than 10% of your Tweets should involve any kind of selling or promoting.  So what should you be Tweeting about?

Re-Tweet information from your followers that you find useful, funny, or relevant. Share Twitpics – the most opened links on Twitter!  Communitcate newsworthy items and events and be sure to ask your followers to Re-Tweet the messages for you. Speak in your authentic voice and show why your biz and you are cool.  Send out welcome Tweets to new followers (no selling) and become the go-to person in your niche by providing helpful tips and resources and answering questions from your target market.  Promote what you want to promote, but make building relationships your highest priority.

Not quite sure how to “brag” the right way on Twitter? The biggest challenge is getting over the “fear” of bragging. After all, you don’t want to sound like a used car salesman. My friend and colleague, Cathy Goodwin, can help.  Just get her mp3 recording and 25-page workbook by going to:
BRAGGING 101 (This is my affiliate link and I give it my highest recommendation) Teeny-Tiny investment and Big results.