As we enter a new decade, we dive into an era of new language, too. You’ve no doubt heard it, maybe even used it yourself --- a new lexicon used to communicate about business, social interaction and brand. Welcome to 2010 and a world of fans and followers powered by social media engagement.
Remember when being a fan simply meant you joined a club, bought all of somebody’s works and maybe gushed in a letter about how much you loved what your favorite singer, artist, writer (fill in the blank) did? Okay, there may be slightly less gushing involved now, but never has a more efficient, cost-effective way of gathering “fans” exploded onto the scene.
The process is simple.
1. You make a product or offer a service.
2. You let your marketplace know you’re out there, ready and willing to hear from your customers --their feedback, their stories, their suggestions.
3. And then when they speak to you, you respond and encourage even more dialogue.
What could be easier than that?
So what’s in a fan or follower and how can you know everything there is to know about who’s following you? First things first, get to know the specific online communities available to you.
• Establish a product or company page on Facebook and invite friends and colleagues to support your business and become a fan.
Use the page to tell about upcoming events, promote new product news or happenings with the company or ask direct questions of those who become fans. Reach out to other organizations that you believe in or that you support directly and encourage others to invite their own friends to follow. Consider this page a window to your business. If people were walking by, what would you want them to see or hear? If they’ve become a fan, you’ve got their attention. Don’t lose it.
• Set up a profile on Twitter and begin following those in your marketplace and community to stay on top of industry or local news/trends and invite them to become a follower.
Share information that will be both meaningful and helpful to the online community. Remember: unlike Facebook which is open only to those who specifically request to follow you, on Twitter, everyone “hears” you if they happen to search for you by name or topic so if you are speaking on specific issues, be sure to denote this by using # before the topic at the end of your comments or “tweets.” For example, let’s say you’re an accountant offering tips for tax season, you might add #taxes at the end of your comment and anyone searching specifically for tweets related to taxes would find you.
• Follow the unwritten but understood rules of engagement.
Social media networking only succeeds if both parties contribute and interact with one another. If you receive comments or questions and don’t respond, you become simply a billboard promoting your wares and the potential two-way conversation becomes you with a bullhorn. And for Pete’s sake, remember what your mama told you growing up: always say please and thank you. If someone forwards your “tweet” to all of their followers or mentions you by name, thank them. If someone recommends your Facebook page to their friends and you hear about it, show them the love in return.
• Keep an eye on your followers – who’s in and who’s out.
Nothing is more puzzling than when a follower or fan who’s shown previous interest in your page suddenly removes themselves from your fan list or “unsubscribes,” another new made-up word in this crazy millennium of creative vocabulary. (In personal social media circles, this is curiously known as “unfriending,” another bizarre verbal incarnation.) Why did they leave me, you may ask yourself. It’s hard not to be troubled or feel personally rejected, and while you may never know the exact answer, you can monitor the flow of your page’s growth and the kinds of fans you are acquiring – where are they based geographically, age or marital status info if provided, etc. If for example, you begin to talk on a more frequent basis on a particular product or service that might be appealing to parents, you may begin to see a growth in that demographic but some of your followers without kids may possibly drop off if they thought your business was more geared toward twenty-somethings. It’s important to know who your target audience is and keep your messages as consistent and focused as possible to this audience if that’s who you want to attract and keep as listeners.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Deck the Halls with Social Media Fa-la-la-la-la la-la la-la
Over the past decade, we’ve watched how the Christmas holidays have changed thanks to the popularity of the Internet and have seen cyberspace do some wonderful things to make Christmas come alive for kids of all ages in some pretty exciting ways. Now, companies are figuring out other ways to use the this far-reaching communication tactic in other unique ways.
• One SEO firm PeoplePond (www.peoplepond.com) is rallying fellow SEO and social media professionals to help increase the visibility of Santa Clause’s PeoplePond web profile in order to drive charitable giving for a group of selected charities. These include Toys for Tots, Angel Trees, Salvation Army, Trees for Troops, Make-A-Wish Foundation and American Lung Association’s Christmas Seals program. Those professionals who help give Old St. Nick a web hits boost receive a free one-year subscription to the SEO-driven, fee-based web profile site. To learn more, go to the SEO Santa 2009 homepage. (http://www.peoplepond.com/seosanta2009.php)
• The Gap has returned to form with a throwback to its popular song and dance holiday ads with a new number that outdoes the classics in the form of a vibrant holiday cheer. But they’ve outdone themselves further by creating some online buzz with a friendly cheer off competition taking place between its many stores all over the world who are creating, filming and uploading videos of their team’s cheers performed or all to see and vote on through YouTube. Check it out for yourself – but grab your pom-poms first. (http://www.youtube.com/user/GapStores)
• Samsung is using its presence on Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic to its special holiday promotion in which it’s giving away a new BEHOLD II mobile phone every hour and an LED TV every day until December 23 with its The Samsung Mobile Be A Winner Giveaway campaign (http://game.beawinnergiveaway.com/?INT=us_home_subbanners_pos4_1201_behold).
It’s not the first time the electronics company has embraced social media willingly. Its Four Seasons of Hope essay contest has been garnering attention for collaborating with corporate partners such as Microsoft, Best Buy and DirectTV as well as top professional athletes like New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning to award over $1 million in electronics to K-12 schools in the U.S. (http://pages.samsung.com/us/4seasons_hope/education.jsp). Now that would be something wonderful for any school to find in its stocking this holiday season.
• Oh, and did you hear Jolly Old St. Nick himself – that’s right, Santa Claus – doesn’t just bellow and giggle. He tweets now, too. No longer content to allow his fans to follow him at his Santa’s Village website anymore, he’s joined the many voices of Twitter and offers up many more descriptive, up to the minute status reports about his journey. Well, technically it’s from one of his elves but we hear that he merely transcribes. In case you just wanted to make sure he can find your house. (http://twitter.com/noradsanta)
• One SEO firm PeoplePond (www.peoplepond.com) is rallying fellow SEO and social media professionals to help increase the visibility of Santa Clause’s PeoplePond web profile in order to drive charitable giving for a group of selected charities. These include Toys for Tots, Angel Trees, Salvation Army, Trees for Troops, Make-A-Wish Foundation and American Lung Association’s Christmas Seals program. Those professionals who help give Old St. Nick a web hits boost receive a free one-year subscription to the SEO-driven, fee-based web profile site. To learn more, go to the SEO Santa 2009 homepage. (http://www.peoplepond.com/seosanta2009.php)
• The Gap has returned to form with a throwback to its popular song and dance holiday ads with a new number that outdoes the classics in the form of a vibrant holiday cheer. But they’ve outdone themselves further by creating some online buzz with a friendly cheer off competition taking place between its many stores all over the world who are creating, filming and uploading videos of their team’s cheers performed or all to see and vote on through YouTube. Check it out for yourself – but grab your pom-poms first. (http://www.youtube.com/user/GapStores)
• Samsung is using its presence on Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic to its special holiday promotion in which it’s giving away a new BEHOLD II mobile phone every hour and an LED TV every day until December 23 with its The Samsung Mobile Be A Winner Giveaway campaign (http://game.beawinnergiveaway.com/?INT=us_home_subbanners_pos4_1201_behold).
It’s not the first time the electronics company has embraced social media willingly. Its Four Seasons of Hope essay contest has been garnering attention for collaborating with corporate partners such as Microsoft, Best Buy and DirectTV as well as top professional athletes like New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning to award over $1 million in electronics to K-12 schools in the U.S. (http://pages.samsung.com/us/4seasons_hope/education.jsp). Now that would be something wonderful for any school to find in its stocking this holiday season.
• Oh, and did you hear Jolly Old St. Nick himself – that’s right, Santa Claus – doesn’t just bellow and giggle. He tweets now, too. No longer content to allow his fans to follow him at his Santa’s Village website anymore, he’s joined the many voices of Twitter and offers up many more descriptive, up to the minute status reports about his journey. Well, technically it’s from one of his elves but we hear that he merely transcribes. In case you just wanted to make sure he can find your house. (http://twitter.com/noradsanta)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Four Fallacies of Social Media
Whenever a new medium is introduced and begins integrating into popular culture, it’s common for fallacies to begin forming, frequently spread either by those not using it or others who truly don’t understand the tactic’s full potential or reach. Don’t make the same mistake and assume any of the following, for you’ll be misjudging this robust and expansive tool for branding, positioning and two-way communication in the marketplace.
• Social media serves no purpose in business – it’s for recreational use only.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. What’s so special about social media networking is it allows you to be a little of both to your customers (or prospective customers). Why can’t you be their neighbor, their source for advice and answers and still be the place down the street where they like to get their hair styled? With social media, there’s nothing holding you back from developing genuine relationships with your customer base and using that connection to become better at what you do since you have a sincere, voluntary source for input and feedback.
• Social media will encroach on my personal privacy if I use it for my business.
Well, certainly if you use your web profile to represent both your work and personal life, this could be true and you may feel restricted with what information you share about what’s happening after hours. Easy solution. Develop a company web profile and a personal profile and don’t mix the two. It’s true that you may not want to combine your friends who’ve seen you at happy hour with those with whom you’re trying to develop a business relationship. So keep them separate. Promote the business web profiles wherever they may be – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – and only share your personal profiles with your closest friends and family.
• Social media is just for teenagers and college students.
Um, have you BEEN out on social media sites lately? Many of us have found our own grandparents exchanging links and sharing photo galleries with their friends! Social media continues to cross generations, cultures and industries, so what may have appeared to start with twentysomethings chit-chatting on MySpace has turned into a full-fledged community of many websites reaching a broad audience that’s diverse, global and quite eclectic!
• Social media is just a fad that will soon pass.
Like the Internet? Or rock and roll? Yeah, sure. It’s certain that like anything else social media sites will change in popularity, and this community’s purpose will no doubt grow and evolve as time goes on, but this tactic of using the internet to connect, communicate and reach people at a global level is here to stay. HOW this will be done five, ten or twenty years from now and through what kind of technology remains to be seen…
• Social media serves no purpose in business – it’s for recreational use only.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. What’s so special about social media networking is it allows you to be a little of both to your customers (or prospective customers). Why can’t you be their neighbor, their source for advice and answers and still be the place down the street where they like to get their hair styled? With social media, there’s nothing holding you back from developing genuine relationships with your customer base and using that connection to become better at what you do since you have a sincere, voluntary source for input and feedback.
• Social media will encroach on my personal privacy if I use it for my business.
Well, certainly if you use your web profile to represent both your work and personal life, this could be true and you may feel restricted with what information you share about what’s happening after hours. Easy solution. Develop a company web profile and a personal profile and don’t mix the two. It’s true that you may not want to combine your friends who’ve seen you at happy hour with those with whom you’re trying to develop a business relationship. So keep them separate. Promote the business web profiles wherever they may be – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – and only share your personal profiles with your closest friends and family.
• Social media is just for teenagers and college students.
Um, have you BEEN out on social media sites lately? Many of us have found our own grandparents exchanging links and sharing photo galleries with their friends! Social media continues to cross generations, cultures and industries, so what may have appeared to start with twentysomethings chit-chatting on MySpace has turned into a full-fledged community of many websites reaching a broad audience that’s diverse, global and quite eclectic!
• Social media is just a fad that will soon pass.
Like the Internet? Or rock and roll? Yeah, sure. It’s certain that like anything else social media sites will change in popularity, and this community’s purpose will no doubt grow and evolve as time goes on, but this tactic of using the internet to connect, communicate and reach people at a global level is here to stay. HOW this will be done five, ten or twenty years from now and through what kind of technology remains to be seen…
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Golden Rules of Social Media
We here at Ballywho Interactive are committed to educating everybody we come in contact with about the do’s and don’ts of social media networking. And we’re convinced that folks probably SHOULD be required to get a license before operating such dangerous vehicles as Twitter or MySpace. But until that happens, we offer this, our list of the 7 Golden Rules of Social Media, an attempt at creating commandments that every tweeter, blogger and active web traveler among us should commit to memory and follow.
• I will not allow my children to make a Facebook or Twitter page for my business.
You wouldn’t hand over your car keys to the eight-year-old, would you? Heck, most of us wouldn’t hand them over to the eight-year-old’s babysitter! Then why would you even consider letting your kid build your business web page or social media profile? Let kids be kids and you stick to managing your own business’s brand or let a professional marketer handle it for you.
• I will have a plan for how I will feed social media every day with RELEVANT content.
So you think you’re just going to pop out there for a few minutes every day and talk about this or that and then go about the rest of your daily business? WRONG. Have a roadmap in place as to how you’re going to introduce your business to the marketplace via social media and a loose but laid out plan of tentative topics you want to talk about and maybe even questions you want to pose to learn more about the community you’re reaching out to about your products or services. But most of all, make your content matter to the audience reading it and not just you.
• I will not use a platform or messaging that does not fit with my brand proposition.
Do you know where your customers are hanging out? Then that’s where you want to be. Don’t just assume if Facebook is the latest and greatest social media site that this is the destination for you. Take into account your own brand and your target audience, and it’s very possible that another social media site would be better suited for you.
• I will not be selfish or boring.
So you’d like people to come back to your blog or Facebook page again and again, right? Then don’t put them to sleep! Give folks something interesting to read. What do people in your target demographic seek online? Are you trying to reach moms? Find interesting articles, research or offers related to saving money for a household or to raising kids. Trying to tap into college-students? Look for helpful information about moving out or starting a new career. Provide meaningful, fun or insightful news your audience can use, and they will return for more.
• I will understand what social media can and can’t do for my business.
Know why you’re venturing into this world in the first place. You can certainly grow leads, nurture positive word of mouth and support growing your brand, but don’t confuse a little free publicity with your new advertising strategy. You can’t expect social media networking to replace all of your other marketing and promotional efforts. Be clear on the purpose of your content.
• I will not start and stop but stay engaged.
This is true of any long-term marketing strategy. Social media is about establishing a presence, creating a dialogue and taking part in the two-way conversation, not talking at the marketplace but talking WITH the marketplace. You’ve got to appear to your followers as someone who stays on top of things related to your field, your products and your community. The moment you shut down, folks will move on. If you don’t have the resources to keep up with it, find someone who can help you do this.
• I will think before I post.
Some of us can barely abide by the ‘think before you speak’ adage. You’d expect this would be easier, but it isn’t. We get emotional – excited, angry, anxious, stressed out, amused and shocked – and we cannot wait to share this with the world, and what do you know? This social media outlet is the perfect way to express that. EXCEPT when you’re a business owner. If this is your professional social media presence, you owe it to your brand, your company, your employees and in some cases your investors, to pull the reins a bit and consider what you’re writing before you hit send. Do you really want to risk losing potential business with a desirable segment of the marketplace just so you can share your opinion on last night’s mayoral race? Think before you post and stick to the subject of why you’re networking via social media in the first place. You’ll be coasting before you know it!
• I will not allow my children to make a Facebook or Twitter page for my business.
You wouldn’t hand over your car keys to the eight-year-old, would you? Heck, most of us wouldn’t hand them over to the eight-year-old’s babysitter! Then why would you even consider letting your kid build your business web page or social media profile? Let kids be kids and you stick to managing your own business’s brand or let a professional marketer handle it for you.
• I will have a plan for how I will feed social media every day with RELEVANT content.
So you think you’re just going to pop out there for a few minutes every day and talk about this or that and then go about the rest of your daily business? WRONG. Have a roadmap in place as to how you’re going to introduce your business to the marketplace via social media and a loose but laid out plan of tentative topics you want to talk about and maybe even questions you want to pose to learn more about the community you’re reaching out to about your products or services. But most of all, make your content matter to the audience reading it and not just you.
• I will not use a platform or messaging that does not fit with my brand proposition.
Do you know where your customers are hanging out? Then that’s where you want to be. Don’t just assume if Facebook is the latest and greatest social media site that this is the destination for you. Take into account your own brand and your target audience, and it’s very possible that another social media site would be better suited for you.
• I will not be selfish or boring.
So you’d like people to come back to your blog or Facebook page again and again, right? Then don’t put them to sleep! Give folks something interesting to read. What do people in your target demographic seek online? Are you trying to reach moms? Find interesting articles, research or offers related to saving money for a household or to raising kids. Trying to tap into college-students? Look for helpful information about moving out or starting a new career. Provide meaningful, fun or insightful news your audience can use, and they will return for more.
• I will understand what social media can and can’t do for my business.
Know why you’re venturing into this world in the first place. You can certainly grow leads, nurture positive word of mouth and support growing your brand, but don’t confuse a little free publicity with your new advertising strategy. You can’t expect social media networking to replace all of your other marketing and promotional efforts. Be clear on the purpose of your content.
• I will not start and stop but stay engaged.
This is true of any long-term marketing strategy. Social media is about establishing a presence, creating a dialogue and taking part in the two-way conversation, not talking at the marketplace but talking WITH the marketplace. You’ve got to appear to your followers as someone who stays on top of things related to your field, your products and your community. The moment you shut down, folks will move on. If you don’t have the resources to keep up with it, find someone who can help you do this.
• I will think before I post.
Some of us can barely abide by the ‘think before you speak’ adage. You’d expect this would be easier, but it isn’t. We get emotional – excited, angry, anxious, stressed out, amused and shocked – and we cannot wait to share this with the world, and what do you know? This social media outlet is the perfect way to express that. EXCEPT when you’re a business owner. If this is your professional social media presence, you owe it to your brand, your company, your employees and in some cases your investors, to pull the reins a bit and consider what you’re writing before you hit send. Do you really want to risk losing potential business with a desirable segment of the marketplace just so you can share your opinion on last night’s mayoral race? Think before you post and stick to the subject of why you’re networking via social media in the first place. You’ll be coasting before you know it!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Yes, Social Media Can Deliver Leads
Still not convinced that social media marketing translates into cold, hard cash? You’re not alone in your skepticism. Many businesses as they wade out into the social media pool quickly learn that there are a number of directions they can swim and then realize, ‘Crap, we forgot the floaties.’ Figuring out which direction will lead to the most potentially profitable opportunities is the tricky part. But there are a few things you can do to help support these efforts to generate sales lead using sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.
• Always remember the most important rule of them all as you interact with others through social media marketing: focus on building relationships first and generating business later. I know, I know, you’re saying ‘that goes completely against the whole message of this blog which is to use social media to make money’ but there’s an even more sacred rule in sales that goes something like this (and I know you’ve heard it): people do business with people they know and like. So yes, be genuine and be active, and as you build mutually beneficial relationships, the leads will follow.
• Set up your own special group of friends/followers/tweeple (whatever you want to call them) and invite your best prospects to be a part of this group. It will give you a more direct and welcomed opportunity to interact, seek their feedback and share your good business news as it happens. But be sure to give back in return. Too many people establish groups that become one-sided pages for horn-honking. Spread some kudos-sharing about your group members and nurture this special community carefully. You could quite possibly have lifelong customers in your hands.
• Offer help whenever you can and that means knowledge, too, folks. I’m not suggesting that everybody suddenly go pro bono with their services but there’s an intrinsic value to assisting fellow business owners in your marketplace. For one thing, it’s nice to see another member of the business community succeed because one success can often spill over to its neighbors. And secondly, it just makes you feel good. Okay, I’m getting all warm and fuzzy on you and I know this comes unexpectedly in a blog of all places, but it really does make you feel good as a business person to know that you’ve helped another professional succeed because of your resources. And who knows when you might be in a similar position and need to turn to your marketplace for a little back-scratching yourself?
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• Always remember the most important rule of them all as you interact with others through social media marketing: focus on building relationships first and generating business later. I know, I know, you’re saying ‘that goes completely against the whole message of this blog which is to use social media to make money’ but there’s an even more sacred rule in sales that goes something like this (and I know you’ve heard it): people do business with people they know and like. So yes, be genuine and be active, and as you build mutually beneficial relationships, the leads will follow.
• Set up your own special group of friends/followers/tweeple (whatever you want to call them) and invite your best prospects to be a part of this group. It will give you a more direct and welcomed opportunity to interact, seek their feedback and share your good business news as it happens. But be sure to give back in return. Too many people establish groups that become one-sided pages for horn-honking. Spread some kudos-sharing about your group members and nurture this special community carefully. You could quite possibly have lifelong customers in your hands.
• Offer help whenever you can and that means knowledge, too, folks. I’m not suggesting that everybody suddenly go pro bono with their services but there’s an intrinsic value to assisting fellow business owners in your marketplace. For one thing, it’s nice to see another member of the business community succeed because one success can often spill over to its neighbors. And secondly, it just makes you feel good. Okay, I’m getting all warm and fuzzy on you and I know this comes unexpectedly in a blog of all places, but it really does make you feel good as a business person to know that you’ve helped another professional succeed because of your resources. And who knows when you might be in a similar position and need to turn to your marketplace for a little back-scratching yourself?
Powered by Ballywho
Monday, November 9, 2009
Some Serious Buzz Generating at Cadillac
Have you been out there voting? You know, on your favorite local woman zooming around the Bay area in her Cadillac… This recent marketing promotion has been one of the best local examples of using social media to draw interest to a product since perhaps the Save the Tortillas campaign we blogged about recently. (http://chiefballywho.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/social-media-saves-the-tortillas%e2%80%a6literally/)
A recent story in the Times broke down the inspiration for this hip GM promotion (http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/cadillac-aims-twitter-campaign-at-influential-women/1044681) but essentially, the crux behind it is this: women pay attention to other women. So Cadillac’s got a local ladies in the Tampa and Orlando markets (and in this case, Tampa extends to South Florida including Venice and Sarasota) getting behind the wheel of a new Cadillac SRX for a week and blogging about the experience. How does this help GM? Aah, the SOCIAL aspect of it is the amazingly simple yet effective piece of the equation. Each woman taking part is competing against each other to drive the most web traffic to their blog page. Whatever woman scores the most unique visitors to her page during the week wins $500 for the charity of her choice. So the more they use their own Twitter and Facebook profiles, LinkedIn, any of them… the better chance they have of getting friends, followers, tweeps, etc. to stop by their SRX page and count as a unique visitor.
Kudos to Cadillac! For finding an ingenious way to use social media to raise curiosity and interest in a new product, for bringing Twitter into the conversation with their prospective customers and most of all, for attaching a strong philanthropic element to their marketing campaign. Sure, they are essentially getting a community to do their advertising for them but not without giving back to the community. And by introducing a community campaign that supports local non-profits, it propelled members of these organizations to help further along the mission, too.
If you want to follow the latest blogging contenders, go to www.srxdrivingforce.com.
A recent story in the Times broke down the inspiration for this hip GM promotion (http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/cadillac-aims-twitter-campaign-at-influential-women/1044681) but essentially, the crux behind it is this: women pay attention to other women. So Cadillac’s got a local ladies in the Tampa and Orlando markets (and in this case, Tampa extends to South Florida including Venice and Sarasota) getting behind the wheel of a new Cadillac SRX for a week and blogging about the experience. How does this help GM? Aah, the SOCIAL aspect of it is the amazingly simple yet effective piece of the equation. Each woman taking part is competing against each other to drive the most web traffic to their blog page. Whatever woman scores the most unique visitors to her page during the week wins $500 for the charity of her choice. So the more they use their own Twitter and Facebook profiles, LinkedIn, any of them… the better chance they have of getting friends, followers, tweeps, etc. to stop by their SRX page and count as a unique visitor.
Kudos to Cadillac! For finding an ingenious way to use social media to raise curiosity and interest in a new product, for bringing Twitter into the conversation with their prospective customers and most of all, for attaching a strong philanthropic element to their marketing campaign. Sure, they are essentially getting a community to do their advertising for them but not without giving back to the community. And by introducing a community campaign that supports local non-profits, it propelled members of these organizations to help further along the mission, too.
If you want to follow the latest blogging contenders, go to www.srxdrivingforce.com.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Twitter Tricks & Treats
Sure, you may have finally gathered the courage to go out and explore the Twitterverse, but have you armed yourself with the basic tricks to maximize your reach and value? Anytime you’re in the mood to tweet, be sure to incorporate this handful of helpful Twitter tools.
· TweetStats (www.tweetstats.com) – One of the most popular and utilized tools, this site enables people to analyze the tweeting trends for themselves or any username by month, by hour or even over a particular timeframe. Examining reply stats and topic trends can help you gain a better sense of what people are most interested in talking about.
· Retweetist (www.retweetist.com) – This site highlights folks in the Twitterverse who are re-tweeted the most (that is, their updates are forwarded most often by their followers). It can be extremely valuable from a marketing standpoint in helping you identify key thought leaders whom you may wish to reach to spread the word about your own product or company.
· Tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com/beta/) – We’ve done cartwheels time and time again for this great time management lifesaver! Weed through the vast amount of tweets for everyone you follow and prioritize the tweeple whose updates you simply can’t afford to miss.
· SocialToo (www.socialtoo.com) – Ever want to reach out to all of your followers with a survey? You can with this powerful tool that also provides daily update summaries of all of the people you follow and auto-follow functionality.
· TwitterCounter (www.twittercounter.com) – Track and chart the growth of your username (or other usernames’) number of followers over any given timeframe – and get this! It’ll even predict future growth based on previous data trends. How cool is that!
· Tweet Later (www.tweetlater.com) – Truly the greatest time management tweet tool of them all… want to make sure that the moment you launch that new product a tweet goes out to everybody? Schedule it ahead of time or heck, how about a countdown series of tweets on the hour?
· TwitterMail (www.twittermail.com) – Have you always thought ‘boy, it would sure be easier if I could tweet via email?’ Well, you can, using this handy dedicated email tool. You can even respond to @replies to your tweets!
There are so many different Twitter applications available to help you save time updating and monitor the people you wish to follow more efficiently. This short list only scratches the surface of what’s out there (more to come in a future blog!)
The key to successful micro-blogging is to find ways to make your update time more productive and the conversation, more meaningful, and spend those minutes saved getting to really know the folks out there in the great, big, wonderful Twitterverse.
Happy tweeting, all!
· TweetStats (www.tweetstats.com) – One of the most popular and utilized tools, this site enables people to analyze the tweeting trends for themselves or any username by month, by hour or even over a particular timeframe. Examining reply stats and topic trends can help you gain a better sense of what people are most interested in talking about.
· Retweetist (www.retweetist.com) – This site highlights folks in the Twitterverse who are re-tweeted the most (that is, their updates are forwarded most often by their followers). It can be extremely valuable from a marketing standpoint in helping you identify key thought leaders whom you may wish to reach to spread the word about your own product or company.
· Tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com/beta/) – We’ve done cartwheels time and time again for this great time management lifesaver! Weed through the vast amount of tweets for everyone you follow and prioritize the tweeple whose updates you simply can’t afford to miss.
· SocialToo (www.socialtoo.com) – Ever want to reach out to all of your followers with a survey? You can with this powerful tool that also provides daily update summaries of all of the people you follow and auto-follow functionality.
· TwitterCounter (www.twittercounter.com) – Track and chart the growth of your username (or other usernames’) number of followers over any given timeframe – and get this! It’ll even predict future growth based on previous data trends. How cool is that!
· Tweet Later (www.tweetlater.com) – Truly the greatest time management tweet tool of them all… want to make sure that the moment you launch that new product a tweet goes out to everybody? Schedule it ahead of time or heck, how about a countdown series of tweets on the hour?
· TwitterMail (www.twittermail.com) – Have you always thought ‘boy, it would sure be easier if I could tweet via email?’ Well, you can, using this handy dedicated email tool. You can even respond to @replies to your tweets!
There are so many different Twitter applications available to help you save time updating and monitor the people you wish to follow more efficiently. This short list only scratches the surface of what’s out there (more to come in a future blog!)
The key to successful micro-blogging is to find ways to make your update time more productive and the conversation, more meaningful, and spend those minutes saved getting to really know the folks out there in the great, big, wonderful Twitterverse.
Happy tweeting, all!
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