I do wonder at times if some Twitter users have any time to get any work done. Several of the more prolific ones that I follow swear they spend no more than 30 minutes a day on Twitter, but I really find that hard to believe. Many times it seems they are twittering just to say something, like “Good morning Twitterverse” when they begin their day, give more details than I want to know about what they had for lunch, what their children said to them, or when they take a nap.
I realize that this is part of the “like, know, and trust” process that enables people to get to know each other, but sometimes it’s simply too much information..LOL. I’m Twittering primarily to market my business. Consequently, I try and limit my personal twitters to no more than 2 per day. My clients, who create Twitter accounts for marketing, as well, tell me, “I’m signed up. Now what in the world do I Twitter about? How do I market my business with this tool?”
Here are 10 strategies that I use regularly to market my business and my expertise via Twitter. Remember, you have only 140 characters for your tweet (Twitter post).
1. How you’re helping clients. Talk about specific ways that your business helps clients and use their Twitter ID if you have their permission, i.e. “Just finished @clientname brainstorm great Internet marketing plan for 2009″ or “Finally finished setting up Quickbooks for local hardware store — now they can invoice their clients”
2. What you’re doing in your business. This is a perfect time to tell others when you’re blogging, writing an article, creating your weekly ezine, recording your podcast, i.e. “Had great interview with Jane Smith today on speaking to grow your biz. Great ideas! Subscribe to podcast & listen here (URL here)”
3. Useful tool or resource you’ve found. I run across these all the time in my daily activities, and Twitter is a perfect place to share,. i.e. “Found great new Firefox plug-in to monitor & check multiple Gmail accounts at same time at (URL here)” or “Read great blog post on workíng at home with kids under 5 at (URL here)”
4. Ask a question. Need some ideas or some quick brainstorming? Twitter is an ideal place to gather opinions, i.e. “Help! Desperately seeking new laser prínter. Recommendations?” or “How do I find training organizations online?”
5. Conduct a survey. What do your Tweeps think about a particular issue? Ask them via Twitter, i.e. “Quick poll: Do you get more clients from Facebook or Twitter? Respond at (URL here)”
6. Report on live events. The latest Twitter trend seems to be tweeting what’s happening at conferences or workshops. In order for Twitter users to follow a particular event, it’s usually referred to by a name preceded by a # sign, as in #JVAlert, for example, to make it simpler for people who want to follow those posts. So, if you were at an event, you might tweet “#JVAlert John Smith speaking on affiliate programs. Just got great idea on training affiliate managers!” Just don’t get so wrapped up in tweeting that you ignore the content delivered in the conference!
7. Product or service launch. If you’re about to launch a new product or introduce a new product, let your Twitter followers know, i.e. “Pre-launch pricing for new DVD set about how baby boomers can start an online biz. Get $100 early bird discount at (URL here)”
8. Responding to others with advice or answers. The way to build professional relationships on Twitter is to help your tweeps. So, if someone asks a question, comments about something to which you have a response or an idea, or you want to ask a followup question, this is the perfect place to do so.
By Donna Gunter (c) 2008
There is more to internet exposure for your business than search engines.
To be sure, Google, MSN, Yahoo and the like are all excellent ways of getting your name out there. But it can take a long time to get your site to the top of most of the major categories, and since the number of categories is only limited by the imagination of the typical Google user, getting the results that you want can sometimes take awhile. So while you are waiting to move up the rankings, what else can you do to improve the web presence of your law firm? What can you do to get more clients? What can you do to get better cases?
For one thing, you might want to take a look at what your kids are doing on their computers.
Facebook and MySpace are the scourge of teachers and employers everywhere. In many schools, a student caught looking at one of these sites during class ends up in detention, and younger employees caught on these sites during working hours can get reprimanded or worse. Wikipedia, which is an encyclopedia site that gives brief or lengthy summaries of almost everything, is also the scourge of academics because, since it is updated by users, it can be inaccurate. Many are the lazy college students who have been caught cutting and pasting a Wikipedia entry on their term papers.
While these sites are ridiculously popular with teenagers, they aren’t the only ones using them. Adults have caught on to the Facebook and MySpace craze, seeing them as a great way to stay in touch with friends and to find old ones. In terms of finding old friends, it has been said in some quarters that Facebook and MySpace may be the end of the high school reunion, simply because the internet makes it very easy to find and keep in touch with all of your old classmates.
YouTube, which is a site that allows people to post their own video content and others to view it free of charge, has enjoyed immense popularity, so much so that Google actually purchased YouTube in 2007 to the tune of about $2 Billion. So can you make these sites work for you? The answer is an emphatic yes, and the good news is that you can do it fairly simply.
Social Networking Sites
Signing up for Facebook and MySpace is absolutely free. What they allow you to do is to create a profile page, in which you can put whatever information you deem appropriate.
MySpace allows for more decoration and personal touch than Facebook, but as of right now Facebook is more popular. But considering that both are free, you should feel free to sign up for both. In the sections that you fill out to tell people about yourself, tell them that you are a personal injury attorney and tell them the practice areas that are your specialty. You are also given the opportuníty to include links, so give them the link to your website.
In order to make the site truly work, it helps to have “friends,” which is what happens when you link up to other members with their own pages. If your employees have accounts, become friends with them. If one of your clients has a MySpace or Facebook account, become friends with them. If your teenager can stand the utter embarrassment, be friends with him or her. All of this increases your profile and also gets picked up in Google and other search engines. MySpace offers you a blog to update, which is always good, and both sites allow you to post videos. This brings us to YouTube.
YouTube Video Sites
If you have already shelled out the money for a commercial to be aired, why not double up on the exposure by putting it on YouTube? And unlike paying for television air time, YouTube is completëly free. If you don’t have a commercial ready, you can certainly make one, or simply record the testimony of a satisfied client. You no longer need a high profile production team. These days, all you really need is a camera, some basic video editing software, and an imagination.
Wikipedia
Most people don’t like the idea of writing about themselves in the third person, but Wikipedia gives you a great opportuníty to post your professional biography and accomplishments online. Also, in the “references” section, you can link to your website, any articles that you might have written, or any newspaper articles describing cases that you have won. Also, due to its popularity, a Wikipedia page routinely pops up in the first page of Google for almost any subject that you can think of. These are only a few of the many ways that you can improve the web traffíc of your law firm. It doesn’t take much time, and the benefits greatly outweigh the effort that it takes to get started.
By Tom Foster (c) 2008
There has been a significant jump in the popularity of social media websites over the past few years. With it has come a shift in the way that people search for information and how they share and consult opinions on the internet when making purchasing decisions.
Social media sites such as StumbleUpon and Digg, give users a voice on the internet by providing tools to connect, exchange views, share content, information, and recommend products and services using the “thumbs up or down” approach. This has caused a huge shift in the way people search for information online. More and more, Internet users rely on the opinions of others before they buy into the validity of a product or service. “Word of mouth” is no longer only from mouth to ear, but is more frequently spread on social media sites and it has never been so powerful. Any product or service deemed worthy is promoted, shared, or discouraged against in these online social communities.
Social Media Marketing (SMM) targets users by promoting content through bookmarking, blogging, online video sharing, and social networking to potentially expand audience and drive traffic. Businesses are beginning to understand the power of these influences when it comes to establishing a reputation and growing their online business. Social media marketing strategies such as a business’ engagement in various social media websites can help to generate branding and a personal connection with its users.
Business Profiles
One of the most important social media marketing methods includes posting business profiles on social media websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Instead of waiting around for consumers to come to you, you have to reach out to your target audience. Solidifying your presence in the social media community creates a direct interaction between business and consumer that may not dramatically improve conversion rates but is definitely capable of establishing branding power and credibility. The valuable feedback consumers provide promotes insight in determining what business strategies are working and what could be re-evaluated to make a website more user-friendly.
Search Results
The influence of social media sites has changed the way search engines define placement. Images, videos and news content featured on social media sites such as Youtube, Digg, and Flickr are equally capable of sitting comfortably at the top of the search results leaving others, who have not yet jumped on the social media bandwagon, a little confused.
Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies
Take a hint from the popular social media websites by adding some type of interactive quality to your website. Engage the viewer and create an atmosphere of inclusion and direct contact that encourages a user to come back and visit again. Forums and social applications can help you compete for traffic in an evolving market.
Become an expert in your niche. Yahoo Answers is a great place to start. You can create a business or company profile and begin answering direct questions and supplying information to those in your target audience.
Join Social Networks. Social networking provides a means to promote association and the exchange of knowledge while also establishing business contacts and connections. Post your business profile in the popular social and business networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn, but also make sure to concentrate your attention on your niche audience by joining social media networks that represent and support your business or company’s ideas.
For example if you are selling organic produce and you set up a profile in a social media network such as Care2.com, an environmental portal, you are then communicating directly with those individuals who will support your product or service because of a shared interest. These types of social media communities will extend their approval by sharing in discussions about your products or services with other users and even in some cases “become a fan” of your featured webpage.
Some examples of popular niche social networks include:
- TravBuddy.com for the traveller
- Tipd.com for those seeking financial advice
- AutoSpies.com providing money saving and insider information on cars
Publish articles to popular social media news sites such as Mixx.com, Digg.com, and Propeller.com. These sites allow you to post articles and vote on news stories.
Share videos and images by setting up accounts with Youtube.com and Flickr.com, leaders in online video and imaging to reach a broad or targeted audience.
Social bookmarking on sites such as Del.ici.ous and Ma.gnolia.com provide an opportuníty to store and share links.
Blogging enables you to provide information and updates about your business to customers.
Businesses that incorporate social media marketing into their conventional marketing plan have the advantage of reaching audiences using a whole new approach. The benefits of branding and traffic are just the tip of the iceberg. Establishing your business as a leading authority in your industry promotes good quality links and better search engine placement, which in turn increases sales.
By Tammy Corbett (c) 2009
New blog post: 5 Cool Websites With Guitar Tuning Tones