What do Barack Obama, Lance Armstrong, the election protesters in Iran and a food delivery truck in L.A. have in common?
They have all harnessed the power of Twitter and so can you! As the world’s fastest growing social media network, Twitter is a tool that can be used by small businesses and sole proprietors just as effectively as by celebrities and politicians.
Beginning and intermediate Twitter users: Learn what you can gain from a free Twitter account, when to Tweet, and tools to maintain it for a few minutes a day. This is an excerpt from my presentation today, August 6, 2009, for the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce's Women in Business Caffeinated Series.
Compiled by:
Karen Kefauver
Freelance journalist & website consultant
Visit my Website:
http://www.karenkefauver.com
Check out my Blog:
http://karenkefauver.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/KarenKefauver
When to Use Twitter to Promote Your Company
Golden Rule of Twitter:
Don’t talk about yourself and services constantly!
80 percent – Tweet about and for others
20 percent – Tweet about yourself and your business
• Significant changes to existing product
• Changes in corporate identity - company name or logo
• New web site
• Events (open houses, trade shows, speaking engagements, awards)
• New funding
• Major personnel changes
• Corporate philanthropy (volunteer work, donations)
• Hiring of agencies (public relations, accounting, law firm)
• New partner
• Significant new customer
• Milestones (customers served, years in business)
• Increase in market share or revenue
What Tweeting Can Do for You
• Reach media outlets locally, nationally and online
• Reach investors and prospective partners
• Message thousands of potential customers
• Increase traffic to your web site through search engines
• Increase online sales
• Enhance credibility – be viewed as an expert in your field
• Fast and free form of a press release
• Potential increase in viral marketing
• Reach social media and bloggers
16 Free Twitter Tools to Help You
1. http://www.twitip.com
2. http://search.twitter.com
3. http://hootsuite.com
4. http://tweetdeck.com
5. http://www.tweetlater.com
6. http://twitthat.com
7. http://twitthis.com
8. http://www.hashtags.org
9. http://dossy.org/twitter/karma
10. http://www.twitpic.com
11. http://www.tweetphoto.com
12. http://twitvid.io
13. http://12seconds.tv
14. http://logpost.com
15. http://tinyurl.com
16. http://www.hashtags.org
More about these 16 tools and how to use them
How to Use Twitter
http://www.twitip.com
TwiTip, edited by Darren Rowse (@ProBlogger) from ProBlogger Blog Tips is all about Twitter. Subscribe here to get daily tips about how to use Twitter:
http://feedproxy.google.com/Twitip
Search on Twitter
http://search.twitter.com
Search, filter, and interact with volumes of news and information being transmitted to Twitter every second. Twitter Search helps you filter all the real-time information coursing through the service.
http://twitter.com/invitations/find_on_twitter
Search for people you know who already have a Twitter account.
Manage your Tweets and Social Networks
http://hootsuite.com
Manage multiple Twitter accounts
Personalize the layout of Twitter by organizing the info into tabs and columns
Track statistics and brand monitoring
http://tweetdeck.com
This free download serves as a personal browser for tracking what’s happening now, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook and more. Can be used with Iphone. TweetDeck shows you everything you want to see at once, so you can stay organized and up to date.
http://www.tweetlater.com
Schedule tweets and have them appear automatically even when you're not in front of your computer.
Track keywords on Twitter
Set up alerts and track keywords in the public Twitter stream
Automation: Word of Warning!
Send welcome DMs to new followers.
Follow those who follow you.
Unfollow those who unfollow you.
Other Social Networking Tools
http://ping.fm
Between our straight forward posting methods and advanced custom triggers, we make it easy for you to post your messages exactly where you want them to go. Ping supports over 40 social networking sites.
Create a Tweet
http://twitthat.com
Just drag this (Twit That) button, up to your Firefox toolbar. Then share interesting links to Twitter easily.
http://twitthis.com
This is an easy way for people to send Twitter messages about your blog post or website. Visitors to your website click on the TwitThis button to post to Twitter.
Look under Tools to get code to post on your blog.
Manage Followers
http://dossy.org/twitter/karma
A tool to determine who you are following (only) and who you is following you (only) and mutual followers.
Post Photos to Twitter
http://www.twitpic.com
You can post pictures to TwitPic from your phone, our API, or through the site itself. Use your Twitter account to log on.
http://www.tweetphoto.com
Photos are automatically geo-tagged
Filter photos by Twitter or Facebook friends
Automatically publish photos to Facebook
Post Video on Twitter
http://twitvid.io
Share videos on Twitter. Upload from your computer,
email video to u@twitvid.io from your mobile phone
Record straight from your webcamera to your followers
http://12seconds.tv
Santa Cruz County-based company that also provides lnks to Twitter. Article about them: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_11467159
Tweet from your Phone or Mobile Device
http://logpost.com
You can post your Tweets for free using Logpost, a free Twitter client for mobile phones (Iphone, Blackberry, etc.)
Tiny URL
http://www.tiny.cc
Shorten a long link to a shorter one so that it takes less space n Twitter
Hashtags
http://www.hashtags.org
Search this site to find out what's happening right now on Twitter.
Twitter in the News
New York Times
July 23, 2009
Marketing Small Businesses With Twitter
By Claire Kain Miller
For many businesses with no ad budget, the microblogging service is their sole means of marketing.
Wall Street Journal
March 13, 2009
How to Twitter
The social rules and tips for gaining 'followers'; why opinionated people win
August 3, 2009
For Companies, a Tweet in Time Can Avert PR Mess
Time Magazine
10 Ways Twitter Will Change American Business Aug. 2009
Other Twitter Resources
Social Media Quickstart Guide - 6 Tools You Need
By Kirsti Scott of Scott Design
http://blog.hotdesign.com/2009/06/social-media-quickstart-guide
10 Stunning (And Useful) Stats About Twitter
By Rohit Barghava, Influential Marketing Blog
http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2009/07/10-stunning-and-useful-stats-about-twitter.html
Is Your Social Media Expert Really an Expert?
Ways to tell your Social Media “Expert” Might Not Be An “Expert” After All
Co-written by Peter Shankman and Sarah Evans
http://shankman.com/is-your-social-media-expert-really-an-expert
B.L. Ochman's blog: How to Pick Your Social Media Guru
http://ow.ly/hpFa
Twitter Glossary
Source: Julia Angwin, Wall Street Journal.com's senior technology editor
@: At reply. A public tweet directed at a fellow Twitterer, such as @Barack Obama, that shows up in their Twitter stream.
DM: Direct Message. A private message that appears in a Twitter inbox. You can only direct message people who follow you.
RT: Retweet. A tweet that you like so much that you are resending to your followers. Usually includes credit to original tweeter, such as RT @BarackObama, followed by the tweet.
Whale Icon: The iconic blue whale that pops up when Twitter is down. It appeared frequently in Twitter's first year and a half.
#: Hashtag. Used to designate a topic such as #SanDiegoFire so that people can easily search for tweets on a topic. (It is totally unnecessary, though, because a search on a keyword without the # returns the same results).
Nudge: A feature that lets you send a note to a Twitterer encouraging them to tweet more frequently. You can only nudge people who are tweeting from a mobile phone.
(click here to Read Part 2 of "How to Use Twitter for Business.")
Special Thanks to:
Bill Tysseling
President Annette McGarrity
Project Director
Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce
Kirsti Scott
Owner
Scott Design
Margaret Rosas
Owner
Quiddities
Jennifer Karno and Bonnie Lipscomb
Organizers
Women in Business Caffeinated Series
Jody Lombardo, Judy Johnson, owners, and staff
Culinary Center of Santa Cruz/Fresh Prep Kitchens
Chelsea George
Writer, photographer and videographer
Leslie Kefauver
Mom, for support, encouragement and help with Apple’s Keynote.
Thanks so much for the hootsuite tip. My very old mac won't support tweet deck and I have been suffering without some sort of platform to manage twitter. Hootsuite is a great solution.
ReplyDeleteHootSuite is awesome! Good post... What about a little Peekr mention (http://peekr.net)? ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great article. It will help many peopl!
ReplyDelete