Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter cards, infographics, everywhere you look there is more media. There is, of course, a reason why pictures are shared more.
From John Medina’s Brain Rules: Continue reading
On social media, or any other channel, your customers need to know why they should care.
A recent survey indicates that 41% of small business owners consider LinkedIn to have the most potential to help their social media efforts.
Only 3% of those surveyed consider Twitter to be useful. It isn’t surprising. LinkedIn is much more direct than Twitter because it is positioned as a professional business network.
Twitter is an information network. It is a playground for knowledge workers. And the fact of the matter is, most businesses still haven’t figured out what Twitter is and how to best use it.
But, there is something for everyone on Twitter. But before I tell you what this is, I want you to ask yourself one question: So what?
Think about it, why should I care about what you are doing? Why should I care about your product or service?
Remember, people don’t like being marketed to. They like being acknowledged and persuaded thoughtfully.
So, before you jump on Twitter and start advertising, stop. Do something useful. Better yet, ask yourself: How will I add value to Twitter?
Don’t stop there. Want to be more strategic? Apply the “so what?” question to everything you do. Not just on Twitter.
Want some quick feedback? Go to your existing customers, and ask them why they care about your product or service.
The point: Don’t just jump in and think you will see benefits immediately. Social media marketing is an ego check for everyone. It isn’t about you, it about others. So before jumping in, check your ego at the door by asking yourself: So what?
A buddy of mine noticed recently that I “tweet a lot”. Well, here’s a question: what is tweeting?
If you define tweeting as “sharing what you find interesting because I want to make you smarter,” then, yes; I am a heavy tweeter/sharer.
But, if you define tweeting as mindlessly hitting those tweet buttons on websites, and retweeting just about anything that you see, then, no; I don’t do that.
There is a huge difference between the two approaches. Continue reading
Social CEO’s. This might be a better indicator of a companies social media capability. CEOs are driving company visibility.
Two weeks ago, we posted a video from Davos, where discussion about how social media has changed how companies do business were alive and well.
The key takeaway was that social media, as much as innovation, is part of the conversation for executives.
And, for companies, getting these executives to participate in social media is becoming key: Continue reading
What does a great social media strategy look like?
It may look different to everyone, but one thing that it does look like is it provides your organization a capability to be opportunistic.
Case in point: The Super Bowl. Continue reading
Below are 5 specific tips to start finding more sales via Twitter. You don’t need thousands of followers. And, if you’re just getting started today, every one of these tips still apply.
Follow your prospects. On Twitter, you can create private lists of your prospects, and then follow them on Hootsuite or/and Tweetdeck. Knowing what your prospects are thinking and saying will help you get to know them better, learn quickly what their priorities are; and give you plenty of opportunities to engage at the beginning of their buying cycle.
Have a point of conversation. If you’re monitoring a prospects conversation with Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Sprout Social, Topsy or any other social media monitoring tool; take note of some of the last tweets that person made. Look for something that person commented on so the next time to talk, bring that up. Social media doesn’t sell… people do.. but it can give you a leg up in prospecting!
Organize the un-organized. One of the quickest way to attract prospects to you via Twitter is to read everything they wish they had time to read, and filter the best content into your Twitter feed. You don’t have to originate content to attract a following on the social web – it’s good enough (and sometimes better) to curate the best content from a variety of sources so that your prospects begin to trust that you’re, effectively, doing their reading for them. There are a handful of tools you can use to further curate information and have a place to keep it. For example Scoop.it, Storify, Delicious Stacks are just a few.
Observe and use hashtags. Probably the best way to track specific/targeted conversations. Prospects may use them to associate themselves with a group, an interest or a need.
Follow those who have followers that you want following you. Very simple but effective. Then do your research on what people are talking about, and then blog and tweet about that.
Is anything on Twitter worth paying attention to?
From Harvard Business Review:
To find out, three researchers set up a website and asked 1,443 users to rate the quality of 43,738 tweets. They then ranked a subset (4,220) in eight categories.* Their most striking finding: Only 36% of tweets were “worth reading”—a lower number than you might expect, since Twitter users choose whom to follow.
These results are specific to the tech and news categories, and do not capture the sentiments of the entire Twitter population. However, the ratings provide some useful tips for keeping your followers engaged: Be clear, not cryptic or insidery. Don’t overuse hashtags, and don’t retweet one-on-one conversations.
Want to learn more about how to get retweeted? Checkout the articles below:
