Twitip

There have been lots of negative comments in the press recently about Twitter and that’s a shame. What they don’t realise is Twitter is a not always a natural, instant thing; to get Twitter you need to hang around a little longer, pick up new followers and find people to follow. There are no set rules for how to use Twitter. If you want to Tweet about your every day tasks, then as far as I’m concerned, that’s fine. But if you really want to get the full benefit, then below are the things that work for me:

1. Tweet, often and honestly.

That doesn’t necessary mean you tell the truth it just means tweet things from the heart, things that you care about, things that amuse or entertain you or, if you must, things that will get a re-action.

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If you have spent any time around social marketing you probably know that SEO and social media go hand and hand. (Well you have at least heard about it, right?) So, how do you turn your Twitter account into a search-able masterpiece? Why is this important? Ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your hats, press on and don’t worry, I will keep this in 5 year old terms (because that is how I think). (more…)

Whether reading an article or having a conversation with people (face-to-face) and reading/hearing the phrase “It’s just twitter,” irritates me–especially when it’s drenched in a condescending tone. I find that people who have muttered this phrase don’t understand the power of twitter and what it can really do for your brand, business and/or service or product. Having a networking tool available at your fingertips that can reach the far ends of the globe and back within seconds is a phenomenal thing. But just how can twitter be effectively used and what exactly is the power of twitter?

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On December 31, 2008 I was diagnosed with Stage 2 B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I asked my oncologist what I could do to up my chances for survival. He told me, “Get off the couch as much as possible. Keep active. Keep positive.”

I’m perpetually positive by nature, but getting off the couch proved tricky. Chemo really took it out of me. And thanks to the grapefruit-sized tumor pressing on a nerve in my chest, I was also wonked out on morphine to control the agonizing pain.

But I was determined to be a survivor. I knew eventually I’d start feeling better again. I looked for a goal and project to motivate me to get off the couch when that day came.

The project turned out to be Haunt Jaunts, my travel blog for restless spirits. It allowed me to indulge my passion for paranormal tourism, even if only virtually.

My first post went live March 30, 2009. I’d of course heard about Twitter back then, but I was still undergoing chemo and my energy was limited. It wasn’t until September 2009, when I was done with treatments, in remission, and had regained my strength that I incorporated Twitter into my blog promo regimen. (more…)

With millions of people connecting through social media, advertisers and marketers are hustling to get in on the action. In the past year we’ve seen many companies and brands attempt to step into this new world only to fail miserably. After analyzing many marketing flops on Twitter, the underlying issues are very apparent.

To be an effective marketer on Twitter you must first stop thinking like one.

Marketing on Twitter requires a bit of a shift in your mindset. Twitter is all about simple conversations; you can’t use press releases, marketing copy and other one-way communication tactics and expect results. Customers want interaction—with you and with each other. Tweeting is one-to-one, with the benefit of being in a public space where other customers may overhear your conversation and interact with each other on your behalf. (more…)

Do you spend hours of time on Twitter?

Let me rephrase that.

Does Twitter mean something to your business?

If so, what would happen if Twitter went down? If you lost all of your followers? What would happen if someone started spamming from your account? (Could you imagine if someone started sending out porn links from the @microsoft “verified” account?) Do you have a contingency plan? (more…)

In a relationship, everyone wants to have a sense of belonging, appreciation and loyalty. You want to feel like “you’re part of the group” if it’s with friends or feel appreciated by your significant other. The same can be said about businesses and their relationships with consumers and how you communicate with them. (more…)

Communities do not just happen. And they certainly don’t happen over night. You have to have something important to talk about. And you have to be prepared to consistently connect people together over a period of months.

What the hash?!

But Twitter is a big mess isn’t it? With thousands of tweets going off every hour, about hundreds of different topics, how do you build a cohesive group of fans? (more…)

For most of us, Twitter has become part of our day to day life.

Twitter has made it’s way on to Google’s SERPs as “real time search”.

Even celebrities are using Twitter and tweeting away.

Recent Discovery
I just got this update when trying to login to my Gmail account:

Without looking at it more, these were my first questions:

5 Initial Questions About Google Buzz

1. Is this Google’s attempt to take over Twitter?
2. How messy will this make my email account?
3. I’m sure I can opt out of this, right?
4. At what point do I need to worry about my identity with Google?
5. What FREE tool will Google “acquire” next?

What do you know about Google Buzz? Is it a Twitter replacement? (more…)

Editor’s Note: Here’s a quick little post with a great idea. I never even thought of organizing list following this way! Great tip, Mana! – Lara

Tweets are very similar to article headlines so an RSS feed may be the right solution for those who want to read tweets alongside their news in a reader. Twitter has an RSS solution only for Favorites, so what to do about the other lists?

Here is a very simple and quick solution:

1. Create a list of tweeps you’d like to follow, or simply access an existing list. If you haven’t created a list before, look in the right column of your Twitter account and click “New list.” Then follow the flow.
2. Copy URL of list.
3. Go to http://twiterlist2rss.appspot.com/ and follow the two easy steps needed to generate an RSS feed.
4. Copy the generated RSS url
5. Enter RSS url in your reader to create subscription

To read multiple lists just repeat the process.
Happy reading!