Twitip

How many people do you follow on Twitter? 50? 100? 1000? More? I currently follow 85 people and let me tell you, it’s quite exhausting. Keeping up with everyone’s latest tweets sometimes feels like trying to treat patients in two hospitals located on opposite sides of a city. No one ever told me how stressful it would be when I signed up for Twitter.

Of these X number of people you follow, how many of them provide valuable content on a consistent basis? Are there people you follow so memorable and entertaining that you hit retweet before you even read their newest tweet? I know I have. (more…)

The articles and posts here on TwiTip are informative and useful to for twitter users. But today I would like to do something a little different.

I have upset one of my twitter followers and I am asking for your advice.

Here’s what happened. One of my twitter followers, we’ll say his name is Tom, came across my blog and was kind enough to stumble several of my blog posts as well as re-tweet them. This sent additional traffic to my website which I was grateful for. (more…)

If you plan a Tweetup – whether its small or a larger weekend workshop – Twitter can help.

You can use Twitter to find speakers, locations, equipment, get discounts and drive the attention you need.

Tweetups are a great way to provide a great Social Media Experience in your local area, and at the same time share this experience with the Twitter community.

For every Social Media Experience I provide, I create what I call a Social Media Toolbox. One great tool I use now to manage my tasks is Remember The Milk.

Here is my Tweetup Social Media Toolbox: (more…)

Believe or not, over the last week talking with clients I have been asked this question 4 times now by prospective clients wanting to get into the Social Media/Social Recruiting space. It wasn’t necessarily the question that shocked me (well it did but) it was more the fact that these companies had not as yet done there research and identified what benefit Twitter can bring to their business as well as to their own knowledge in the market place.

As with any new tool or fancy gadget it is imperative that you undertake all of the necessary research first to find out if it is right for you, but also what benefit you can expect from your investment in time and money. You won’t just go buy any 52″ LCD TV now will you? Social Media is no different. I myself was totally against joining Twitter when I was first introduced to it, however my skepticism of it “being a waste of time” was quickly shot down.

Here is a list of why I now value Twitter so highly:

1. Build a network of contacts within your industry that you never had access to or knew about before, not just locally, but globally. (more…)

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…)