Jump-Starting Your Company’s Twitter Account

I started a new business Twitter account and acquired 350 relevant followers in one month being relatively unknown and without spamming.

Most companies have joined Twitter by now but there are a few that have lagged behind. If you’re a part of this group (as my company was), it can be really intimidating to jump into the social media scene when your competitors already have established accounts with hundreds (or thousands) of followers. I used these techniques to jump my new account from 0 to 350 followers in one month, bypassing the awkward infancy period of a new Twitter account almost entirely. (more…)

Who’s Smarter: Dane Cook or Newsweek?

by Craig Fifield – follow him on Twitter @CraigFifield

The other night just as I was done finishing up on Twitter @DannySullivan dropped a link to a Newsweek story and said:

gosh, change “twitter” to “blogs” in dan lyons rip on twitter & it could be 2004

Sullivan is usually spot on so with cold beer in hand and Xbox calling to me from the other room I reluctantly clicked through and started reading Don’t Tweet on Me by Daniel Lyons. (more…)

Key Marketing Tips for the Aspiring Online Entrepreneur

By CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd. Follow her @CarolAnnB.

cbl-web-surferIf you’re new to online business and are trying to surf through the sometimes murky waves of the Internet, then the first thing you need to do is take a deep breath and relax. Nothing can get you more worked up than your own nerves doing a hoodoo number on your mind.  I’m going to offer you a few tricks of the trade I’ve learned along the way and hope that you’ll benefit in some small way.

1. Market Research and Analysis: This is where successful marketing plans spring to action. Justifiably, clients (or buyers) must want to achieve specific goals, so usability and receptiveness are crucial components that ultimately become the deciding factor for potential purchases. Analyze your products and/or services. Obviously, you must have a great product or service to offer your potential buyer.

Here are a few questions you should ask yourself:
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Tweet Cloud for Luxury Brands – Using Twitter for Exposure

By CR Cataunya Ransom of Mosnar Communications. Follow @Mosnarcomm.

Twitter and Tweets are the most fascinating creation on the planet. At present there is no other place on earth to engage and reach tons of millions to draw brand credibility more powerful than Twitter. Luxury is a perception and for luxury brands Twitter presents an opportunity to target niche audiences.

christianlouboutinWithin the Twitter universe it is easier to target and find those who like $1,000 Prada Tessuto Baby Bags or searching for Christian Louboutin luxury French shoes. This is why top luxury retailers such as Net-A-Porter, Louis Vuitton, and many others are all actively using Twitter! (more…)

Review of Twitter Success Blueprint

tsb-banner222.jpgIn this post Jade Craven (@jadecraven) reviews Twitter Success Blueprint.

Before I interacted with Sarah on twitter, I was so jealous of her networking skills. She seemed to instinctively know what would connect with her twitter followers. She was doing awesome promotions, like selling follow Friday space on her forehead.

I was so excited when I heard she was writing Twitter Success Blueprint. She understands this space and has the knowledge to help individuals, and small business, avoid costly mistakes and attract clients.

The Twitter Success Blueprint consists of eight chapters and a bonus section.
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Being the Brand’s Bird: Guidelines for the Professional Twitter User

by Chris Allison of neboweb (@neboweb)

As Twitter continues to define its niche, many companies are hiring individuals for the sole purpose of being the brand’s face on Twitter. For companies with a bigger grasp of the online scene, these individuals often do much more than just Tweet, but being the brand’s bird is still a crucial part of the job. Since being a professional micro-blogger is a new experience for most people starting the position, I thought it would be helpful to offer some advice based off of my experiences. (more…)

Personal Brand – How to Build Yours In Twitter

Isn’t branding for companies or products? Why would anyone want a personal brand anyway?

Nowadays people prefer to connect with other people rather than with a corporate brand. Whether you are a company or individual, branding is a way to make yourself memorable.

Yes, personal branding is about making yourself memorable.

Examples of Personal Brand

Donald Trump is known as a dealmaker. That is his brand. As someone who knows Mr. Trump only from television — in The Apprentice TV series — I also tend to think of “Trump” as quality and luxury.

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5 Ways I Benefit from Twitter

“Why do you use Twitter? How does Twitter Benefit You?”

I’ve been asked these questions so many times since starting TwiTip that I thought I’d write a post answering it. I hope that it’s helpful for those of you just starting out with Twitter (or considering getting involved).

Twitter has changed the way that I use the web and connect with others online in many ways. Those of you who’ve traveled with me on my Twitter journey since the beginning know that I started out very skeptical of the medium.

It always seemed like a waste of time – however once I started using it I immediately began to see its potential and some tangible benefits to me. Let me try to break some of them down:

1. Research Tool

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Make a Good Impression with a Custom Twitter Background

A Custom Twitter Background can make a real impression and enhance your brand – but how do you make one? In this guest post post Hugh Briss from Twitter Image (a service that offers custom Twitter backgrounds) shares some tips on how to make your own.

I know what they say about making assumptions but I’m going to make one now and assume that most of you already understand the potential of Twitter, especially for those of us with something to promote. If you aren’t yet convinced that Twitter is going to do for the Internet what sliced bread did for the sandwich, I encourage you to spend more time reading Twitip. My job today is not to evangelize Twitter — which I love to do — but to talk about how to create cool Twitter backgrounds and show you how valuable the proper use of that space can be.

Generic is Only Good for Prescriptions

In addition to the generic Twitter background, Twitter currently offers 12 stock backgrounds along with pleasing preset colors for the elements on the page. You can also modify the colors of the overall background, text, links, sidebar background and the sidebar border. The first thing any Twit (easier to say that Twitterer) should do is change the generic background, unless you don’t like standing out from the crowd, in which case you can stop reading now.

Switching backgrounds and changing the color palette of your Twitter page is easy to do. Simply select "Settings" in the top row of links on your Twitter page, click on the "Design" tab and then either select a "theme" or click on "Change background image" or "Change design colors" and get creative. Don’t worry about goofing anything up. Any changes you make will not be visible to anyone but you until you click "save".

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