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[S658]Social Media Marketing Twitter

by Barry Byers, Bar

As a business owner, you have likely heard of social media marketing. You may even have been curious enough to investigate it. And you may have been overwhelmed by the many options available to you. Between Digg, Delicious, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and all of the many others, it is difficult to know where to start.

Twitter is one of the newer entries in the social media marketing field. Launched in 2006, it has become an enormously popular way for people to connect and keep in touch. Like any form of social media, it has also attracted businesses keen to get on the bandwagon of social media marketing.

Using Twitter as a Marketing

Twitter is often referred to as a micro-blog. Instead of posts, you write “tweets” of 140 characters or less. You can follow other users with similar interests, and they can follow you. Each time you add an update, all of your followers receive a message. They can choose to respond or not.

As with any social media marketing site, using Twitter requires you to be involved. You need to follow and be followed. You also need to provide information of value to the people who follow you. One example is links to your blog or other relevant information on your site.

Using Twitter for marketing does take time (as does any attempt at social media marketing). You need to build a community of followers and engage with other users to create credibility. To make links, you have to have something interesting to share with people, which means you need to spend time creating enough current, relevant, interesting and (occasionally) thought-provoking content for your followers to read.

Tips for Using Twitter as Part of Your Online Marketing

There are some basic rules to follow when using Twitter for marketing. In fact, many of these rules apply to other social media sites too, like Facebook.

• Do not spam or engage in hard selling. Remember to be sociable and offer information of value. Blog posts on the benefits of your product or services, interesting conferences or professional development opportunities that are coming up – these are good examples.

• Always link back to your site or blog. That is why you are doing this in the first place.

• To get followers, put a link on your site or blog inviting people to follow you on Twitter. Twitter provides the code for a “badge” that you can drop into your Website or blog.

• Search Twitter for likeminded users/businesses and see who they are following. You may be interested in following the same users.

• Follow the lead of those who came before you. There are users with hundreds of followers. Check out what they are tweeting about so you can get ideas.

Use Twitter as Part of a Detailed Social Media Marketing Strategy

Of course, if you are using social media for marketing, you need to have a comprehensive plan. To create a plan like that, you may need help from a search engine marketing consultant. In addition to tweeting on Twitter (which can eat up a lot of your time) you need to have a schedule for blogging and writing articles to link to.

As part of this strategy, develop a plan for your content. Don't throw any old thing up there just to have something to link to. A consultant can show you how to create compelling copy that makes your blog, articles and Website work with your social media marketing, so that you are drawing traffic through as many channels as possible.

Getting a MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter account is not social networking. Social networking requires participation and valuable contribution to the community. These are some of the secrets to getting real impact from your social network.

Listening

Getting into the conversation starts with listening to your community. Take some time to research your target audience--people you want in your community. These are my favorite approaches:

* Use Google's Blog Search to find blogs and commentary associated with your business

* Set-up Google alerts to email you tips on new content related to your marketplace

* Use Twitter Search to monitor community related conversation in real-time

Not only will listening tune you into your target audience--it will reveal opportunity.

Participating

Note, the first word is social networking is "social." That means that people expect connections in their network to participate. They are looking for a conversation. Getting the most out of your social networking means giving your community what they want. These are techniques I use:

* Ask questions. Want a big crowd? Ask for advice.

* Answer questions. This demonstrates expertise and adds value.

* Link to great resources. Linking gives to the community and builds goodwill.

* Share good content. I good proportion you should share your own content.

Participating shows a genuine interest in the community, building your credibility and reputation--important to powering a successful social network.

Audience Building

Once engaged in your social network, it is time to build your own audience. Your audience should be folks that follow you and are influenced by you.

Be the leader in your social community and you will maximize your return. This of course requires trust and reputation. Each is built over time and based mainly on useful and valuable participation.

Join the conversation, help people, and be willing to learn and your audience will grow. However, one powerful suggestions--focus on conversations and interactions that have keyword clues. This will help attract an appropriate audience. Also, every social network has a search tool--this is how most audiences get built, like websites it takes a little smart SEO.

Mobilizing

As you build your audience don't be shy to get them doing something. Folks love to support a cause or be a part of a community effort. Most will happily get involved. So, start mobilizing your audience early. This creates a real powerhouse as your audience grows--giving you the opportunity to tackle really big campaigns.

Are you now convinced that social networking is more than a seizure inducing MySpace page, a college reunion FaceBook network, or a java fueled blasting of what your ate for dinner? Social networking is about--listening, participating, and mobilizing. Get yours started today.

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About Author

Both Barry Byers & Bill Rice are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Barry Byers has sinced written about articles on various topics from Search Engine Marketing, Property Guide and Computers and The Internet. For more information on or. Barry Byers's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.

Bill Rice has sinced written about articles on various topics from Asset Management, Internet Marketing and Multi Level Marketing. is much more than just signing up for a few social media accounts. A smart. Bill Rice's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.