Blog Archives

Calling all Women Entrepreneurs – join me on Twitter for a weekly discussion – Wednesdays #wechat

You’re social, you network and you’re a woman entrepreneur. Let’s chat! Join me for a weekly tweet-up live on Twitter every Wednesday evening. This is a great way to connect with other women entrepreneurs and learn more about how social media can help you grow your business and learn from other women entrepreneurs how to be a better businesswoman.

Join myself and other women entrepreneurs online very Wednesday evening. Just do the following:

1. RSVP by Tuesday here. RSVP NOW
2. Right before the event, check back where you RSVPed and “follow” all of the tweeters listed on the RSVP.
3. Go to Twitter and follow @hashtags.
4. Go to http://search.twitter.com and enter #wechat in the search field. This will bring up a page that allows you to keep track of just the conversations from those participating in wechat (Women Entrepreneur’s Chat).
5. Start tweeting at 6 p.m. (pacific), 7 p.m. (mountain), 8 p.m. (central), and 9 p.m. (eastern).
6. Enter #wechat in all of your tweets.

Each week will have a topic or theme – for Wed Sept 9 – it will be the ever elusive holy grail of “Work Life Balance.”

If you don’t yet have a twitter account, please register for your free account here: http://www.twitter.com

Tracking A Tweet

Why track your tweet you may ask? Well, for many reasons. Besides @replies to your tweet how do you know if your Twitter followers are finding your links and information of value? Social Media is about 2 way conversations, information sharing – it’s not about shouting into an empty room or standing on a soapbox – which is what you’re doing if people aren’t reading your tweets, clicking your links or finding the information you provide valuable – or at the very least mildly interesting. Also, it takes time to share that information – so if you’re sharing the wrong information or information that your followers don’t think is relevant it would most likely be a better use of your time to share different information or resources.

The most basic way to track your tweets is by doing a search for your tweet or subject on Google or Twitter Search.

Or – you could use a new tool that combines these two into a powerful search engine called Twoquick

A more focused twitter search/tracking method could be had by adding a meme or hashtag to a specific keyword. hashtags.org provides real-time tracking of Twitter hashtags. Opt-in by following @hashtagsto have your hashtags tracked.

Budurl offers a free service to shrink and track your shortened link. Budurl allows you to see referrers, click charts, and more. You can create multiple BudURLs that point to the same destination so you can tell which source generates the best ROI. This allows you to see which cities, states, and countries drive your traffic. Their basic service is free and their dashboard is pretty intuitive.

PeashootApp offers to shrink and track your shortened link  but also allows you to set goals for your campaign. Like Budurl it allows tracking and a personalized dashboard. It’s good that it sets goals for measurement but the coolest option was just added. It now also lets you build an audience around a particular keyword or theme. In essence:

Peashoot’s Audience Builder automatically follows people on Twitter who are relevant to you or your company. Over a matter of days Peashoot can increase your total audience size giving you more people to connect with and help spread the word about you or your company.

Both Budurl and PeashootApp offer paid monthly plans and free trials. 

Do you currently track your tweets and if so have you changed the nature of what you tweet based on the measurement stats you’ve received?

Using Twitter for Marketing: Three Twitter Tips for a Notable Brand

Using Twitter for social media marketing is becoming more and more a standard practice for brands and companies looking to expand and connect with their target audience. When marketing on Twitter, branding is extremely important, to give a distinctive personality to what you have to offer and stick in Twitter users minds. While branding is often still a bit of a fluid concept, especially when it comes to using social media and Twitter for marketing, the following tips will help you along the way to establishing a solid and impressive presence for your brand on Twitter.

Broadcast Relevant News. If you’ve expanded your marketing strategy to include Twitter, then you have obviously spent some time on the Internet. When your feedreader, co-workers or other contacts provide you with breaking news related to your industry, share it on Twitter. Not only will this make you a valuable asset an contributor in the eyes of your Twitter followers, but it can also lead to retweets, where your tweet with a link back to your profile included is rebroadcasted out to widening circles of Twitter users. Those interested in the same type of news are likely to join your Twitter followers.

Find Out Where Everyone Is. At industry conferences, it can be frustrating to try to get face time with popular and influential people in your field. These days, not only do most people Twitter throughout conferences, but conferences themselves also have their own Twitter accounts. If you are attending, presenting or exhibiting at an industry conference, follow along on Twitter to find out where these VIPs are and what they’re interested in seeing. Befriending these social media giants can be a very effective tool in your social media marketing arsenal. Take advantage of the information offered on Twitter to arrange a brief meeting or one on one conversation with these users, in hopes that a good impression will lead to them tweeting about you and your brand in the future.

Monitor Your Reputation. Nothing kills a brand, product or company faster than negative experiences. Negative experiences and stories travel with amazing speed with the advent of tools like Twitter. When Twitter is a part of your social media marketing strategy, monitoring what people are saying about you or your offerings is one of the main benefits of the service. By keeping track of what is being said about your brand, you have an opportunity to quickly turn negatives into positives. If you are able to use Twitter to respond quickly to customer concerns, your social media marketing will allow you to head off the negatives of the problem and instead, create a more powerful reputation for your brand due to your swift and responsive actions.

Clearing it up: Difference bet…

Clearing it up: Difference between Facebook pages and Facebook groups: http://budurl.com/432u

Tymer: Simple online project m…

Tymer: Simple online project management: http://budurl.com/6sue

TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop: …

TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop: Do you use one? Are you switching to the other? http://budurl.com/kuha

Have you taken a new direction…

Have you taken a new direction or complete change of goals/plans due to the recession? What kinds of changes have you made?

What do you think about Twitte…

What do you think about Twitter’s plans to add location information to every tweet? Too much? http://budurl.com/wmlc

Resume tips for freelancers – …

Resume tips for freelancers – looks like it will be a great series: http://budurl.com/shg6

Social Media Marketing: Building a Community on Twitter

The most important aspect of social media marketing is building a community of interested people who will carry your message, offerings and news to their own networks on contacts. When using Twitter for social media marketing, there are several simple steps you can follow to get you started on building a loyal community of Twitter followers. This network of Twitter users has the capability to spread your brand’s reputation father than you could ever hope to do on your own.

Know What You’re Doing. Before you dive in head first, make sure you understand the basics of using Twitter. The shorthand is also important to understand. A DM is a direct message, only visible by the Twitter user to which it is sent. The “@” symbol before a Twitter user’s name is used to indicate a reply, and RT stands for “retweet,” the practice of repeating a tweet, with credit, of someone else in order to pass along the message. Making use of all of these communication methods on Twitter are important to the community building aspect of your social media marketing strategy.

Utilize Search Tools. Many Twitter tools come with search tools built in, as does the web interface of Twitter. Utilize the earch tools to find Twitter users who are discussing topics relevant to your interests and follow them. Many of these Twitter users will follow back upon seeing that you share interests. Also, if your search turns up conversations relevant to your marketing strategy, join the conversation by utilizing the “@” reply technique.

Promote Your Twitter Account.  While your social media marketing strategy calls for using Twitter to promote your brand, use other web locations to promote your Twitter account. In forums, email messages and web profiles, be sure to include a link to your Twitter page or your Twitter name. When commenting on blogs within your industry, sign your posts with “@YourTwitterName.” By placing your Twitter identity in relevant locations across the web, you will make yourself easier to find and thus grow your community of Twitter followers. A large and engaged community of Twitter followers is essential to acheiving your social media marketing goals.

Copyright © 2011 Jackie Cuyvers