Justin Taylor

Archive for June 3rd, 2009

I’ve been using Twitter, a social networking site, for six months now and have met so many terrific, interesting and business savvy people.  

It’s easy to not understand what Twitter is when you happen upon someone’s personal page. The micro posts are a potpourri of replies that don’t quite make sense to the visitor, but that’s okay because you’re not connecting with your visitors, you are connecting with your followers.

Twitter tweets allowance is 140 characters. It may seem short, but you can get in quite a mouthful. No one ever said networking had to be a long drawn out novel. Don’t underestimate the power of short and quick replies because with the right words they can add a lot of punch.

What I have observed over the months is everyone uses Twitter for different reasons, but the majority of people who use it for networking don’t always know how to network properly.

These 8 tips will show exactly how you can get the most out of your networking efforts on Twitter.

1. Start by using your real name on your profile, upload a real photo of you and fill out your bio. Your bio is about you and not your business. Your website link will take care of that.

2. Follow people that interest you and who can help grow your business. Follow quality people. Quantity is not important.

3. People want knowledge, information and resources. It’s always better to give first and then receive. I’m not saying you shouldn’t self-promote, but if the whole time you’re on Twitter and you’re just self-promoting, people aren’t going to care and will most likely un-follow you.

Networking is about sharing and connecting with others. A person who only has self-promotion on their mind is looked upon and labeled a spammer.

4. People like freebies and tips. Offer your best tips on working from home, on direct sales, web designing, and marketing and even Twitter tips. There are tips for everything so find something in your niche that you think would be valuable information. Throw in a few freebies as everyone loves something for free.

5. It’s important to engage in conversations with your new found “friends”. Don’t ignore their tweets. Use it to strike up conversations as you will never know where these will lead.

6. If you read an interesting or newsworthy tweet, retweet it. This is a great way to say something if you can’t find anything to say. When you help to promote others, others will help to promote you.

7. Don’t abuse direct messaging (similar to private messaging) or use it as a means to spam your followers. Many will not hesitate to use the block feature.

8. Expect to spend some quality time and be consistent in your networking. Try to visit daily. Enjoy and be yourself on Twitter and be respectful. Your reputation should always be guarded.

Not enough people take networking seriously because they don’t know how to do it properly. There are many people who do know and can show you the ropes or better yet take the time to learn and observe what others are doing.

When you learn networking is not about sell, sell, sell and me, me, me, you will soon find more people are attracted to you and what you have to offer.

Follow Sophia on Twitter to network, get work at home tips and freebies www.twitter.com/WorkAtHomeSpace.

You can also find daily work at home job leads, home business opportunities and business resources; join in the discussions, network and more on her work at home forums.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/8-key-twitter-networking-tips-you-must-know-948783.html

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During the earlier years of the World Wide Web, through the 80’s, internet’s true potential was unrealized due to the limitations of technology, connectivity and speed in communication as well the fact that the use of connected PC’s was limited to a smaller social demographic. With the advent of new technology in computing and communication, the era of interactivity dawned on the world of the web, ushering in the age of web2.0 as we know it today.

The use of internet as a social interaction tool took the world by storm. The rapid rise in popularity, first of e-groups, then of personal social WebPages and now social media websites being used by people all over the world has opened up a new dimension of marketing possibilities in the world or e-commerce as well. Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the answer to using this popularity to advance your e-business and take your company’s marketing effectiveness to a global scale in the global village; to people who are using social media based websites (like facebook, social bookmarking & Video networking sites).

The type of website usually defines the demographic of its members in terms of age, areas of interest and even commercial activity. The popularity of the website itself is translated into the reach of your marketing efforts.

The following are typical steps taken to launch a consolidated marketing campaign over the social media spectrum:

> Select relevant social media websites to be targeted.

> Plan and Design the marketing Strategy for targeted web audience.

>Gather or create unique content; including descriptions of products or services and videos etc to post on the websites.

> Create corporate/personal profiles on websites and presenting unique content there.

> Send friendship/joining requests to members belonging to the targeted demographic for your profiles and communities.

>Create Blogs and direct traffic towards them in order to increase participation.

>Target existing e-communities which are relevant to your purpose and participate in discussions through regular postings and provide links to quality content.

The following results can be expected from making a concerted and dedicated effort in SMM:

>Targeted and relevant traffic is attracted.

>Global or localized marketing reach is accomplished.

>Inexpensive advertisement and even free publicity.

>increased lead generation through people landing on your page, and therefore more sales.

>Product/services promotion through the ability to send Emails/newsletters through which you may announce latest offers and packages.

>Popularize and publicize the launch of new products or services.

>Gather available Email addresses from contacts on social media websites to compile a list of potential clients.

Efforts in SSM will yield results only if the effort is comprehensive and persistent. The results may take a long time or a short amount of time, depending upon the intensity of the campaign and generally upon the number of profiles and communities that are created for the purpose. Building personal business contacts also helps, with many virtual members aware of your services and passing your name to others through the best kind of marketing technique ‘the word of mouth’.

Allen Anderson – LiveAdmins

LiveAdmins is Chicago, US based company providing Live Support and Sales Services for the last seven years. Moving with the growing trends of e-commerce and online businesses the company has also started providing online marketing services and social media marketing services in June 2007.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/social-media-marketing-949072.html

Word Count: 576