Confused About How to Use Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn?

I was just reading this article on 60SecondMarketer.com. Thanks to @andrewghayes who brought it to my attention on Twitter. I LOVE the analogies and thought I’d share!

Facebook is like a Pub — an informal place to talk casually with people and get to know people on a more personal 
basis. It’s okay to tell a joke in a pub. You can also talk about what you did over the weekend.

LinkedIn is like a Trade Show — a slightly more formal place to meet other business professionals and connect with them primarily for business purposes. You don’t tell dirty jokes at a Trade Show. Nor would you do that on LinkedIn.

Twitter is like a Cocktail Party — an energetic place where there are many conversations going on at once. If you like the conversation going on in one group, you might share the information with people in the next conversation you have.

YouTube is like Times Square on New Year’s Eve — a place where it’s hard to break through, but if you do, millions of people will see you.

MySpace is like Woodstock — wild, crazy and perfect for the younger generation or cause-oriented marketing.

I retweeted the article, and @steveames chimed in that it was pretty early in the day to be at a cocktail party (around 6:30 am) – and that maybe we all have a problem! I guess he’s right – but since I was drinking tea, I figured it was ok.

Truth is, there’s no right or wrong rules on how to use Twitter. Just do what works for you!

P.S. How do YOU view Social Networking? Leave a comment!

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or you are lucky enough to live on some remote tropical island and you really don’t care about being social, anyway), you must have heard the buzz about Social Media. Social Media (Social Networking) is all the rage these days, now that it’s finally hit mainstream communication channels. Sure, some of us have been interacting on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for over a year or longer now, but until very recently it was hard to explain the value of social networking to a newbie.

Why is this? Because people are followers by nature. Think about it. Innovative products & services usually start with a tiny following of believers who live on the bleeding edge, then there comes a few more early adopters, then eventually the idea is accepted by the masses. We’re human. Most people like to do what everyone else is doing. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just the way we operate.

But Hooray! Now we can talk about Social Media and people will listen.

Our friends and family no longer think we’re nuts when it comes to Social Media. (They may think we’re nuts about lots of other things, but that’s another matter completely.) People are hungry for information. For the newbie masses, the thought of Tweeting is often overwhelming, confusing, and downright frightening.

Why is it important that we continue to talk, teach, and promote? Because Social Media is a powerful tool when it comes to getting the word out about your business/service/cause. It’s also an awesome lead generator, feedback machine and customer service tool. It’s good old-fashioned networking – just to a lot more people. Think of it as the Super Bowl vs. an intimate cocktail party.

Hello! Can anyone hear me?

Sure, it’s awesome to be in front of lots of people, but it can be hard to get noticed. It’s like being at a huge party when everyone is talking at once. You have to make the extra effort to stand out, to meet people, and to keep the communication lines open. It’s hard at first. Stick with it. Be nice to people. Add value to their day. It will happen.

But I don’t have 5,000 followers! What’s the point?

What about quality of followers vs. quantity? Good question, and I have to say that your mileage may vary on this one. For some businesses, quantity is key. Think Zappos, Nike, IBM. It’s not going to do them any good if they only have 100 followers on Twitter. For other smaller companies, it’s more about the quality – the key (and the challenge) is to get targeted followers who really want to hear your message and buy your stuff.

The Social Media Spy Factor

Who do you really want to do business with? What are your values, and where do they fit in with your business? One of the best parts about Social Media is that you can get an inside peek at the real person behind the name. Some people call it spying, but I consider it research. When we’re having conversations online, we inevitably end up talking about our families, our interests, our communities, beliefs, politics (though I steer clear of that topic no matter where I go), etc.

Depending on how transparent a person is online, you can learn an awful lot about someone just by following their updates. Sometimes the truth lies in what they post in their Facebook photo albums. What you discover about someone may impress you, or it may enlighten you to something you’re JUST not comfortable with, thus making you think twice about associating with that person. Either way, it’s a valuable way to clue in to people’s practices and values.

No matter how you slice it, Social Media is work and can be tricky to manage – but so is traditional face-to-face networking. It’s work, but it’s important that we stay visible, so we do it!

What’s your take? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s discuss in the comments.

P.S. - Need a little help getting started? Grab my Beginner’s Guide to Twitter! This step-by-step guide will get you up and running in no time. It’s 26 pages, complete with screenshots, and a crazy bargain at less than ten bucks!

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1. Taking the Fear Out of Online Social Networking
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3. 9 Ways Social Media Can Expand Your Online Marketing

The other night I gave a presentation on online social networking to a local group of women business owners. I’ve wanted to do this for quite a while, but I hadn’t felt like my local market was ready for it – until now.

Now that Twitter and Facebook are in the news every day and have become more mainstream, people want to learn how to join in the party. Business owners are starting to see the value and understand that online social networking tools actually CAN help increase profits.

We had 20 people in our group. I explained the most popular social networking sites - Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Just the basics, though. The idea was to take away the fear of social networking, not to make everyone experts in one evening.

The evening went better than I expected – actually I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’m more than pleased with the results. Here’s some feedback I’ve received in the past few days:

“Lisa, thanks so much for your talk the other night. I’ve been trying to connect with someone from the New York Times but have been hitting roadblocks. It occurred to me that I have a LinkedIn connection who can introduce me. I never would have done this before hearing you speak.”

“Hey Lisa, Thanks for the inspiration the other night. Making a Facebook page (for my business) has been on my list for a while and your talk pushed it to the top. I had fun making the page and am so excited by the response.”

“I now understand the value of trying networking and being comfortable. I was overwhelmed with what to try and have narrowed it down to Facebook”

I’m keeping these women anonymous to protect their privacy, but you can see how small business owners are starting to “get it” about the benefits of online social networking. Needless to say, I’m thrilled! I’ve also set up some follow-up coaching sessions for those who want some one-on-one help.

So if you’re on the fence about social networking, get off it!

Start small. Take baby steps. Pick one social networking site and join. Follow a few people, see how things work. Once you’re comfortable, wade in a little deeper. Customize your profile. Join another social networking site and get comfortable with that one. Take one step at a time.

The other thing we talked about is time management for social networking. It’s easy to spend hours on Twitter – it’s addicting! Be careful not to fall into that trap. If it helps, set a timer to help you stay on task. Whatever works for you.

I’d love to hear how YOU use social networking tools for your business. Questions? Leave them in the comments below. I’m here to help.

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1. 9 Ways Social Media Can Expand Your Online Marketing
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Here’s a perfectly simple explanation of what social networking is. There are tons more channels than are mentioned here, but you can get the idea. Watch and learn!

If you liked this, you might like these too:

1. Taking the Fear Out of Online Social Networking
2. Social Media: A Powerful Networking Tool
3. Using Social Networking to Grow Your Business

Twitter is a social networking tool, built to, well…socialize and network with others. More and more businesses every day are catching on to this unique network marketing tool. Since it’s inception, Twitter has exploded as an easy to use, online platform that can be expanded to help develop branding, promote products, and keep clients in sync with what is happening on the forefront of your business.

There are a few guidelines that are good to follow as a business owner when networking on Twitter, but for the most part, things work the same as they do for an individual user. Here are a few things to think about when using Twitter as a business tool.

Update your Twitter profile

Keep your profile updated and current with any new developments or projects currently in the works. This helps your customers understand where you are going as a business and it also makes them aware of any changes you have planned.

Keep the Twitter conversation professional

While it may be fun to get into a heated debate over who will win the Kentucky Derby, keep your tweets focused on business. Sure, it’s not a bad thing to express your opinion every once in a while, but do make sure that it falls directly in line with your core business values and mission. If you are a sole proprietor, obviously you have the decision making power here, but if you are in business with others, develop a policy for how individuals will tweet.

Be personal, too!

People like to know they are talking with actual people. Isn’t that the whole point of social networking? In this age where digital voices prompting our actions are standard, people love to be able to communicate with intelligent human people who can actually listen and respond. Personal conversation beats canned impersonal messages that don’t meet their individual needs and desires hands down.

Give before you expect to get back

Don’t even think about spamming your followers with announcements of new products or websites for them to look at. Talk to them, get to know them. Answer their questions and ask them exactly what they are looking for. Once again, be human and socialize with them. It’s ok to interact with your customer online the same way you interact in a face to face meeting, just keep it professional.

Use Twitter tools and tracking devices

Implement the use of hashtags and other tracking devices as searchable references for your customers. This makes it easy for them to follow you and your business developments. The easier it is to follow you and what you are doing, the better chance you have they will actually do it. Let your customers know when you have initiated a new search term and what those terms mean to them. Your business is about helping the customer get to your product as easy as possible. Hashtags are a great tool to help this happen.

Make things easy for your Twitter followers

While talking with your followers, don’t hesitate to ask if they see a way that your business can improve – and then listen. Customer feedback is one of the most valuable tools to a business. What better way to get feedback than online when you are already in conversation with them? You can develop customer loyalty simply through listening to and responding to their opinions.

The biggest difference between a business account and a personal account on Twitter is the language and posture you present while socializing. Don’t be a machine, check your replies and messages, respond to questions and be human. Enter the conversation.

Follow these simple rules and your business will develop a new social networking tool that can be used to reach thousands more clients in no time. It’s viral marketing at its best.

P.S. If you want to leverage the power of Twitter, check out my friend Elliot Webb’s new book, “The Twitter Technique“. Even though I’ve been using Twitter for a while now, I picked up some great techniques and ideas. There are bonus videos too, but I’m not sure how long they’ll be available, so if you’re interested, check it out soon. Grab The Twitter Technique and the bonus videos here.

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1. What’s YOUR Twitter Karma?
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If you’ve been using Twitter for a while, you probably have heard of hashtags. If not, you’re probably wondering what it’s all about.

I was asked this question last night when I was talking with a group of women about Twitter. Some had never heard of Twitter, while a few had just started using it. One of the women said, “I’ve seen people using something called hashtags on Twitter. What the heck is a hashtag, and how do I use it?”

Hashtags are a very effective way of categorizing and grouping conversations and topics. Unless you’re using an application like TweetDeck, for example, there is no way within Twitter to group or thread conversations. This was a bit of an annoyance, until some creative people started using hashtags as a way to keep all of the tweets in a conversation together.

It’s easy to use a hashtag. Simply include it in your tweet. For example, if I want to start a hashtag on the Super Spring Event, I might start a hashtag called #SSEVENT. Then all I need to do is to include that in my tweet:

“I’m having a blast at the Super Spring Event #SSEVENT”

Keep in mind to keep your hashtags short, because every character you type goes toward your 140 character limit.

If you want to search on a hashtag, go to http://search.twitter.com and put in the hashtag (or person, or topic) that you’re looking for. Your search results will include every tweet that includes that hashtag or topic.

Looking for some interesting hashtags to follow? Go to Hashtags.org to find some interesting ones. Found one you like and want to jump in the conversation? Just include the hashtag in your tweet, and let others follow your lead. It’s that simple.

If you liked this, you might like these too:

1. Using Twitter for Business: Essential Rules
2. If Twitter is Like a Cocktail Party, Is It Wrong to Tweet at 6AM?
3. 9 Ways Social Media Can Expand Your Online Marketing

Here’s an excerpt from a forum post that I read today. It explains perfectly why if you’re considering getting involved with Cagora, you shouldn’t wait. The private invite deadline is this Sunday, March 15th. Read on for more…

Question: “I am very interested (in Cagora) but finding it quite difficult to really “get” all of the concept. I’d be interested in what you’re planning to do with it.”

Answer:

(1) This is BIG. This could be as big as for example FaceBook / Twitter etc.
(2) We are here at the start
(3) This is Community oriented unlike well virtually anything else – 80% of revenue is going to affiliates ( you and me) and charities
(4) Even if you only sign up as an affiliate SIGN UP NOW! Sorry for shouting – because there is a deadline of March 15th as the end of this phase of the roll out of Cagora and the beginning of the next one.
(5) If you have $500 or whatever to spare consider “buying” a local world or interest group (not required, but your earning potential will be much higher)
(6) Make sure you go through the videos to grasp the concept. This is different – it is a bit harder to understand than the usual yada yada because this is a long time coming and very carefully and gradually rolled out. I have a very good feeling about Cagora – just intuition really. But listening to Rob Anderson is inspiring”

I couldn’t have said this better myself.

The informational videos and affiliate tools all online. Visit http://cagora.com/launchjv/go/lisawood

Bottom line – make sure you get signed up as a free affiliate at least before Sunday so you can lock in lifetime commissions! It’s a no-brainer.

Any questions? I’m happy to help!

P.S. In the short time that I’ve been involved with Cagora, I’m already making money. I did invest and become a community partner for my county and my town, and I’ve just about made back my investment (plus a LOT more). It works

*Edited to say that Rob has graciously extended this opportunity until March 31st. In one weekend, I made more than 20 times my initial investment. Needless to say, I’m thrilled

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Still not sure how Twitter works? It’s explained perfectly in this 2 1/2 minute video. Check it out.

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1. What’s YOUR Twitter Karma?
2. If Twitter is Like a Cocktail Party, Is It Wrong to Tweet at 6AM?
3. Using Twitter for Business: Essential Rules

The other day my chiropractor asked me if I had ever heard of “twipping”. Turns out he had heard them talking about Twitter on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He thought the whole concept was a riot – I can see why after watching this video. Thanks to Lynn Terry for showing me the video clip.

If you liked this, you might like these too:

1. If Twitter is Like a Cocktail Party, Is It Wrong to Tweet at 6AM?
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When every news report warns of global doom and gloom, the business owner’s first instinct is to cut all extraneous costs. You run your production team lean, run your sales force lean, and everything else goes into the deep freeze.

Too many people see marketing as something irrelevant, as vague feel-good fluff that neither makes the product nor closes the sale. That’s crazy talk.When the sales pipeline is running dry, or at least no longer gushing, it’s marketing that fills that pipeline, and even in lean times, targeted efforts can keep your name out in the marketplace and create a conversation (and hey, maybe even hype). This shows you’re a thriving player, not one of many recessionary casualties, and prepares potential customers for the closing move your sales team will execute.

We’ve come up with ideas for marketing yourself through the latest social media and the old-fashioned general Internet:

Social Media Optimization:

1. Are you on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and other social media sites? If not (or if so, and you’re overwhelmed with all of it), you may want a Social Media Optimization (SMO) expert to put your message into the newest and fastest-growing Internet arena. Have her create a Facebook or LinkedIn group for your company and invite your users; every one of their friends will see that they are related to your company and there is just nothing better than that for word-of-mouth.

2. Keep that SMO expert onboard to troll conversation on Twitter about your company and your industry, so she can send responses and begin threads. Use Google Alerts to be notified when terms relevant to your business are mentioned.

3. Other social media your expert can monitor: Forum and blog commenting, LinkedIn and Yahoo Answers, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and GetSatisfaction.

4. Launch video tutorials for your website. In addition post them to YouTube. Hire a personable, well-spoken provider to help you convert your script to a professional-looking online video using tools like Camtasia or Snapz.

5. Get a blogger to maintain a company blog and to reach out to other blogs to keep your message in the conversation.

6. Do you have a community forum on your website? When users post questions, are they getting an answer? Bring in a moderator for your community forum to make sure that when users take the time to post a comment, they get a response that will encourage them to come back.

7. Hire a writer to create articles relevant to your industry and syndicate them to Squidoo, Business.com and EzineArticles.com.

8. Get a writer with exceptional PowerPoint skills to prepare a presentation that is highly relevant to your industry, and post it on SlideShare.com.

9. Recruit an analyst to prepare a few charts and data about your company and business and post on swivel.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daryl_James

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