A lot of businesses think that simply Tweeting about a sale, event or promotion will bring people in their doors, to their websites and money in their bank accounts. This, although true for many larger well known businesses, is not true for smaller businesses. We are not easily known nor is our logo quickly recognized by thousands, but this isn’t quite a bad thing. Tweeting may be the first step, but never make it the last step.

Let’s say you’re planning a local event or sale.

Twitter may be your first stop/ thought to promote, but do you have a landing page with details or a way for people to contact you with questions? Are you reaching out to other networks?

Here is exactly what I would do and the sites I would use, including Twitter, to promote my event.

Event name: Fake Event/ Sale 2012

Sites to use:

Your own website/ blog – List all details (directions, attire, date/ time and contact information)

Tumblr

This Social Blogging site is one of my favorites and has a ton of possibility for sharing and indexing. Make sure to build a following on the backside and add all proper keywords as well as a link to an event posting or listing, preferably the LinkedIn or Facebook event and your website.

Facebook

Fanpage if applicable as well as the creation of a Facebook event

Tip: Unless completely unable to, create your event under your personal account. Creating it under a page takes away the ability to contact and message those that have RSVP’d yes and maybe as well as those that have yet to RSVP. 

LinkedIn

You can create an event here just like on Facebook. Share the event on your LinkedIn profile. You can also send individual messages to connections you know would be interested in attending.

Google+

If you’ve begun using this platform then I suggest promoting here as well. Be sure to use your location as a hashtag (mine would be #Tampa) for others to find it as well as predetermined hashtag for said event.

Local media blogs

Here in Tampa the TBO.com is a great place to list your event as are many of the local radio stations and other media sites. Do a search in your town for local media sites and see if they have an event submission section or an email address to send news/ events to.

Local bloggers

See if any would be willing to blog about your upcoming event. Make sure you give them all of the details as well as how they can stay up to date with the event details. Include your Twitter, Facebook, website, Tumblr, Foursquare and contact email as well as all details for the event.

Foursquare

If you have a physical location the possibilities are endless. List on the locations Foursquare page about the upcoming event, if it’s your own listing and the event or promo costs money, make a Foursquare special with a percentage off of the event or promo OR create a special that gives people an incentive to attend.

Pinterest

I personally haven’t had a chance to test out how well event promotion is on here, but I soon will and what can it hurt if you’re already pinning away?

EXAMPLE: Join us Sat for out Fake Event/ Sale – Check in and receive a free cupcake (or something like that)

Don’t Forget The Press Release!!! 

Eventful.com

Great place to post local events and sales

Video and Image for promotion

Use sites like YouTube and FlickR if you want to take your promotions one step further with a more visual aspect.

Twitter

Yes now we can come back to Twitter. Now we have a place to send people to. We have listings on other networks.

Do you have a #hashtag picked out? For our event we’ll use #FakeEvent2012 and every time we Tweet about the event we’ll add that at the end of the Tweet. Why use a hashtag? Easy tracking to see who else is talking about your event or sale

In conclusion, if you Tweet it they might come, but your chances are much higher when you take advantage of all that is in front of you.

How many times do you see your connections sharing blog posts, videos and links to their website? If your Twitter stream looks anything like mine, your answer might be “too often”.

Too often I see people on Twitter, Facebook and even LinkedIn simply “push content” and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this my friends… THIS is not a Social Media or any kind of Internet strategy. This can most definitely be a piece to the puzzle, but this should never be the main focus.

People log onto Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many other platforms for many reasons. A few of these reasons would be to communicate, connect and engage as well as consume content. Saying “hello” to someone on Twitter may seem silly; just as silly as perhaps sharing an image of your morning coffee, but we’re human… Humans are social creatures which is why you need to be sure to keep the majority of your focus on keeping it social. Yes, this means you. 

Did you know that 51% of Facebook users and 64% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from the brands they follow?

This is a great statistic, but how do brands get people to connect with them? That’s right…. back to that this called engagement.

So how does someone get started with  Social Media strategy?

Let’s break it down and use Twitter as an example

First step is to obtain your Twitter handle – is your company name available? Is the name too long? Let’s figure out the best way to begin building your presence with your Twitter name. If your desired name is available, you’re lucky. If it isn’t  you need to figure out if abbreviating your name is the best route to take or what name you want to have.

Tip: You are able to change your Twitter name, but I don’t recommend it at all.

Step 2 – Upload your logo/ image. This is how people will visually remember you.

Step 3 – Fill out your bio, link to your website and add your name (company or personal depending on what type of an account it is.

Tip: I personally suggest you create a personal and a business account as sometimes it’s not going to make sense to Tweet about the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy through a business Twitter account.

Step 4 – Visually brand your company with your Twitter background.

Step 5 – Do some keyword research on Twitter. Are people talking about your brand/ product/ business OR what you’re interested in? Are there Twitter chats around these keywords? This is step 5, 6.5, 7.5 etc…. Always be doing keyword research. Always be seeking out new connections.

Step 6 – Join in the conversation. It’s OK. It’s not like you’re cutting anyone off mid sentence, plus Tweeting @ someone raises their Klout score, right?! < —-  Inside joke. I’m definitely NOT Klout’s biggest fan.

Step 7 – Start sharing your content, but STAY social. I’m not going to tell you anything like “You MUST have 1 promotional Tweet for every 3 @replies” because that’s just plain ridiculous. Only you and/ or your Social Media Strategist can decide what content works and how often links should be shared. Just don’t make that the focus of your Twitter stream.

Step 8 – Continue engaging, continue seeking and continue being your awesome self and in time you will be rocking your Twitter account.

There are so many blog posts that talk about reasons why people wont follow or why they’ll unfollow an account on Twitter. These posts are very insightful, however simply show and point out the negatives of Twitter. I am personally guilty of focusing strictly on the negative rather than the positive which is why I want to share with you these tips/ reasons why people will follow you and your brand on Twitter.

1. You’re not just pushing content, you’re taking the time to actually engage in conversation with those you follow as well as responding back to those that interact with your Tweets.
2. You’re providing content specific to what you’re passionate about.
3. You’re not just complaining about things on Twitter all day. You’re positive and encouraging to others.
4. You allow your personality to be seen through your Tweets.
5. You provide even just a glimpse into your personal life whether it’s through an image, video or just in text – we like to know that there is a real person behind the Tweets
6. You retweet others because you truly enjoyed the content they shared.
7. You are actively engaging with new accounts as well as ones you regularly engage with.

Click the options/image below to take the poll on Facebook.

Recently I was educating a local organization on Social Media, mainly Twitter and Facebook, and one of the biggest hangups was hashtags. To me they are simple, I use them all day every day, but when you actually sit back and think about it a hashtag is a bit complicated.

I mean, how do you explain what it is…?

It’s a pound sign in front of a word or phrase or random numbers and letters to allow people the ability to follow a convo, be a part of the convo, get their tweet in front of new people or just add some “flava” to their Tweets.

Make sense? 

If you’re shaking your head, have no fear as I’m sure you aren’t alone on this which is why I am going to try my hardest to show you how to use a hashtag and why using them could be extremely beneficial to your overall Twitter experience.

Using Hashtags To Find Help or Give Tips

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1. Search the hashtag. In this example you’ll see we are searching the hashtag #TwitterTips. By adding the # in front of the words Twitter Tips – NO SPACES – you are able to search relevant Tweets pertaining to Twitter help. You can also use the hashtag in a Tweet should you be the one giving the tips for others to find.

2. Hashtag searches are in real time and are updating as they are Tweeted.

3. Search through the Tweets until you find something that catches your eye.

Hashtags For Twitter Chats

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Participating in Twitter chats is a great way to either share your knowledge OR get answers, be inspired and meet new Twitter users.

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Follow the questions and responses by following the designated hashtag, in this case it’s #SMBChat.

Hashtags For Live Events

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1. Follow the designated hashtag

2. Find Tweeters relevant to that hashtag

3. Follow the live convo happening whether it’s Tweets leading up to the event, such as these, or Tweets happening during the event.

Why bother?

Whether it’s an educational event, election, concert, meetup or any other event you can think of; using the designated hashtag allows for you to meet like-minded individuals and possibly connect with new Twitter users.

People unable to attend the live event are able to also follow along and connect with people that are there, receive tips and content that they would have otherwise missed.

Trending Topics/Hashtags

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A hashtag can also be a Trending Topic. These are found on the right side of your Twitter timeline.

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The #ThingsThatShouldBeBanned hashtag was a Trending Topic a few days ago and this is the Tweet I Tweeted. Anyone following that hashtag had the opportunity to see my Tweet. These people DO NOT have to be following me already, but may turn into new followers.

Tip: Join in the conversation!

My Ridiculous Hashtag Usage and Possible Abuse

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I LOVE to use hashtags, sometimes a little to much and a little too often. I make up my own hashtags a lot.

Why, you ask…

Why not!

Conclusion

Hashtags are a great way to follow a specific conversation, weed out Tweets that do not pertain to what you are searching for or talking about and to stay in the conversation.

Happy Hashtagging!

We’ve always had a birthday tradition in my family where on our birthday we would buy something small for the other people in the family. It probably all started because one of  us threw a fit or was upset that we didn’t have anything to open. Chances are good that it was me, nonetheless…… In keeping that tradition alive this blog post is the best present I could do considering there are so many of you that visit my blog daily. This is my way of saying thank you for encouraging me to share my tips, thoughts and journey this past year.

So here are 31 tips since I’m officially 31…. at least for a year.

1. Social Media is and will always be meant to be social
2. Twitter is a great platform to listen to what your customers are saying about your brand.
3. Your initial goal on your Facebook Fanpage should (most) always be to obtain the “like”
   
4. Become the thought leader on LinkedIn by utilizing the Q&A section.
   

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5. StumbleUpon is great for more than just stumbling. You can find really great content focused around your brand to share with your customers, clients and followers.
6. Plurk has has a strong SL community so if you are a resident and want to meet other awesome Second Life avatars join Plurk.
7. Social Media should never and will never be about the numbers when used properly. It doesn’t matter if you have 100 or 100,000 connections. What matters is the engagement of the connections.
8. Video sharing is great, make sure you use proper keywords and engage/respond to those commenting on them.
9. If you are a business owner make sure you have a business page set up and linked to your “current position” section on your LinkedIn profile.
10. Buying likes and follows will get you nothing except 500+ more connections that wont interact with your brand. Don’t waste your money instead listen, target, engage and build organically.
11. Google+ hangouts are perfect for interviews. Give it a shot.
12. Klout, Klout, Klout….. Stop focusing on a score. Social Media should never resemble that of a popularity contest. I don’t want to think that the only reason you Tweet me is to increase your Klout score.
13. Be yourself….. Everyone else is taken Online. Seriously, check the usernames :p
14. If you’re new, tell us. If you need help, ask. People are very willing to help with anything from a simple Twitter question to web development assistance and even car troubles. I speak from experience.
15. Retweet content on Twitter that you approve, agree with and/or find value in. You do not have to retweet simply because you were asked to.
16. Add your Social Media URL’s to your business cards, website, blog and email signature. Get interaction from multiple sources.
17. Customize your Fanpage and profile URL on Facebook by visiting facebook.com/username. This shortens the URL from having a ton of ridiculous numbers and letters. Example:  facebook.com/KiMediaStrategies looks 100% better than facebook.com/63820Kimedia78298strategies78923hjsajksdg9, right??
18. Forums are very beneficial in many industries. Utilize them if you can and yes… This is most definitely a form of Social Media
19. Track engagement, follows, retweets and interaction with many tools available. I personally use Sprout Social to track LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for not only me and my company, but also all of my clients.
    

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20. Your Mom will always like your Fanpage and so will your Aunt Sue, unfortunately that’s usually all they will do. Personal connections, although nice to have, shouldn’t be relied upon on Facebook.
21. Social bookmarking is great for not only sharing your content but for also building a community. I love Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious and Reddit to name a few. Give it a shot and start connecting.
22. Social Media should never be a place for bullying whether it’s your business competition, an old high school friend or a family member. What happens on the Internet literally stays on the Internet.
23. Use Social Media to track your company’s reputation.
    

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24. Add social sharing capabilities to your website and blog posts.
    

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25. Content truly is everything on these platforms. Provide value, meaningful and engaging conversations and you’re set!
26. Social Media is great for customer service. Let customers know that they can reach you or a rep for your company via Twitter, Facebook and/or LinkedIn
27. Jump into the conversation, it’s the only way to do it.
28. Make sure your employees are aware of any Social Media incentives and promotions you are running.
29. The more you engage, the more you will be engaged.
30. Just because it worked for your competition doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. Think outside of the box and be unique.
31. Take your Social Media engagements into real life. Attend or host meetups and meet the faces behind the images Online.

What are some tips you have?

Twitter just rolled out yet another new feature, the activity feature.

This feature looks pretty similar to Facebook.

View retweets, favorites and follows all under the @Mentions tab

What are your thoughts?

Sites like TwitPic have been the only way to really share an image through Twitter. Why Twitter hasn’t done this until now is beyond me.

However…

No complaints here.

Here is a simple step by step on how to upload an image to Twitter.

Type your Tweet, then click the camera icon and select the image you wish to upload and share with the world. This is how it will appear in your timeline.

What are your thoughts?

I came across this infographic today that will help new Twitter users quickly and easily learn everything there is to know about Tweeting for the every day account.

Embed the above image on your site

Direct Link

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Awesome stuff for sure!

How do you determine who you follow back? Is it with an auto follow tool? Do you hand pick each and every one, and if you do, do you have a specific process for this?

I have been using Twitter since early 2007 and have tried many different ways to not only follow “real” accounts back, but to also cut down the actual time spent following back accounts.

Let me introduce you to the  ”Three Strikes, You’re Out” tactic.

When you are logged in on Twitter.com and you click a new followers name you will see a preview of the Twitterer appear to the right. This is the only chance about 99.9% of people that follow me get to entice me into following them back. The first thing I look at and really the only thing that influences my decision is the Recent Tweets section.

1. If your three recent Tweets are all links like this one, I won’t follow you.

2. RTs are great, but if all three of these are nothing but a retweet (especially retweeting the same account), I won’t follow you UNLESS you are commenting along with the RT.

3. Are you engaging? @Replies that are social and seem to be carrying on a nice conversation is exactly what I’m looking for. If I see this even just once, I WILL follow you.

Social Media is meant to be social. It’s good to have a healthy balance of engagement, promotion, link sharing and retweets.

What are your thoughts?

Do you have any specifics to following and unfollowing?