1 Key Technical Skill for Building Relationships Through Twitter

In a previous blog post, I wrote about tweets that build your business. In this one, I would like to share 1 key technical skill for building relationships through twitter.

The skill is:

The ability to segment your twitter stream.

What does this mean? Twitter moves fast, and the more people you follow, the faster it moves. That amount of information can be overwhelming. In order to deepen your relationships on twitter, you have to be able to segment the people you follow, and/or those that follow you.

Here are 3 ideas for segmenting your twitter stream:

• Mentions.
  
  It is absolutely essential that you have a way to quickly see who mentions you on twitter, so that you can respond. Not acknowledging when someone retweets your tweet or mentions you on twitter is the equivalent of turning your back on someone who is speaking to you (and I know you do not want to do that!). I have my hootsuite application set up so that as soon as I login, the first thing I see are any mentions of twitter ids (mine or my clients').
  
  
  

• Prospects.
  
  Using hootsuite or any other social media management app, you can enter keyword searches for people who might be in the market for your services. "Cluttered office," for example, might be a keyword search to use if you are a productivity expert. Set up the search for everyone on twitter, not just your followers. Once you've set up such a search, all of the people tweeting the term will show up in one column. You can then build relationships with these people by answering their questions on twitter, or connecting off-line.
  
  
  

• Interactions.
  
  To strengthen your social media connections, consider setting up a separate segment of people you've interacted with in one way or another.
  
  This segment could include:
  • Your LinkedIn connections.
  • People you've had conversations with on twitter.
  • Your clients.
  • Your friends.

Like you, I do not have a lot of time to spend on social media, so when I check twitter through my hootsuite app, I check this column to keep up with the people I know.

How to create a stream in Hootsuite.

Creating a stream in Hootsuite is very simple.

• Click the Add Stream button.
  
  
  
• A box pops up allowing you to set up a particular stream, by mentions, keyword searches, lists, etc.
  
  
• Make your choices.
  
  
• Click Create Stream to save your stream.
  
  

Do you have any other ideas for segmenting twitter? Feel free to comment below.

6 Types of Business Building Tweets

by Jackie C. Kiadii, MCP

One of the phrases I hear often in my social media classes is "I just don't get twitter." People are not only perplexed about how they can use twitter to generate business, they just don't know what to "talk" about. So, here are 6 quick ideas for tweets (twitter posts) to help build your business. I encourage you to think of specific ways you can apply these tips in your business.

1. Quotations.
   Quotes are very popular on twitter, and out of all the types of content, quotes are most likely to be re-tweeted.
   
   What kinds of quotes should you tweet?
   
   Anything that resonates with you.
   "I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs." -Frederick Douglass.
   
   You can also tweet any quotes by someone else that underscores the value of your services.
   Anyone one who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. Henry Ford
   
   What is a retweet? A retweet is when someone shares your tweet with their audience. It is preceded by RT. In the example shown below, I am retweeting a quote posted by Monique Neeley.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Your milestones and kudos.
   Yes, don't be afraid to toot your own horn - you've earned it! If a customer provides a glowing review, tweet it!
   
   
   
3. Tips in your area of expertise
   
   Everyone I have shared this tip with has been able to put it into action. What is your area of expertise? Think of specific tips you share with your customers to help solve their problem. Write them down. I am willing to bet you can come up with 52 tips off the top of your head.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Blog posts / articles
   
   Use one of the many automated services to feed your new blog posts to your twitter accounts.
   
   
   
5. Business-related activities
   
   People want to know what's new in your business - feel free to share.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Recognition and appreciation
   Use twitter to publicly recognize the contributions of others. While it won't build your business, it will build someone else's - and it is always better to give than to receive.
   

Thanksgiving and Marketing your Blog - Similarities

by Jackie C. Kiadii, MCP

What does your Thanksgiving turkey have in common with your online marketing? One word - leftovers! Turkey soup, turkey tetrazzini, turkey casserole, turkey salad. Even though Thanksgiving was almost a week ago, I am sure some of you are still finding ways to serve the last of the leftovers.

In the online marketing world, we call it re-purposing content. Once you create content, an imaginative marketer can find almost unlimited ways to use it.

Here is a quick case study.

A client hires us to help improve her website's search engine ranking. One way to improve search engine rank and lead conversion is by adding quality content. Here are at least six ways to use one blog post.

Version 1 - Create a keyword rich, lead generating blog post. A lead generating blog post is high quality content, crafted to speak to the needs of her best prospects and clients.

Version 2 - Use services such as twitterfeed or hootsuite to automatically feed the blog post to twitter, linkedin, and facebook. The beauty of this is we set this service up once and only have to change it if her login information changes.

Version 3 - Does she have prospects who will appreciate this information? If so, we encourage her to share it with a personal note. Showing she is tuned into a prospect's needs is a subtle way of following up.

Version 4 - She can't forget about her clients! She can share the blog post with her clients and include personal notes with specific ideas for incorporating the tips.

Version 5 - We help her reach more people by offering the blog post as content to other bloggers. Creating quality content takes time, and many bloggers will happily accept content that they know will appeal to their target audience. If you'd like to implement this step, start by reaching out to bloggers in your network to see if they are interested in your content. Always include a brief bio section at the end of each blog post so that the new audience knows how to reach you.

Version 6 - Convert her blog post to video, and post it on youtube. Why youtube? Youtube is one of the top 3 search engines, and is also in the top 3 for smartphone users. Video versions of the blog post can be posted on youtube to reach an entirely new audience, and this process is not as difficult as you may think.

This is really just the tip of iceberg - I can easily think of at least 5 more ways to share. I hope this gives you a few ideas on ways to get more mileage out of your blog posts.

Photo source: AndyNash on Flickr.