Twitter Strategies: 3 Steps to Avoid Being Mistaken As A Spammer

Twitter strategies are numerous and often confusing. The moment you think you understand the network, something new poses a challenge to your efforts. One of the first challenges new Twitter users will experience is understanding who to follow. The first and worst mistake new users make is to beginning following hundreds of people or companies immediately. The resulting lack of strategy places the new Twitter user in what is called a “upside” down position. Simply put if you follow hundreds and very few are following you, you give the appearance of a spammer, MLM hard sell marketer, or worse yet an affiliate marketer.

This is a very basic first phase description of how to screen the people and companies that follow you. Due diligence is important, unless you are a spamming hard sell MLM or affiliate marketer, to building an effective network. Let’s examine my due diligence steps with social media analyst Jerimiah Owyang:

3 Due Diligence Steps to Build Your Twitter Network

1. Read Bio: read the bio of the person-company following you. Understand what they do and if they fit into your network of followers, if they provide information valuable to you, if they have a large network you wish to leverage, and if they are in your industry or niche.
   
2. Links: click through the link provided in the bio. This link should lead to a website-blog with mission statements, purpose, goals, industry, and niche. This IS my most important step in the due diligence process.
3. Tweet “Stream”: read the tweet stream to understand what is being written. Does the person or company provide valuable information to you and your network? Is this person providing new thought leadership like Jeremiah? Do they share techniques or new processes? Do they tweet breaking news about your industry or niche?

Conclusion

It is up to you how you screen your twitter followers and who you will follow in return. I utilized this process 80% of the time. The downside to this process is that it is time consuming. The upside is the fact that you will have a more targeted network that will serve your research, broadcasting, prospecting, sales, networking, announcement, crowdsourcing needs in the future

4 Ways Twitter Could Eliminate DM Spam

In our last article “Twitter Strategies: 7 Day Waiting Period on Direct Messages” we described 3 methods to curb or eliminate DM spam.  The following list are four more ways to eliminate DM spam on Twitter like the example below:

4 Ways Twitter Could Eliminate DM Spam

• Crowdsourcing Court: Twitter users vote on the guideline of penalties awaiting a company or individual who is found guilty of spamming the Twitter network. Base it on Dell’s Ideastorm crowdsourcing site
• Eliminate Links: disallow the use of links in any DM messages with the hope that spammers will no longer see the benefit of using a DM
• Less than 140: cut the number of characters in half for a DM making it a 70 character messaging channel thus challenging a spammer’s ability to create spam
• DM Limit: create a limit for the number of DMs allowed each Twitterer per month. Once you reach your limit, you have to wait until the next month to send a direct message

Twitter Strategies: 7 Day Waiting Period On Direct Messages

Holy smokes Scott this is the lamest attempt to persuade me to do anything-  let alone what I already do in my business. Did you even look at my bio my friend? Do I really “Rock”?  Wow what an offer how can I refuse?– deansguide

The worst aspect of Twitter, the microblogging sensation with multiple benefits, is their implementation of a Direct Message feature. Known as a “DM”, this feature has morphed into the biggest spam tool and channel on the social network. Affiliate marketers, Multi Level Marketers, hard sell rip off artists, and anyone with a scam can (and WILL) deliver their messages.

The problem of DM spam is so previlant that the majority of savvy Twitter users do not monitor this channel more than once a week. What can Twitter do about this problem?

3 Twitter Ideas To Curb DM Spam

• 7 days: require a 7 day waiting period before a DM can be sent when a follow-follower relationship has been established
• Opt In-Out: create a opt in-out option where Twitterers can either choose to receive DMs or turn the DM channel off
• Penalties: automatically penalize Twitter spammers who violate “content regulations” created to stem the tide of unwanted hard sell sales pitches and phishing activities

5 Blog Writing Tips To Engage Online Readers

Blog writing is vastly different from “long” writing seen in newspapers and magazines. The idea behind blog writing is to capture a reader’s attention immediately, create succinct articles, and keep the word count under 500 words when possible.

5 Tips to Engage Online Readers

1. F Shape Theory: Jakob Nielsen, Time magazine’s King of Usability, formulated a theory describing online reading habits. Online readers, according to Nielsen, read the title first, then scan down the left side bar looking for keywords important to them. If the reader finds a keyword they scan left to right into the body of the text. If the reader does not find a keyword they scan down the left side bar and leave. The F Shape Theory

2. Bold: Utilize the Bold feature to help text stand out, pull the human readers eye to keywords and subheadings, and more readable for Google ‘bots

3. Bullets and Numbers: Online readers love bullet and numbered lists. Use these list articles as often as possible

4. Images: Pictures attract the eye and help hold the reader’s interest. Utilizing screenshots is a very effective method of teaching your readers when producing any how-to articles. Example below:

5. Video: This adds a higher level of engagement for the reader. Youtube.com is also a very prominent social network that can drive traffic to your site. Warning: videos should be succinct like written content. Any video over 3 minutes is usually too long unless it is a training vehicle for your audience. Example of lawyer Gary Gwilliam’s compelling video about his fight to conquer alcoholism and addiction:

 

Facebook Fan Widgets & Blogs: Ignored Viral Marketing Opportunities

Viral marketing strategies on social networks are often overlooked. One such instance is the opportunity to become a fan of a prominent well read Facebook page for a company or prominent blogger. The key is to find out if the company or blogger has a Facebook fan widget box on their blog. Here is an example of this opportunity.

Become a Fan of a Prominent Facebook Page:

Many blogs with massive traffic (Mashable), have Facebook fan page widgets.  These Facebook widgets, sitting in a prime area of the blog,  display pictures of each new registered fan (or logo) as well as the link to that fan’s own blog or website.

New blog readers, who come to these blogs, can simply roll their cursor over a picture, within the Facebook widget, to find the name and link back to that person or company’s blog. This becomes a pathway to  content providing instant viral marketing possibilities.

Mashable.com: Viral Marketing Dreams Are Made

See the shot below of the Mashable Facebook widget:

With over 60,000 Facebook fans and  an Alexa ranking of 483, Mashable.com is one of the most well read sites in the world according to the statistical sampling done by Alexa. Likewise, Dan Schawbel is one of the most prominent social media writers in the blogosphere today.

The Results

Our CEO Inner Architect’s Susan Hanshaw was displayed in the Facebook fan page widget on the Mashable page for Dan Schwabel’s article. This placement helped bring an additional 40 readers to our blog the day the article was posted.

We also found on the Mashable widget friend and associate Pat Kitano principle of Domus Consulting Group and former workshop attendee Ellen Richman.

Twitter Strategies: 8 Reasons To Make “Following” Widget a Blogroll

What fixes or features would you implement on Twitter if you were one of the principles? If I could fix something simple it would be to give each user control over the “blogroll” aka people you follow list that shows on the right side bar. This “following” widget shows the last 36 people or companies you have followed. What if you could choose the 36 people or companies who are displayed in this widget? This widget then becomes a true blogroll and it’s functionality becomes very important. This is what I could accomplish with this new feature:

8 Reasons to Make “Following” Widget a Functional Blogroll

• Showcase: I could provide exposure for my most influential people-companies I follow
• Best of Class: my following widget could be populated with the best providers of information
• Perception: the perception of me or my company suffers in the eyes of my followers if less than appropriate or different people are showing up in my following widget aka blogroll
• Change: provide each user the ability to change their “blogroll” daily, weekly, or monthly. This would allow me to run blogroll themes. Examples would include best of social media; social media companies, best hyper local resources, best regional information, niche information
• Hashtags: I could feature the most prominent Twitterers from hashtags
• RT: I could feature the most prominent RTers of my information as a recognition and thank you
• DM Abusers: I could feature companies or people who use the DM as a spam messaging channel; This would be a warning system for users
• Unfollowing: this could be a list of people or companies I am about to unfollow

10 Reasons Why Job Seekers Should Blog: Major Corporations Are Already Blogging

Courtesy Jorn Barger Wiki

As Business Director for Inner Architect, my first priority is solidifying relationships with prospective clients in our industries of choice. Before we focused on Direct Marketing driven social media marketing strategies for corporations, our first niche of focus was the employment niche.

As early as June of 2008, we began writing about how important blogging would be to job seekers in finding a new position. Throughout 2008 and through Q1 of 2009 we continued to postulate and support blogging as the near perfect method for job seekers to differentiate themselves in landing a job. Unfortunately our messages mostly fell on deaf ears–leaving us no choice but to look for other niches more willing to leverage blogging in their businesses.

In today’s world, Corporations, small businesses, and entrepreneurs have adopted blogging in a steady stream since the advent of Web 2.0. The actual number of established blogs is in debate, yet the rough estimate is that their are over 150,000,000 blogs in existence today.

The vast majority of job seekers are not  adopting blogging as a method and tool in their job search. Although this group has the need, and blogs are the nearly perfect application, the move to adoption is almost non existent. The following are 10 reasons why job seekers should blog.

10 Reasons Job Seekers Should Adopt Blogging

1. Publishing Platform: a blog is the writing platform to begin creating content about you
2. Control: blogging allows job seekers the opportunity to control their own information about their expertise and experience
3. Delivery: blogs are delivery systems for a job seeker’s content. The url for articles can be delivered to potential employers that currently blog
4. Networking: a blog allows job seekers to meet other bloggers; hopefully those new connections work for their targeted companies
5. New Skills: by adopting blogging, job seekers begin to learn about Web 2.0, social networks, blog software, delivering links, and how the new paradigm shift of information is being formulated everyday
6. Perception: job seekers that blog are perceived as being more savvy, as younger due to the perception that social media-blogging is a young person’s activity, and more relevant to employers because of these new skills
7. Visibility: blogging allows job seekers more visibility as a blog is “open” 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. It is a organic, living resume
8. Reputation Management: blogging provides a tool for job seekers to deliver messages that can correct or challenge erroneous information about them online
9. Due Diligence: when hiring managers perform due diligence on a job seeker, the first place they begin is with a Google search of that candidate. Hiring managers are looking for information in Google (and online) that will give them a clue as to that candidates’ understanding of the internet. Equally important is the fact that hiring managers are also searching for any bad behavior or personal information that might signal the candidate is unfit to become an employee
10. Research: blogging requires research. Research requires skills in searching and finding information online which is a new skill for many job seekers. Research into specific subject matters that pertain to a job opening will increase a job seekers knowledge base on that subject

Realtor’s Greatest Analytics Tool: Hubspot’s Website Grader

Realtor blog sites are being created everyday to support careers, businesses, and communities. But do you know how to measure your progress once you have launched the blog? Do you have analytics in place? Are you measuring through Google Analytics, WordPress statistics, Alexa, Quantcast, Sitemeter and other traffic measuring sites?

Website Grader Measures

The best tool you can use to analytically measure your blog or website is hubspot’s Website Grader. Hubspot, a Boston based social media analytics marketing firm, is one of the leading industry think tanks devoted to everything social business.

• On Page SEO: analysis includes meta data, headings, images, & interior pages
• Off Page SEO: analysis includes domain info, Google Page Rank, Google Indexed Pages, last Google “crawl” date, traffic rank including Alexa ranking, Inbound links, blog directory listings
• Blogosphere: includes analysis of url established, Technorati ranking
• Social Mediasphere: analysis includes listing in bookmarking sites del.cio.us, digg
• Converting Leads: determines whether your site has RSS feed, Conversion form
• Competitive Intelligence: keyword analysis and info on competing websites closely related to your site

Seller’s Agent Networking Strategy: Target Employment Agencies

Handshake Wiki

One of the most intriguing networking strategies for Realtors has yet to be truly leveraged here in Northern California. The idea is simple: Realtors should seek partnerships with employment agencies and individual headhunters as their next referral niche. At the same time, employment agencies and their individual headhunters should be targeting successful relocation agents for referral opportunities

Benefits of Networking with Employment Agencies

• Lead Generation: employment agencies deal with job loss which often results in a necessary quick sale of primary property, investment property, or vacation home sales
• Partnership: Realtors who partner with employment agencies could have an added value over their competition if they are privy to jobs, the hidden job market, and can guide people to those positions
• Value Add: relocation agents could market their services with the special value add of  employment information via their employment agency partnerships. They become the go-to source of employment information for their region or niche. Ex: Silicon Valley would be a prime place for an aggressive agent to become a go-to source of employment information
• Employment Agency Associations: by networking with employment agencies the possibility of involvement into employment agency associations could accelerate the referral process
• Speaking Engagements: joining or being invited to speak at Employment Agency Associations would provide more opportunities to broadcast your business to a new audience

Realtor’s Strategy: Utilize Pictures-Video to Elicite an Emotional Response

Real estate is all about location, location, location whether it means the location of a property or the location of your marketing efforts. We toil long and hard to ensure we are utilizing facebook, twitter, linkedin, blogging and other social networks. If you have a social media marketing strategy, you are already ahead of the masses that are sure to continue to adopt all of these networks. Whether you have a social media marketing strategy or not, here is a “location” that inspires me.

This is a shot of a vineyard row, taken in November of 2008, during late harvest in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley on the Silverado Trail. This picture represents the passion and love I have for this location–do you use pictures and video to elicit an emotional response?