Twitter Strategies: 6 Reasons To Build An Affiliate’s List

ComputerShopper.com published this deansguide article 12-31-09

One quick, simple, and relevant Twitter strategy is to build lists. One of the easiest first steps is to build a list with all of your affiliates, parnters, or service providers. This list, much like a blog’s blogroll, allows people to see who you work with and what they do.

Tip: if all of your partner-affiliates establish Twitter accounts and build an Affiliate list with you on it, this will increase your “findability” and viral effectiveness.

Build An Affiliate List

• Showcase your affiliates
• Add value to your readers by giving them a one stop shop for service providers
• Market your affiliates to your network on Twitter by creating the Affiliates list
• Viral effectiveness is increased by the number of lists you are on; to get there you have to give first
• Links are created for each list once you have established a list
• Deliver your Affiliates list link to people you believe would benefit from your service providers by writing a tweet which includes the Affilate’s List link

Twitter Strategies: Twitter Jargon In Plain English

ComputerShopper.com published this deansguide article 12-30-09

Before you can use Twitter you must first understand the lexicon, jargon that people use within Twitter. The following is a list of 20 jargon words or phrases on Twitter.

Twitter to English

• Twitter: a micro-blogging social network using 140 character messages

• Micro-blogging: a shorter version of blogging

• Blog: contraction of the words Web and Log. Think of Capt. Kirk and his “Captains’ log star date entries” yes I am a Star Trek geek

• Tweet: a 140 character (or less) message sent by you to your “network”

• Network: those folks who follow you on Twitter

• Followers: people or companies that follow your Tweet stream

• Tweet Stream: the log of messages (tweets) you have compiled since you established your Twitter account

• RT: aka ReTweet is a way to recognize and suggest someone’s content to your network of followers. It begins with a RT in front of their message. There is a new feature that allows you to RT without using the RT

• Following: these are people or companies you choose to follow on Twitter

• What You See: you will see “tweets” from the people-companies you follow

• DM: aka direct message. This is Twitter’s version of private email between users

• DM Spam: unfortunately the vast majority of DM’s are spam sales pitches with no concern as to whether you have established a relationship with that person or company

• MLMers: these are the worst DM spammers on Twitter. The Multi Level Marketing armies that promise you riches if you buy their products and recruit your “down-line”

• Twitter Bio: this is the area where you can briefly describe your company. They allow you to place one hyperlink in your bio

• Mining the Blogroll: many folks looking for the right people to “follow” go to the “blogroll” on the right sidebar that is a picture box of people-companies that person follows. From this list you can begin to build the people or companies you wish to follow

• Twitter Search: this is the goldmine where you can input keywords to find prospective clients, current clients, people talking about your area-product-service etc.
• Keywords: Ex you work for a hotel resort in Miami. You are looking for vacationers and people visiting Miami. Some great keywords to input into Twitter search: “Miami” “Going to Miami” “Vactioning in Miami” “Resorts in Miami” “In Miami”
• #: hastags are pound signs you can type in front of a word. When you do this this sends your tweet to a tweet stream that is being followed by a large group of people. EX #Followfriday this is an event that happens every Friday where each Twitter user can “recommend” people or companies to other Twitterers to follow
• Lists: a fantastic way to go viral or move your content to many folks. When you are listed by people you are showcased within a niche for folks to observe

• Tweet-Up: this is a real world live meeting of people who use Twitter. There are Tweet-ups going on nationwide and they are fantastic ways to network within your community

Twitter Strategies: Twitter List Etiquette

ComputerShopper published this deansguide article 12-29-09
It is important to have a set of Twitter strategies in order to get the most out of your time and effort on this vital social network. One of the best and fastest twitter strategies involves viral effectiveness. Simply put, the following strategy will support your effort to move more people to your blog, website, social network or a particular page.

Twitter List Etiquette

Twitter lists allow users to compile lists of their favorite, people, companies, or things to follow on Twitter. The following is a best practices tip on how to make your content more viral:

• Recognize: thank everyone who includes you on a list with a public @tweet
• ReTweet: Retweet the link to the list you are included within
• Follow: if you feel compelled or if the person or company looks like a fit for your strategy follow your lister
• DM: send a direct message as a second thank you for their kindness in including you on their list(s)
• Blogroll: if you are a blogger, and your supported on multiple lists by the same person or company, consider giving them a link on your blogroll

Job Seeker’s Procrastinating: Start Job Search By Building Your Network

Since moving away from the employment niche as our focus, I have written sparingly about how to leverage social media in a job search. Although the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of job seekers blogging and leveraging social media, many job seekers remain unmoved.

For all of the nay saying job seekers who believe a resume is enough to land a job in today’s world, we point to Chapter 71 “Career Guidance for This Century” from Guy Kawasaki’s “Reality Check.” Penelope Trunk the author of “Brazen Careerist: The New Rules For Success” provides the nine biggest myths of the workplace.

The Nine Biggest Myths of the Workplace: #6 You Need a Good Resume

According to Penelope:

• Resumes: only 10% of jobs come from sending a blind resume
• Networks: most people get jobs by leveraging their network
• Resume vs. Network: you need a competent resume that will showcase the fact that there are no red flags in your history BUT it is your network of people, connections, and audience that will be the reason you find a job-not the resume

5 Reasons Companies Must Adopt A Mobile Web Strategy Now

If you are considering whether having a mobile web strategy is a necessary piece to your business plan, the following should help you understand–it’s not just necessary but a must. Jon Cooper of the Philadelphia Business Journal wrote a great article outlining facts and a beginning strategy. Let’s take a look at Jon’s suggestions.

5 Reasons Your Company Must Support a Mobile Strategy

1. Four (4x) or five (5x)  times as many people have cell phones as have PCs.

In our opinion, PCs will be going the way of the cord tethered land line phone–bye bye

2.Mobile digital content “hitches a ride in the consumer’s pocket and may literally guide him/her to your store or office.”

In our opinion mobile users who share content, in real time, can share positive and negative experiences about your business. If you are not there to answer them they will leave this information unchecked on one of the hundreds of review sites (Yelp) available to them

3. Text messages far outperform e-mails in key metrics such as open rate. Ninety-five (95%) percent of text messages are typically opened inside the first 15 minutes. Your e-mail outreach program is struggling to maintain double digit open rates inside of several days.

In our opinion, the open rate and time frame of open, 95%, far out performs the traditional open rates (15-25%) of e-newsletters or email marketing (spam) campaigns.

4. Text messaging is short but they have the ability to carry, deliver shortened urls to a strategically targeted audiences.

In our opinion, this is a huge advantage in delivering messages in real time that provide call to action lead generation for a business

5. The combination of text messaging and mobile Web pages are “a powerful means of communicating important information to your audience.”

In our opinion, this is the key to the next generation of online communication and a wave that should not be missed.

Twitter Strategies: Targeted Follow List For DM Power

DM Spam from @ScottPotential

One of the biggest Twitter mistakes many brands make is to either blindly follow everyone that follows them or follow nobody . In the first case, the stream gets clogged with useless spam junk. In the latter, your brand is perceived as arrogant. If companies considered the DM channel a valuable tool to communicate authentically they could leverage it for a number of activities.

5 Reasons Why Targeted Follow List Cleans Up the Direct Messaging Channel

• DM Spam: Following targeted consumers ensures that your direct message (DM) channel will contain (primarily) useful messages from your prospective consumers, partners, or networking partners
• DM Messaging: a direct message is more useful as a “clean” private channel to deliver information
• Perception: if consumers know your DM messages are filled with useful content, they will pay attention to your messages and consider them valuable
• DM Marketing: once a brand’s DMs are known to be valuable, a company can then deliver call to action marketing messages
• DM Sales: the DM channel is NOT a sales channel. If a brand utilizes marketing and informational messaging they will be very effective with their consumer base

Guy Kawasaki’s Email Writing Strategy

If you are like me, email is still an important channel of communication. Unfortunately you may also suffer from the tendency to write lengthy emails that nobody wants to read. Yes you need to include detail, but the length of an email can turn off a reader as much as a spam hard sell sales pitch. Guy Kawasaki gives great advice for writing emails in his book “Reality Check.”

Guy Kawasaki’s Email Guidelines

• Length: “The ideal length of an email is five (5) sentences
• Content: “The ideal content level is one (1) idea
• Identify: “Simply explain who you are in one (1) or two (2) sentences
• Ask: once you identify yourself, “get to the ask”
• Don’t Ask: “If it’s not reasonable (your request), don’t ask at all”