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5 Reasons to Avoid Twitter, and Why You Should Not

admin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:40:42 +0000

5 Reasons to Avoid Twitter, and Why You Should Not

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

If you’re not familiar with Twitter then you are probably not up to speed on social networking. But if you haven’t decided to create a Twitter account, you’re definitely not alone. Many internet marketers are wary of using Twitter for a number of reasons. Here are the top 5.

1. Useless Information. It’s true that many Twitter users update their Twitters with completely useless information. Do you really need to know that someone just finished their second cup of coffee or is leaving the office early for a pedicure? The good news is that if you find that you don’t particularly enjoy a person’s tweets, you don’t have to continue following them. But don’t eliminate this option altogether. One of the most important aspects of Web 2.0 is engaging people in all aspects of their lives, even the mundane stuff. Share yourself, welcome the opportunity to let others share themselves with you, and you will go a long way toward building a loyal customer base. People are much more willing to do business with you if they think you have a vested interest in their needs and thoughts.

2. It’s a Waste of My Time. This is probably the most valid reason of all. But the truth is that many marketers generate traffic and leads when potential customers find them through Twitter. When the content you share is relevant and high-quality, you can drive visitors to your website to learn more. Twitter is simply another tool for online marketing, so don’t write it off until you’ve given it a shot to see what it can do for you. Do some of your own research to discover the multitude of business uses for Twitter and you might just be convinced that it’s not a total waste of time after all.

3. It’s Time-Consuming. Like any online endeavor, you can blow a lot of valuable time following your streams and entering your own tweets. But you can salvage some of your time by using RSS feeds to follow relevant conversations. Visit search.twitter.com and click on the link to “Feed for this query.” You can then follow the conversations that are most important and relevant to you and your business. If that’s not optimal for you, simply discipline yourself to check only once or twice per day.

4. Twitter Doesn’t Cater to My Customers. Before you decide that your customers aren’t on Twitter, look for yourself. Go to Search.Twitter.com. Search for the name of your company, the name of your product, and keywords relevant to your business. If you’re afraid that your market may be too niche-y for Twitter, remember that your job as a marketer is to find people where they are. If there are a few folks on Twitter within your niche, put yourself there as well.

5. It Could Lead to Bad Press. Whether you’re on Twitter or not, people are still talking about you, and you need to know about it. Even if there’s poor feedback on Twitter, you need the opportunity to let folks know that you’re aware and that you’re going to do something about whatever it is that has disappointed them. If you respond quickly to the concerns of your detractors, you will go a long way towards putting out potentially damaging fires. Thoughtful responses make a huge difference in customer attitudes. Remember that if a critical mass of bloggers pick up on negative press and write about it themselves, things can get out of hand very quickly. On the other hand, you can make a great name for yourself if you address customer concerns promptly and tactfully.

There you have it. No more excuses for avoiding Twitter. Even if you think it’s the most ridiculous tool ever invented, you still need to check it out for yourself. Give it some time and see what it can do for you. Explore different applications of this valuable tool and let it help you grow your business.

7 Ways to Make the Social Web Work for You

admin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:55:45 +0000

7 Ways to Make the Social Web Work for You

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

If you haven’t yet realized that social networking is now the focal point of internet marketing, then you haven’t been paying attention. Utilizing social networking is more than creating a group on Facebook or opening a MySpace account. A business owner who truly understands social networking has a gift for taking a broad view of the internet. Where do people gather on the internet? What do they talk about?

How do they talk to each other? The difficulty with using social networking as a marketing strategy is that social networking requires marketers to step outside of their comfort zones and find new ways to deliver their messages. It doesn’t require a total rejection of traditional marketing techniques, but if you’re unwilling to follow your gut and build authentic relationships, then it might not be right for you.

Potential customers are constantly bombarded with marketing messages in some form or another. What they really want is to make authentic connections with other people, which is why social networking is such an overwhelmingly popular phenomenon. To be successful, you have to make those connections instead of simply throwing your message out there to see where it sticks. In fact, if you’re using social networking the right way, you might not even feel like you’re “marketing” anymore.

Here are 7 keys to building authentic communities on the internet:

1. Create of map of your customers. Keeping your niche market in mind, find the places on the internet that have the most influence on your potential customers. What are your potential customers and your competitors talking about? Does your company have anything to add to the conversation?

2. Recruit. Now that you’ve figured out where your potential customers are and what they’re talking about, invite them to talk with you.

3. Determine the appropriate platform(s). Which of the following will work best for your goals: social networking sites, e-communities, blogs, or reputation aggregators?

4. Engage your community. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is the place where you have to put your most authentic self out there and engage the people you’ve recruited to be part of your conversation. Be real and be genuine. Make this about a conversation, not about selling something. Mostly importantly, find a balance between content generated by your users and content generated by your enterprise.

5. Measure involvement. Watch your community carefully over time and pay attention to what resonates most with them.

6. Promote, promote, promote. Your site may not need much promotion. If that’s the case, then consider yourself lucky. But if you find that you need to promote yourself, go seek out places where that can happen. Invite yourself to someone else’s place and then invite them back to yours.

7. Give incentives. Once you have a quality community, focus on giving people a reason to stay. Be aware of what works and what doesn’t, what people enjoy and what they don’t. Always look out for ways to make your community more friendly, useful, convenient, and rewarding.

The most important part of marketing through social networking is to make sure that your community adds values to its users. If your users feel like they’re getting good advice, good information, and making good connections, then they’re more likely to stick around. And it’s your job to facilitate a quality community. It may not feel like marketing, but it may be some of the most important marketing you ever do.

If you’re not sure whether now is the time to make social networking part of your overall marketing strategy, go ahead and take the plunge. Climb the learning curve now, ahead of your competitors, and build your communities. You’ll be glad you did