Twitter, a popular microblogging service and social media platform, can be an extremely valuable asset when conducting your internet marketing campaign.
Through Twitter, your company can find and build relationships with prospective clients, promote your products and services or quickly draw traffic back to your website by adding links in the twitter stream.
On the other hand, Twitter can be an absolute waste of time if you aren’t following the right people or engaging enough people.
So to assure you’re getting the most out of Twitter for your internet marketing campaign, we’ve identified the top ways to grow your network on Twitter. They are as follows:
Identify WHO is your prospective client or customer. Do you sell a product nationally or are you a local practice? Do you market to moms, the “green” community, the over-40 crowd, etc.? Do most of your clients live within driving distance from the practice or can they order your products online? The answer to these questions will determine how to proceed in step 2.
Start looking for “ideal” followers on Twitter using the “find people “link at the top of the main web page or through Twitter directories. If you are looking for local consumers or clients, try typing in your city or state (i.e. NJ, LA, NYC) and see who pops up. However, if you are looking for something more specific (i.e. people that tweet about health), use directories such as Twellow (http://www.twellow.com) or WeFollow (http://wefollow.com/) for a better match.
Once you’ve found people to follow- do so, but slloooowwwwllyy. Especially when just starting out, you don’t want to follow more people than those that follow you. Instead, find a handful of people, follow their accounts and wait a few days to see if they follow back. Thank the ones that follow you publicly and quickly unfollow the ones that don’t respond to your request.
Pay attention to the people your followers are talking to. You’ll be amazed at the wonderful people and potential clients you can find by following “friends of friends” on twitter.
Finally-be sure to TALK to the people you are following! Comment on their status updates or just make small talk. It goes along way when people feel like you really care about them and what they have to say. That’s when your twitter following will start to grow naturally and beyond your wildest expectations!
On a final note-DO NOT SEND AUTO DM’s (Direct Messages) to people that follow you back. Auto DM’s are private messages that basically spam your followers with company information or links to your products/services. This does not make for good “social networking” and can actually cause you to lose followers very quickly.
Just remember-the point of social media is to be social. Use this service to create a “face” behind the brand and you’ll develop recognition and loyalty for life!
Editor’s note: “Tweet And Grow Rich” is an allusion to the famous “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and not some evil online money-making scam.
Editor’s note: this is the first in a series we’re calling “Don’t Believe The Hype”
Rocket Scientist or Pretender to The Throne?
“It’s OK, you’re not cheating on Google”, says the autopopulated search box on the Leapfish homepage. But is Leapfish, the new meta search kid on the block, just another flash in the pan as far as it’s search aspirations are concerned? Innovation and new applications are always welcome in the world of search. It’s obvious however, that except for their “click-free search”, Leapfish is offering nothing new.
Better known for their free domain appraisal tool (which is still available through the search box on their homepage), Leapfish hopes to position itself as a “multi-dimensional information aggregator and search portal” that serves up results from Google, MSN, Yahoo and other engines. But do internet users really need another “me-too” meta search engine in a field overcrowded with new entrants and start-ups jostling for eyeballs?
Leapfish does have some nifty programming juju to support it. Some call it the “fastest search engine” thanks to its click-free search that shows you the search results as you type. For some users the absence of an “enter” key might be a good thing. With its unique search widget interface and reports of its “relationships through APIs in over 200 Web sites dealing with real estate, music, consumer products, traditional search engines,” news-gatherers and reputation managers might find it useful since it cuts down on the task of having to search different engines and sources for information and turns up search results they may have otherwise missed.
A Piece of The Google Pie?
But most searchers looking for the most relevant and useful information on a topic would rather get their results “straight from the horse’s’ mouth” than from an aggregator. Internet users will always gravitate to engines like Google that give them the most relevant results, not one that returns a bunch of choices they have to dig through to find the information they want.
Leapfish’s advertising model is based on selling “sponsored keyword positions” in its top search results for a flat fee. Their 5% yearly renewal fee and openness to resale transactions leaves the field open for keyword arbitrage of the kind that Google is trying to weed out of it’s Adwords program. Selling keywords may not really be the way to attract quality advertisers. As an advertiser, you want to compete with other websites in your industry, not speculators selling your keyword to the highest bidder.
Leapfish also seems to be targeting a different kind of advertiser – those looking for “permanent ad positions” and the “Mom and Pop” businesses who don’t qualify for Google’s Adwords program because their CPC has gone through the roof, as Behnam Behrouzi of Leapfish.com stated in an interview with uber blogger, Robert Scoble, of Fast Company.
Behrouzi also claims that “everyone is competing with Google”. But Leapfish is not Google and their program for advertisers is not subject to the same quality guidelines that Google’s is. Its launch was also marred by reports of click fraud by super-aggressive sales staff, for which Leapfish’s Director of Marketing, Mark Kithcart, issued a clarification and apology.
The real question now is whether Leapfish will offer value to advertisers the way Google’s program does? Even if you don’t consider the fact that Google owns 65% of market share in online search, it seems unlikely that they will make a dent in Google’s share of the search pie anytime soon.
Reputation, market share and sound business practices mean everything to advertisers looking to put their hard earned money where it matters. It hardly seems likely that a new startup like Leapfish will be able to steal any of Google’s thunder anytime soon.
As far as our recommendation goes, Google’s Adwords program is still the best bet for advertisers looking for value and conversions. For those whose ads don’t do well on Google and are willing to shell out a few thousand dollars every year, Leapfish’s advertising model may offer some visibility..
For most internet users and advertisers trying to gain visibility, search aggregators are a mere flash-in-the-pan looking to skim some of the cream off the Big Daddy of search.
“Markets are conversations”, states the Cluetrain Manifesto, the online reputation managers’ Bible. And if you sell any kind of product or service today, you must be part of the conversation or get left out.
Crowd Pleaser – The Power of Word of Mouth
In the days before the internet, reputations were built on word-of-mouth (WOM) and reputation management was a term that referred to damage control and crisis communications. The growing reach of the internet means that online business is now a two-way conversation.
Consumer-generated product reviews play a big role in online purchasing behavior. 55% of US internet users indicate that they check other people’s opinions online before making purchases. A study by Deloitte & Touche USA reports that 18% of customers purchased a beauty or grooming aid based on reviews posted by other consumers.
The fact that reputation matters online is beyond debate. At Search Influence, we believe that business is not just about putting a positive spin on your product or service. It’s also about creating value for your customers. And the value you provide is what will create good buzz online, with positive reviews and comments from happy customers.
Very Satisfied Customer
Customer reviews are not only useful on blogs, forums and review sites. They’ve also been reported to improve site conversion, retention and customer loyalty, and boost search engine results by increasing on-site content.
eBay was one of the first web companies to harness the power of Consumer Generated Media (CGM) feedback. By using user generated feedback ratings, it helped other users make purchasing and selling decisions.
Unfortunately, many businesses are still in reactive mode today. This includes even big brands, such as McDonald’s, KFC and Coca Cola. Few have woken up to the fact that consumer reviews and opinions are playing an increasingly important role in word-of-mouth marketing online. It’s only when they get negative buzz that they go all out to clean up the mess.
One example of how negative buzz can play havoc with your brand is the recent Domino’s Pizza YouTube video fiasco, that resulted in criminal charges being filed against two members of the staff at a Domino’s outlet, for posting a video that shows a staffer shoving cheese up his nose.
To minimize the backlash Dominos uploaded a video on YouTube addressing the issue. Not exactly the most effective way to salvage their reputation. You can bet a lot of people (us included) will be avoiding those pizzas for a while!
In the long run, the best approach is to take a proactive stance on creating and maintaining a good reputation online. Here are some steps we recommend to help you create more positive buzz for your products or services.
Provide value: The #1 rule of thumb for brick-and-mortar stores or offline businesses is also what works best online. Customers appreciate businesses that offer them quality products and services, whether they operate online or off.
Ask for feedback: Are your customers unhappy? Do you get complaints about your systems, processes, staff or services? Ask each customer to fill in a form with feedback and reviews, no matter how inconvenient it can be.
Take action: View your customer’s complaints and feedback constructively and take the steps you need to improve what you’re offering. It’s easier and cheaper to offer a refund or a replacement than it is to clean up the bad press and damage to your business reputation created by an irate customer.
Monitor your online reputation: You could do this yourself using Google Alerts, but if your online reputation matters a lot to you, it makes sense to hire a reputation management firm to monitor buzz about your company.
Participate in the conversation: If your business generates a lot of positive feedback from customers, ask them for permission to use their reviews and testimonials online. Participate in industry forms, social networks and consumer review/opinion sites.
Be Part of The Conversation
Even if your online reputation is suffering, it’s not too late to change the negative perception of your business. You can syndicate articles to industry newsletters and article engines. Put up a blog on your own website and post your articles there. Allow visitors to post comments and reply to them.
Learn about social networking and how to make it work for you. Build a mailing list and keep your subscribers in the loop with an email newsletter. Send out press releases on recent developments in your industry.
Rules of the road for creating visibility online:
Get personal. Build relationships with potential customers.
Be human. Use consumer-speak, not corporate-speak.
Don’t advertise blatantly. A link to your website at the end of a forum post is acceptable.
Be patient and consistent in your efforts. It takes time to build trust and see results.
It’s pretty simple: marketing on the Internet is, on one level, about dominating as much real estate on page 1 of Google as possible.
The typical places to dominate are the left side of the page (natural or organic search results) and the right side of the page (paid search results). However, with the abundance of online directories aggressively marketing themselves, the ability to own more of page 1 of Google for a certain key phrase is more and more attainable.
Many online directories work as lead generation services providing their clients with a profile page that can act as a separate web site in organic rankings. Some even guarantee a certain amount of leads per month for a given cost. Often they will also sell visible real estate on their site for an extra cost (e.g. a banner on the home page).
The main problem is that businesses sign up for these directories 1) without knowing enough about the service to ensure they are going to get an acceptable return on investment (ROI), 2) not knowing how to use these profiles to their fullest ability and 3) not understanding that in signing up they’re paying the directory to compete with them for search engine position.
I have outlined three ways you can begin measuring your ROI for each online directory you are currently under contract with, and those who may approach in the future: tracking, analyzing and optimizing
Bank of America Stock Chart
TRACKING
For each directory/profile listing implement call-tracking numbers. These numbers allow you to track exactly how many calls come in from that listing. This also allows you to track leads throughout the entire process and decide if they are quality leads.
Implement Google Analytics (the best free analytics tool available) to track referring sites (among other things). This allows you to see exactly how many people come directly to your site from your directory listing. There are some directories that can’t be tracked on analytics, so you will have to track these more closely in-house.
ANALYZING
Each month every directory should send you a recap of the activity on your profile. They usually list how many visits to your profile, how many leads you got from the profile, how many leads went to your site, etc. You can use these numbers to compare to your tracking reports. This will also allow you to gauge if the leads are quality or not. Yes, they might bring in their number of guaranteed leads, but they may never convert into procedures, which is where the ROI comes into play.
Reality check with customers: If the customer was looking for you by name, and your lead source intercepted them, they’re not doing you any good and you should discount those leads.
OPTIMIZING
Each listing is different, but it’s important to find out all the ways you can optimize your listing for better visibility. Some allow you to add video, press releases, optimized content, articles, and before/after images – you should take advantage of any opportunity you can. This will allow you to know at the end of your contract that you have done everything possible to utilize the listing and you can accurately measure the ROI (bearing in mind that you are investing your time).
Also be aware of what you can get for free- sometimes free is enough to get you what you need.
If you are considering joining a paid online directory, consider the following before signing the dotted line.
What is the cost per lead (CPL) the directory is guaranteeing, if any?
What is your current CPL for your own website and how does it compare?
How does that directory rank for valuable local and national key phrases?
How many of your colleagues will you be competing with on the site?
What is the site’s reputation (seek opinions from others in your industry)?
How long is the contract? Will they let you out if the leads are no good?
What are they doing to continue optimizing their site for your key phrases?
What is your opportunity cost of promoting their site over yours?
Photo: Phone calls = Money
Being able to answer some of these will give you a good idea if it’s worth a shot.
Again, be aware of what you can get for free – this can sometimes be enough to get you what you need.
Directory advertising isn’t evil. It can help you own more of page 1 and in the case of map based results may contribute to your ranking. Just be aware of the risks, rewards and cost (both monetary and opportunity) of paying someone to compete with you.
Editor’s Note: This was written immediately after the feast in February and has been in queue for publication since (in other words, my bad).
New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center Web Site
New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center graciously hosted the Social Innovation Conference called ‘The Feast’ put on by All Day Buffet. Social change entrepreneurs joined together to talk about the social change movement that is about to explode. As the entire nation in quietly experiencing the beginning stages of a business paradigm shift, New Orleans is growing into the next hot spot for the movement. Some refer to it as the next Silicon Valley because of the incredible opportunities that New Orleans has to offer start up companies, for profit and nonprofit alike.
Echoing Green Web Site
The conference started with a presentation from Heather McGrew of Echoing Green, a 501c3 organization that invests in “new leaders who have untested, smart ideas that deserve to be implemented”. They’re looking for great new social change agents or social entrepreneurs worldwide with new ideas. The focus of Heather’s talk was about ‘identity’ and what that means for an organization, company, and the third sector as a whole.
The cycle of identity goes like this: A start up organization realizes it needs credibility to get funding and investors, it begins to create a brand that people recognize, as the organizations grows the brand becomes more and more widely recognized (credibility) due to press releases, logos, website design, ads, completed projects, etc. The building of the brand can begin to dominate goals rather than the mission of the organization. So, the question becomes, how do we get back to the movement? How do we get back to the social change mission we started out seeking to accomplish?
The organization’s leadership must have the same vision, which must be congruent with the mission. Everyone needs to be on par with and seeking to accomplish the mission. In addition to the mission there are long-term goals that social change entrepreneurs are trying to reach. This one project will change a segment of the system in place but the entire system is the long-term goal. Many social entrepreneurs have this global ambition however; as an organization takes on an identity it becomes territorial of its resources and mission. For example, GTECH, Green Coast Enterprises, and SPOUT may all find themselves competing for some of the same grants, investors, land, etc. Competing over resources to accomplish similar missions is not what the organizations are about. Competition in the third sector, unlike the private sector is less likely to produce successful results. Ideally social change organizations would use the limited resources available to them in the most efficient manner. This means collaboration on a large scale, larger than we have seen yet in this sector; collaboration that is about identifying with the movement not the organization’s brand.
Rachel Botsman and Tamara Giltsoff from Social Innovation Sustainability Space presented a similar message regarding a business paradigm shift and the theme of ‘connectedness’. I thought the most illustrative example of the change that we hope to see more of in the business world is the collaboration between Coca Cola and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Coca Cola has the most water efficient manufacturing plants however the WWF was saying, it really doesn’t matter how efficient your water usage is if there isn’t any water left to use. Coca Cola and the WWF spent years spending money lobbying for their positions. Then Coca Cola understood and formed a partnership working to conserve the water we have now. This is an example of private and public sector organizations identifying themselves with the social change mission not their brands. The overall message being that everything is interconnected and people and organizations need to shift a large part of their identity and the reason they do business toward social change.
NOLA 180 Web Site
Speaking of interconnectedness, NOLA faces a hard battle improving its broken education system. John Alford spoke about NOLA 180‘s plans for implementing a school turn-around plan through out individual schools in New Orleans. Currently, the model is being tested on Langston Hughes Academy where students are held high standards and personal accountability. The students serve a 9-hr school day, have homework, and are taught strong moral principals in addition to academic lessons. Langston Hughes will likely serve as an incubation school for new teachers and administrators to be trained for the eventual take over of another school that seeks to be turned around. John’s models are impressive and daunting, there is a lot going on in them, which means an equal amount of work to do. But, they’re visible, the plan is accessible and all we need to do is execute. As he said, the New Orleans we are building now with young, successful talent cannot be sustained if the future generation of New Orleans is not being educated. The students are connected to New Orleans success.
Voodoo Ventures Web Site
Chris Schultz’, Voodoo Ventures, a local business and social entrepreneur gave an incredibly motivating and inspirational speech about start up organizations. He taught all of us how to execute ‘bootstrapping’ perfectly. That is pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and putting your ideas out there and in motion. Fear of failure should never enter your mind; everyone fails at least once and if you fail you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and move on to the next idea. Also, entrepreneurs often have the ‘impostor syndrome’ that is the fear of being considered an impostor. This, he says, needs to be shoved off as quickly as possible. Of course someone has thought of your idea before, but have they executed it?
Receivables Exchange Web Site
Nicolas Perkin honed in on this point in his presentation about his company The Receivables Exchange. He told the story of how his current investor had almost invested in someone with the same idea a couple years before but, the Receivables Exchange plan had the kinks worked out and the other didn’t. The investor invested in their company and the company has been and still is incredibly successful. Lesson: It’s all about execution. The idea isn’t what makes the company its how it’s executed. What we all need to remember is, as Chris said, ‘the one renewable resource we can all count on is our ideas’. We’ll always have new ideas and some of them are less than stellar but others are treasures. Now we need to ‘just do it’.
Hello Health Web Site
Jay Parkinson founder of Hello Health was the case in point changemaker. Dr. Parkinson is a doctor that has become fed up with the current way America practices medicine. He brought it to our attention that we’re really stuck in the 1970′ in the way America delivers healthcare. You make an appointment, go to the office, fill out a bunch of paperwork, see the doctor for eight minutes, he writes down what happens, tells you a number of things, you leave, forget 85% of what he told you, and then you have no further communication. Then the paper chart is filed away so you have no reference to that either. Insurance companies and other payment options add to the frustration of doctors and patients. In the most simplified way possible to explain the problem, there is no incentive for a doctor to care for their patients as well as possible. And, quite with the current system there is no way for a doctor to do so.
Dr. Parkinson took the social networking tools we use in this century and created a website that allowed patients in his area to look at his goggle calendar, make an appointment and he would make a house call. Billing would be done through PayPal and there was no need for staff, office, and the practice of paper documentation is now documented on your personal medical profile, available online. Now, the doctor is being paid upfront, quality care is provided to the patient, there is no hassle with waiting rooms, and you can communicate with you doctor and access your medical records with ease, at any time. It is revolutionary and is exactly the type of paradigm change that causes systemic change.
Slow Money Book Cover – Copyright Woody Tasch
Woody Tasch, author of Slow Money, introduced social changemakers that have accomplished systemic changes in their communities though years of persistence. An interesting example was organic farming and various other resource-accountable organizations that are working to sustain resources. The point that I took away from his presentation is that everyone needs to be aware of what impact everything we do has on our resources. Putting this knowledge in numbers that we can actually imagine and visualize is key. Let’s not talk in billions anymore, let’s break it down and talk in the amount we can all comprehend.
The type of ideas that Dr Parkinson and other social change agents have are what organizations like Ashoka, All Day Buffet, and Echoing Green invest in. Ashoka, based out of Washington DC, encourages and invests in social entrepreneurs. They offer them invaluable resources and a network that will allow them to stay sustainable.
New Orleans is a fertile ground for startups, nonprofit and profit alike, the plea I heard today is: as NOLA starts to take off, let’s keep our mission’s identity in mind. Let’s create a mission that changes the world because our entire city is working together to create social change. Let’s set the example of how social change innovation should be done for the rest of the world. Let’s create the social change industry that revolutionizes the way businesses, government, and public organizations operate.
, introduced social changemakers that have accomplished systemic changes in their communities though years of persistence. An interesting example was organic farming and various other resource-accountable organizations that are working to sustain resources. The point that I took away from his presentation is that everyone needs to be aware of what impact everything we do has on our resources. Putting this knowledge in numbers that we can actually imagine and visualize is key. Let’s not talk in billions anymore, let’s break it down and talk in the amount we can all comprehend.