A Letter To A Twirgin: 7 Things Every New Twitter User Needs To Know

Dearest Twirgin,

I see your little egg head pop into my Twitter stream and it warms my heart. I remember the trepidation I felt when I first logged into Twitter Town. ”Who is listening to me?” ”Will anyone care what I say?” ”How do I even find people to ‘FOLLOW’?” and “Who are these strangers following me? Should I be concerned?”

Like any new town, there are warm and welcoming people who are excited to share knowledge with you and show you the ropes, but go down the wrong alley and there are seedy people trying to sell you $10 Gucci handbags (I know…horrifying!)

Twitter experts, social media for business, how to use Twitter

Pssst, Hey You...Twirgin

You will meet many, so-called “social media experts” in Twitter Town; many wanting to sell you some advice, some secret formula to build your Twitter following fast! Some will promise you thousands of followers in a week. Others will guarantee you will find fame and fortune among the Twitter branches. Beware tender Twirgin…Beware of sleazy birds.

Pull up a branch young chicklet and allow me to share some advice; advice gathered from other smart birds here in Twitter Land and from an one old bird whose been around awhile.

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An Old Bird Who's Been Around Awhile

People typically come to Twitter Land looking for smart and engaging conversation with people who have similar interests. They are looking for interesting content that will help them do their jobs, build a business, or just live happier lives. These 7 tips will help you attract and engage the right people and enjoy a long and happy life here in Twitter Town:

Create an engaging bio. Don’t just tell us where you work or load it with keywords so you will be found. Let your bio be a great introduction (in 160 characters of course) showcasing your interests, talents and a bit of personality. Take a look at the bios of people as you connect. What do you find interesting? What makes a bio look more like a keyword loaded shingle hung outside one of those dark alley doorways?
Be sure to crack that eggshell default graphic Twitter gives you, and load a photo of YOU! We want to talk to people. It is easier for people to connect with someone who is a real person rather than a brand. Sure there are brands that must use a logo, but then they have to work twice as hard to engage and show human personality! Here are more tips on using a GREAT head shot from Neil McKenzie, a marketing guru who happens to be a professional photographer as well.
Don’t auto-follow everyone who follows you. Auto-following prevents you from seeing who you are actually connecting with. If a spammer or porn site follows your updates, they are hoping you will not look at their profile and just automatically follow them back so they can pump (or pimp) their polluted content into your Twitter stream! Just make a practice of looking each day at the list of new followers, either from tools like TweetDeck that provide you a list of New Followers, or go straight to Twitter.com and click on FOLLOWERS) and follow back the ones that look interesting and SMART!
Don’t send out auto-messages to people who start following you. Sure automation is great and there are many who will argue with this old bird on this one, but I stand firm on my branch when it comes to this one. Sending automated messages to new followers is a common practice, but despised non-the-less. An automated DM (direct message) is about as personal as the pre-printed holiday card you get from an insurance broker you’ve never met (sorry if you are an insurance broker that I have never met and you find that offensive, but that might be why your cards are going straight into the trash upon opening!) Remember those birds I spoke of that will try and sell you systems to automate everything? DON’T DO IT!
Don’t be so paranoid that you need to sign up for a service that makes Twitter citizens prove they are REAL people before you follow them back. One such annoying service is TrueTwit. These are for people who are too lazy to check out their new followers for themselves. It is extremely annoying to get a message telling you that you must first prove you are a real person by clicking on links and typing garbled words into a box just so you can have the privilege of that person following you back. FORGET ABOUT IT–I immediately unfollow anyone who uses that service. Sometimes I even send them a message telling them to do their own work. It’s one of my greatest pet-peeves on Twitter, and Im not the only one who feels this way.
Be interesting and helpful. Post a few tips or statements allowing people to see the kind of content you are interested in. Reply to or ReTweet (forward) content from people as you connect with them. If you have nothing interesting or helpful to say…sit quiet and consume that smart content coming in from those you are meeting here. There is no law here in Twitter Town that says you MUST tweet. Trust me, it is better to sit silent on your keyboard than to start flapping that Twitter beak with useless information about how painful that Epilator hair removal system was when…actually, I would want to know about that so keep talking.
Don’t just broadcast information about YOUR upcoming million dollar seminar, YOUR new book that came out last month, YOUR new sales system or YOUR webinar starting next week. You might as well spray yourself with bird repellant because every Twitter bird for a hundred trees will avoid you. Ask questions to engage people in conversations. Give input or reply to content posted by others here, AND THEN occasionally let us know how great you are. Remember, there is never an unpopular listener!

social media for business, how to use Twitter, Twitter for business, social media management, Gina Schreck

It's Time to FLY!

Now young Twirgin, it is time. Time for you to spread your tender wings and take flight. Come by and visit any time–day or night, I’m usually here and I’ll leave the light on in the nest for you.

If you or your organization need help using Twitter or other social media platforms for your business, you can call, tweet or even email us! Our flock is always willing to help. Check out our Facebook Page that offers loads of free content for building your business with social media, and spend some time here on our website checking out all the juicy content.

How to use Facebook for business, Social media for business, Gina Schreck, Gina shreck

Chief Hooligan and Old Bird

3 Lessons from Gilligan on Brand LOVE and LOYALTY!

Get a group of 500 adults in a room and start singing, “Now sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…” and the room will complete the song knowing every word of the Gilligan’s Island opening. That 60′s sitcom (ran from 1964-1967) has a special place in the hearts of Gilligan fans! (It might have something to do with the fact that there were only 3 channels to watch at that time) With the recent passing of the show’s producer Sherwood Schwartz I wanted to revisit this phenom of a brand!

Gilligan's Island

The fact that the show was only on for 3 yrs (The Brady Bunch for 5 yrs) and yet we all know the characters, the theme song and have our favorite episodes, is pretty amazing! How can our brand have that lasting of an impact in the hearts of our fans? Here are 3 lessons we can glean from Gilligan:

We related to the characters
Gilligan was goofy and fun-loving, the Skipper was controlling but lovable, the professor was geeky (and hot), of course every girl wanted to be like Ginger but completely related to Maryann. We got to know the characters and realized we were like them. Do you let your fans get to know the characters of your organization? How can you share a bit more about the real people to allow fans to relate better?
We wanted to contribute
I can’t tell you how many times I yelled to Gilligan to “LOOK TO YOUR LEFT” when there was a boat passing by, or to tell the Professor that his device had been unplugged by the monkey that came by earlier when only I was watching. We were frustrated that there were celebrities and strangers who would find their way on and off of that island in each episode and yet the 7 castaways could never make it home. We wanted to contribute our brilliance. Your fans want to contribute as well. Ask for them to share their brilliance in creating new product and service offerings.

I helped build this robot!
We heard from them regularly
I don’t think I missed an episode of Gilligan’s Island in the 60′s and with reruns that are still playing today, we heard from these 7 characters over and over again. They have entertained us and kept our interest for over 45 years now! Social Media allows us to be in front of our customers, fans and potential customers each day. Make sure you are interesting and providing value, and they will let you into their hearts for years to come!

Now sing along with me…. Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailing man, the skipper brave and sure, five passengers set sail that day for a 3-hour tour.

Let me know if you and your brand need help building FAN engagement and loyalty. Our team is as passionate about helping our customers engage socially and build business as I was in watching Gilligan! 303.978.0887

(More fun Gilligan lyrics trivia)

Gilligan's Island FAN for 40 + Years

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

July 13, 2011 | Filed Under Brand Management, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media for Business | Leave a Comment

Spring Cleaning on Your Social Sites: FACEBOOK

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It Is TIME!

Last weekend I decided it was time to clean my office. Not just put away papers or bring coffee cups back into the kitchen, which I also did, but I mean, unplug every device and reroute plugs, shred stacks of old bills, dust under and around printers kind of cleaning. I had so many cords woven under and around my desk, I was sure there would soon be a fire (at least I wouldn’t have to shred or file the paper!) I had old files and empty binders that I was saving “just in case” that need for a used ugly, white binder would come up. I had sticky notes that would have sent shivers down any professional organizers back piled up “to read later.”

I had been putting this off, but lately found that it was taking me longer to find things, and I was always trying to guess which plug I could safely unplug so I could fit in one more gadget! Spending a couple hours cleaning can save you multiple hours of time. This same principal applies to our social media platforms. Let’s tackle one at a time, as not to overwhelm you. Here are 7 tips to help you be more efficient and much more effective with your Facebook account.

Let's Get Cleaning

Cleaning Your Facebook Profile

Go through Facebook contacts and put into lists (clean out unused Lists).
Simply go up to ACCOUNT and EDIT FRIENDS (yea-too bad we can’t do this in real life!). Now you can CREATE A LIST or EDIT CURENT LISTS. You can send content out to specific lists and most importantly, you can read updates JUST from a specific list when your time is limited–so create your lists accordingly.
Unfriend people you never communicate with or that you do not know...It’s time.
Yes, most of us have been guilty of “friending” someone just because we had 500 people in common with them, but if you have not engaged in conversation or learned anything new about the person…it’s time to break it off! Go to their profile and look for the UNFRIEND link under their profile picture. I know, some of you who are conflict avoiders will find this difficult, but it’s actually easier than sending a Dear John letter!
Pick your fab five photos for your wall.
Facebook showcases 5 of your most recently tagged or loaded pictures on the top of your profile page. Some Facebook pages look like a random mess with photos of someone’s abdomen or the side of a building that you can’t make out. Start by clearing out the UNDESIRABLES. Click on the tiny X in the upper right corner of the photo. It will ask you if you want to HIDE PHOTO–say YES. This does not delete the picture. It will still be in your photos tab or on the page of the person who tagged you in it, but it will not be displayed on your profile banner. Now YOU decide which 5 photos you want representing YOU. To keep those 5 up there, you will have to check regularly and HIDE any new tags that try and encroach on the space.
Remove apps you are not using.
This is both, good for cleaning up your page from looking like that of a 14 year old with quizzes and POKES all over it as well as for safety and security! Third-party apps are allowed to use the Facebook platform, but they are not necessarily governed by Facebooks privacy policies. Only use apps that you NEED and know are not malicious in nature. Many people recently got snagged by the SEE WHO CAN SEE YOUR PROFILE app that once you log into, takes all of your contacts and spams them. Zynga (makers of Farmville, Words with Friends and many other games) is a reputable company–annoying at times–but reputable. The random quizzes and guessing games may not be. Go up to ACCOUNT, then PRIVACY SETTINGS, scroll to the bottom to find APPS & WEBSITES. A list of apps that you have installed will display. Delete the apps you are not using. Here’s a Gettin’ Geeky video we did about kicking the Farmville apps to the curb (or any other for that matter).
Remove wall posts that are not serving your brand.
Similar to the quizzes and games, some people will post things on your wall that just don’t represent your brand well. You can remove any post or item that gets put on your profile. Simply click on the X that displays to the right of the post (you have to hover over there to see it appear) and delete. This is for your WALL not your HOME page. That page is news for your eyes only. Your WALL is what others see when they search for you.
File those Facebook photos and set privacy settings accordingly.
This can be time consuming but very important. Depending on the day and position of the planets, the easy method of moving photos on Facebook will work…. part of the time. When you load a photo from your mobile device the default file is called…MOBILE UPLOADS. Now to move them from MOBILE UPLOADS to a more organized filing system you have to either save them to your computer and then REUPLOAD into a file or occasionally it will work to OPEN THE PHOTO, refresh your browser, when the photo changes into the old Facebook view, look to the bottom for the EDIT PHOTO link which will allow you to MOVE it into another folder location! I have had this NOT work, more often than it WORKS! When you load photos from the UPLOAD tab on your PHOTOS link, you can decide where the photos should go. You can set privacy settings on each photo ALBUM separate, allowing you to have a FAMILY PHOTOs album that only FAMILY MEMBERS (in your LISTS) can see, CRAZY FRIENDS photos that only “those friends” can see.
Separate Personal and Business.
Lastly, if you have been using your Facebook profile for business and you struggle with keeping personal and professional lives separate, perhaps this is the time to launch that Business PAGE. Here is a post that explains the simple steps to get that going!

Now don’t you feel better? Sure it took some time, but you won’t sneeze as often when you open up your Facebook account and you might even find yourself saving so much time that you will be ready to do some cleaning around that Twitter nest! That post is next!

The tidy team at SynapseConnecting is always here to help you use today’s technology tools to build your business and manage your brand. Please let us know if we can help you in any way. We have loads of helpful content here on our website or you can give us a shout and we will bring our brooms and dusters to help you clean things up a bit!

@GinaSchreck Chief Duster

May 20, 2011 | Filed Under Facebook, Facebook for Business, Social Media, Social Media for Business | 1 Comment

Should My Company Start Using Social Media Marketing?

Hesitation is the quality your competitors most admire about you.

Social Media for Business, Starting out in social media, how to get started with social media, Social Marketing

Don't Wait

The first domain name was registered in 1985 (www.Symbolics.com) and in 1990 there were 15,000 domain names registered. Today there are over 200 million. Were you an early adopter or are you still waiting for this whole WORLD WIDE WEB thing to pass? Business websites changed the way business communicated with its customers.

We are experiencing a social revolution that is not only changing the way we do business once again, but it is changing consumer behaviors. Just like we go to a website today without any amazement or second thought, many are using Facebook that same way. Consumers ask their networks for suggestions or feedback before making buying decisions. “Does anyone know a great Plummer in Littleton?” “Has anyone had their kids at a charter school?” “I wish I knew someone who distributed pink sheet metal to commercial realtor. Anyone know of someone?” (okay the last one would be pretty darn random, but you just never know!”

Yesterday a friend of mine was sharing his frustration over name squatters or cybersquatters, as they are called on the internet. Cybersquatters are those people who go out and register domain names, Twitter account names and now Facebook Page names, just to prevent someone else from using them. My friend had waited too long and his business name on Twitter was already being used by someone else.

Here are 4 things I recommend you do today…right now.

1. Go register your business name and your personal name on Twitter. You can simply put a link to your website with a post directing visitors to learn more about you there.

2. Type your company name into Google and add + Facebook to see what comes up. If you find a page, see what is posted and by whom. Many businesses find that their fans did not want to wait for the company to take action and they created a page themselves. Remember, people want to talk about you and with you.

3. If you already have a personal Facebook profile Create a Facebook Page For your business, post a few interesting tips and facts about how customers work with you and start telling your current customers to join you on Facebook. Once you get 25 people to join your page, or “Like” it, you can secure your custom company URL

4. If you own a smartphone, which is an Internet ready phone such as a Blackberry, iPhone, or any Android-based phone, go into the phone’s app store and download one new app today to explore. Check out the top apps, or the recommendations provided. Since mobile is the fastest growing trend today, you should start think of ways your customers may want to interact with you through their mobile device. Our phones are considered the “3rd screen” (the first two being the television and computer) and it’s the one we don’t leave home without.

So if you still find yourself resisting the use of new technology because it is time consuming or frustrating, you cannot afford to wait any longer. Perhaps you should …go ask your competitors.

Gina Schreck

If you are having a hard time immigrating into this new social world, Gina and the team at SynapseConnecting can help you make sense of this foreign social landscape and determine which pieces make sense for your business. Give us a shout through that WORLD WIDE WEB Gina@synapse3di.com, or use the telephonic device and have the operator connect you to 303.978.0887

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

April 7, 2011 | Filed Under Facebook, Facebook for Business, Facebook PAGES, Marketing, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media for Business, Twitter | Leave a Comment

Social Business Management: Engaging the Tribe

social media for business, b2b social media, Facebook for business, Twitter for business, Gina Schreck, Social Media Management

Engaging the Tribe

300 business owners gathered here in Denver for the Vistage All-city, all day, leadership event. Vistage is a company that creates mastermind groups or boards for small to mid-sized business owners. I am here to discuss how to incorporate today’s social media marketing tools into their business.

The opening speaker was Dave Logan, author of Tribal Leadership. There is another famous Dave Logan here in Colorado (the voice of the Denver Broncos). I think some were surprised to learn we weren’t going to talk football leadership.

Dave Logan says the strength of your company is determined not by the CEO, but by the strength of the tribe. Of course he is talking about your executive team, your board of directors or core management team members (he says ideally a tribe is at least 20 people) but I wonder if your customers can also become tribe members? If you have strong values that are ingrained into your company, the tribe should be able to make decisions and recruit other supporters because the tribe knows your business.

Your customers, and potential customers, can provide innovative ideas, give you needed feedback, and potentially solve some major company problems…if you engage them in these conversations. In the social stratosphere, you can throw a question out or a poll, and within minutes you can have wonderful data and perhaps a few solutions.

Before you start throwing out that tribal invitation, there are a few things to consider.

1. Are your values so clear that it comes across in your communications and marketing messages? Like Zappos, do your customers even know what you value?

2. What are you doing that communicates those values?

2. Are your values so clear that others can tell what they are without reading them? Are you living them and walking the talk?

3. Does your tribe feel valued and that their input appreciated?

4. How are you willing to solicit feedback and invite new ideas from your tribes?

Well then….what are you waiting for? Go engage!

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from the tribe.

@GinaSchreck

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

April 6, 2011 | Filed Under Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media for Business | Leave a Comment