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Posts Tagged: Twitter

7 Activities To Do On Twitter Every Day

Most people on Twitter are still using it as a broadcast medium. They post content and wonder what else they could be doing to grow their community, get more engaged conversations and result in increased sales. Here are SEVEN things you can do every day to DO SOCIAL RIGHT:

What else are YOU doing each day to do social right?

If you need help managing these daily social activities, we can help! Our team helps connect you to your world! Give us a call–or send me a tweet @GinaSchreck!

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

Chief Hooligan at SynapseConnecting

September 19, 2011 | Filed Under Social Marketing, Social Media for Business, Twitter, Video | 1 Comment

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.

Social Media Management, Social media for business, How to use Twitter for business, Synapse, engage

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.

Chief Hooligan and Old Bird

August 17, 2011 | Filed Under Social Media, Social Media for Business, Twitter | 1 Comment

Hey You Like Me… I’ll Come Check YOU Out

Recently I have become an Instagram addict. (Instagram is a social photo sharing app built for iPhone and iPad2 users.) Snapping photos of the mundane and everyday activities I am involved in and applying a little app magic to turn crappy photos into stunning works of art! Well, most of them look pretty cool. (This sunrise shot has NO FILTERS or magic applied–God did all of that for me on this day!)

Instagr.am photos, Maui, social photo sharing, social media for business

Sunrise in Maui

At first I just thought it was a cool way to integrate some fun pictures I was taking into Facebok and Twitter, but I soon realized there were some fascinating people following me on Instgram. How do I know they are fascinating? I kept getting notices that people liked or commented on my photos and were now “following” me on Instagram, so I wanted to go check them out. I found beautiful pictures, creative postings and a whole new group of people I would have never discovered.

Instagram, social photo, Gina Schreck, Social business, social marketing

Interesting Mannequin Head

When building a social network, most people sign up for accounts and then wait for people to come and follow, friend or like them. The best way to get going is to set up the accounts an then go check people out. Whether it is through exploring other blogs and commenting, or saying good morning to someone new on Twitter or Facebook, when you show that you are interested in others, they just might come and check you out next!

Find me on most social sites @GinaSchreck and you can be sure that I will be coming to CHECK YOU OUT!

New Instagr.am Freak

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

June 28, 2011 | Filed Under Photo Sharing, Social Media for Business, SOCIAL SHARING | Leave a Comment

Go Ask Your Father Became Go Ask Google, and Now, Go Ask Twitter

Growing up, if you wanted to know how far the sun was from the Earth you were told to either “Go ask your father” or maybe your family was fortunate enough to own that beautiful Encyclopedia Britannica set with the gold pages (Did your parents fall victim to the traveling encyclopedia salesmen?), and you were then told to “Go look it up.”

Google, Social Media for Business, Twitter for business, Social media management, Gina Schreck

The Family Treasure

When my kids came asking “How do heavy airplanes actually fly?” I replied, “Let’s Google it.” But today when I have questions that need answers FAST, like “What is the best wireless printer?” ”Who is using a great budgeting app?” or “What is the best Italian restaurant in Wichita, Kansas?” I ask my Twitter network. It is more reliable and easier to sift through than pages of EHOW or ANSWERS.YAHOO responses that are more like technical forums at times than simple answers. Sometimes the answers that come up are paid advertisements based on the keywords I have typed in and I don’t trust them.

I’ve seen quesitons from my social network asking serious parenting questions that used to be answered by calling Mom, but today we put more trust in our Facebook friends and Twitter followers than even our parents. Perhaps it’s kind of like “Polling the Audience” on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, where we can ask a question to thousands and see which answer we like the best or how many people say the same thing.

Twitter for business, social media for business, social marketing, Gina Schreck

Go Ask Twitter!

I read a recent statistic that said only 14% of people trust advertisements versus 78% trusting peer recommendations! So if we are connecting to the right people, people we consider to be our peers, this is not only a powerful resource for us, but for organizations doing a great job building social relationships, it is a powerful marketing tool. Brands and organizations must be IN the communities, building relationships, sharing expertise and answering questions…not just selling!

So the question is, “How do you get in these social circles?” Well you can Google it, but I would bet you’d get a better response if you ask your Twitter and Facebook friends!

@GinaSchreck

Tech Head

May 23, 2011 | Filed Under Facebook, Facebook for Business, Marketing, Social Marketing, Social Media for Business, Twitter | Leave a Comment

Spring Cleaning on Your Social Sites: Tackling Twitter

In the last post, I gave you 7 things to do that would get that Facebook profile (and PAGE) tidy and shining like the top of the Chrysler building, and now we are going to focus on your messy, over-crowded, Twitter nest!

Spring Cleaning for Twitter, Unfollow Twitter, Social media clutter, Gina Schreck, Gina Shreck, Social media for business

Messy and Overcrowded Twitter Nest

People always ask me, “How do you manage conversations when you are following thousands of people?” Well, first of all, I don’t talk to them all at once. Sure we are all talking, but not necessarily to each other at the same time! When someone contacts me with a question or mentions me in a tweet, I reply. Not so difficult. Secondly, I use tools that help me filter the information that I want and need to read. I also use tools to cut the duds…many of them any way.

So take out the trimmers and get your gloves on, we’re going to do some more cleaning. Here are 4 tips to get that nest in order!

Turn off Twitter notifications that go to your email.
You have enough information coming at you via email, Facebook notifications, tweets, LinkedIn mail, and voicemail, you don’t need duplicate messages to clean out. When you first set up your Twitter account you may have wanted to know when someone new was following you or when someone sent you a direct message, but if you are now connected with hundreds…or thousands, you should be using a tool to manage your Twitter stream and you are checking in regularly (like email) so you can turn those notifications off! Go to your SETTINGS (upper right corner of screen) and select NOTIFICATIONS. I leave all of them UNCHECKED.
Revisit your profile photo and bio.
Since we are tidying up, let’s make sure your profile still suits you. I see so many poorly written bios that I am surprised anyone connects with them at all. Get creative, show some personality, use at least one of your keywords and DON’T SPEAK IN 3rd PERSON! Gina doesn’t like that, and neither does anyone else. It’s just weird to write “Gina is a social media enthusiast.” Okay, I will get off the soap box on that one. Do you need to update your profile picture or crop it so people can see it. There are many tips to create a great social media headshot that I got from professional photographer and marketing genius, Neil McKenzie, during a recent photo shoot. I’m sure you find some nuggets there.
Create Lists
When you feel overwhelmed by the amount of content that is coming through, know that information overload is simply, filter failure. Filtering content is critical on Twitter because of the sheer number of tweets per second that go out. Just because you are connected to someone on twitter doesn’t mean you will read everything they post. Just like creating LISTS on Facebook becomes an important time saving tool, LISTS on TWITTER are even more important! To keep your nest tidy, you want to think about the type of information you want to put into it. There might be specific people that you want to read updates from, and there might be certain topics or keywords that you want to read, regardless of who tweets them out. To group specific people you will need to create a few lists. Go to your PROFILE page, in the left column, right below your picture you will see a LISTS link. Start creating. Some ideas might be BUSINESS FAVORITES, NEWS SOURCES, FUN TWEETS, or FRIENDS. Now when you follow someone or discover someone is really interesting, put them in a list by going to their profile and, just to the right of the FOLLOW button, select the list icon to add them in. You can also do this right from one of your third party tools like TweetDeck, Hootsuite, or others, if you are using one.The beauty in your lists comes when you are using a third party tool such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck (can you tell that I highly recommend you do this?). These tools allow you to not only post your content to multiple platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and more, but you can FILTER your content here. Create a column for each of your lists and you will pull from the Twitter stream that content you don’t want to miss. You can also create a column from a keyword so you can monitor who is talking about a specific topic.
Unfollowing the deadheads! Well not the GRATEFUL ones, but the non-conversationalist ones!
Deadheads...but Grateful!

The goal for most of us when we follow someone interesting, is that they will follow us back and engage in conversation. After a while it is good to see who has left the Twitterverse, who has not followed you back or who dropped you from their list of people they follow. Some may think this is strickly an ego move, to unfollow people who are not following you back, but it’s one way to keep your Twitter stream less cluttered.I like two tools to clean the nest out, ManageFlitter and JustUnfollow. ManageFlitter is great because it allows you to see several categories: who is not following you, who has not tweeted in months, who never loaded a profile picture (usually indicating a spammer or someone who never really got going on Twitter), who over-tweets (Okay so I might show up on that list) and more. JustUnfollow doesn’t break down all of those categories. It shows you the people you are following that are not following you back and it also shows you who is following you that you have ignored…I mean… that you have chosen not to follow back. I certainly don’t follow every person back that follows me. If they are an obvious spam account, porn account or those weird accounts that are following a thousand people but they never tweet, why would you follow them? I like JustUnfollow for its clean and simple look and function. Call me simple.

If you use one of these two services at least every couple months, your account should stay nice and tidy.

I think our major cleaning here is finished, but you might not want to remove the gloves and put away the cleaning products just yet. You have spent so much time tidying your Facebook and Twitter accounts, that your house can probably use your attention! Good luck.

If we can help you (with the social cleaning and organizing…you’re on your own for the house cleaning) in any way, don’t hesitate to give us a shout. Once all the cleaning fumes die down, we will be coherent again!

@GinaSchreck Chief Duster

May 22, 2011 | Filed Under Social Media for Business, TweetDeck, Twitter | 3 Comments