So, without further ado I will explain how to use Twitter Search to increase
followers and potential customers.
How to Use Twitter Search to Increase Followers and Potential Customers
*You want to find people who are talking about or asking questions about
your Niche. For this example we will use DVD Players…. as if you run a DVD
Player Business.*
Go to Twitter Search and enter "DVD-Players" into the box (without
the quotes around it). Press enter. It will look something like:
Read through the Realtime results for dvd-players and see if there is anybody
asking questions that you can answer. Or, perhaps just have a conversation
with one of the tweople. Remember that Twitter is not about one side talks,
but instead it Twitter
should be a conversation.
Here are some examples of some of the tweets the tweople left and possible
replies you could leave in response to them. This will give you an idea of
how to have a conversation with them. And also how to use Twitter Search to
answer questions and as part of the customer service end of your business.
Examples of How to Use Twitter Search to Increase Followers
Below is a really cool tweet. Yes, there isn’t a question to answer, but
I bet you could come up with something cute that would make you stand out.
Something that will cause @ladybugbows
to follow you. How about this???
Reply with something cute to get their attention like, "A family
that has their own DVD Players Stays Together".
Here is a really great chance to make a person from Twitter into a customer….
Offer a Coupon Code:
Straight forward questions need straight forward answers.
Just as if you were handling customer service at your place of business, answer
questions via phone calls or emails… Twitter
can be a medium that you can handle customer service as well. Answer questions
where you can and become known as a Specialist in your field.
If you know something that others don’t know share your knowledge. This
tweeter’s DVD Player lost his power cord due to a hungry pet….. he needs
help. Can you help?
But, what if you knew something that could help? Offer the tip or suggestions….
you might even get a sale from it.
And that is pretty much it. See how easy that is and yet Twitter Search
can be super powerful way to not only increase your Twitter Followers, but to
increase your Customers.
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 |
Above Image by Valerie
Everett
If you are not joining in on the conversation you are missing out on tons of
Business. I’m not just saying this as a possibliltiy….. I am saying this as
total FACT!!
Whether you like it or not….. people, your potential customers, are talking.
They might be asking questions online even. And,if you aren’t
answering their questions…. you can count on someone else answering their
question.
How to Find New Customers on Twitter by Answering Questions
Imagine this…..
Someone on Twitter says, "HELP!! My printer won’t work. I’ve
tried everything… can anyone help me?!"
If your business is in the Printer niche maybe you could help. Tweeting an
answer not only can get you a sale, but maybe something even better…. a life
long customer that trusts and respects you.
So, you need to respond to this Twitter cry for help. Simply, @ this person
and say something to the effect of, "I work with printers all
day…. How can I help you and make your life easier?"
She will no doubtingly respond back to you and with the correct answer you
will have earned the respect and trust from a potential customer. And you have
also just experienced your first Customer Service Twitter Conversation.
And, had YOU not helped this potential customer…. some other printer person
most doubtingly would have.
Even if she doesn’t purchase anything right away from you I can almost
guarantee she will follow you back on Twitter because you were a huge
help. This is almost has good as an immediate sale. How? You have her
ears for anything you tweet on Twitter. Plus, you have already earned
her trust and respect. Now you most certainly have her attention.
Well, you are probably thinking, "Well, that is great and I will start
doing that!!But, how do I use Twitter Search to know if someone on Twitter is talking
about my area of expertise?"
Great question!!
How to find Questions Being Asked on Twitter
You should go to Twitter Search
and enter the word or words that you would like to know when people are talking
about them. In regards to the above example it was the word Printer.
Once you enter the word Printer and Press Enter all the recent conversations
mentioning the word Printer are there.
Reply to the ones with questions you can answer. And, even
if they are not asking a question maybe you can hold a conversation with them.
Create some relationships.
You can even subscribe to this feed on Twitter Search.
You can easily stay up to date on your topic by check your feeds how ever
often you would like.
***Note - Replying to Tweople about questions about your area of interest should
not be mistaken for a chance for you to pitch to them. Do not force a bunch
a links on them unless it is absolutely necessary to help them. A big Sales
Pitch is NOT what this is about here. What I am trying to show you how
to do is answer questions honestly and sincerely via Twitter. Gain
the person’s trust and respect. Make a relationship. If a sale comes from it….
great. Even if you don’t get one… if you are honest and sincere you will probably
at the very least have a new follower.
Christmas Season is about ready to come to a close. You have already missed
the cut-off to purchase items online and to receive them at your door before
Christmas. In a couple of days you will be cleaning up wrapping paper, returning
unwanted items and planning your New Years Resolutions.
But, I wanted to talk about things I learned from shopping at Twitter.
You get honest opinions. No need for reviews…. just ask
your followers any kind of product questions and they will respond honestly.
I asked about Moon
Sand. My daughter was bugging me about it and I had no idea what is was
and whether it was something I should get her. So, I asked my Tweeps:
And, my Tweeps told me honestly how they felt.
Who needs to search for reviews and testimonials on websites when you have
pure Word of Mouth or I suppose I should say “Word of Tweets”.
Find Awesome Deals - I previously wrote a post about using
Twitter as a Sales Channel. And, it totally is!! You can subscribe to
@Woot and @AmazonDeals
and get notified of their daily deals. eCommerce sites and businesses are
beginning to realize the importance of using Twitter as a Sales Channel. You
can follow these businesses on Twitter and cash in on the sweet deals.
Retweets - The Power of Retweets!! You can find some truly
amazing deals just by listening to the retweets of the items that your tweeps
thought were hot deals. That is exactly how I found my father’s Holiday Gift.
Mark Hayward, who
ironically wrote about the value of retweets, had posted a retweet about
The Flip that Andy
Beal had originally sent out. Even though I follow Andy
Beal I had missed his original Tweet, so I am very thankful that Mark
sent out this retweet….
I own a Flip Ultra Series and love my Flip. It is what I use to create my
video posts. My father was so impressed with my videos that he asked to
borrow my Flip. Well, thanks to Mark’s retweet I purchased my father a Flip
for the Holidays. Check it out…
And, then I announced my purchase….
… and then the power of Twitter began. Check it out!!
I told Carolyn Shelby
that I loved my Flip and she landed up purchasing one too. Wowzer!!
Using Twitter Search to Find Amazing Deals - I’m not sure
many people are aware of the power of Twitter Search yet. It is a fantastic
tool when used correctly. Here is a super quick tutorial. Let’s say you wanted
to see if you can find a Nintendo DS for your son on Sale. Go to Twitter
Advanced Search and enter the following information. Enter the word "Nintendo
DS" (without quotes) into the "exact phrase" box.
And, enter "sale" (without quotes) into the "Any
of these Words" box.
Click on Search. The results you should get should point you to sites and
information on how to get the Nintendo DS on Sale in Real Time.
And there ya go. Twitter helped me big time this year with Holiday Shopping.
I know it is too late to use my fabulous methods to pick up sales this Holiday
Season. But, use these tips all year long to pick up Rock’n deals for you and
your loved ones.
I wish you and your loved ones the Happiest of Holidays and a Wonderful
2009!!
But, in order to connect with these business owners and consumers they need
to be following you on Twitter….. following your conversations. If a member
of the Twitter community is not following you they can not hear you. So, in
order for Twitter to work effectively you need to get members to follow you.
One sure fire way of NOT getting any followers is to use the
Twitter default avatar. And, using the default Twitter profile page isn’t that
much better. For many people when they see the default avatar they think its
one of a few things….
A computer bot - not a real person
A member that doesn’t take the community seriously
A brand new member that just hasn’t had a chance to add the avatar
To put the importance of an avatar in perspective think of it this way… an
avatar is a visual symbol of you or your company.
Some people are very visual. In order for these visual thinking people to remember
you or your business they will probably have an easier time remembering your
avatar. So, having an avatar that is something other than the default avatar
is extremely important.
As a continuation of my "Basic Tips of Adding Social Media to
your Business" here is a tutorial for how-to set up a Professional
Twitter Profile in Minutes….
How to set up a Professional Twitter Profile in Minutes
I am very excited about this…… I have created my very first Video Post.
Please keep in my that the video quality is not perfect. I recorded it using
my Laptop’s Webcam. My new Flip arrives next week which will make my future
video posts much more clear. At any rate, I am extremely excited to present
to you a video post.
This will be a first in a continuing series of video posts on Basic
Tips of Adding Social Media to your Business.
Adding Conversation Back into your Business with Social Media
I wrote a post on Blissfully Domestic just yesterday regarding The
Power of the Consumer using Social Media. In it I discuss how the real
power has moved from the companies to the consumers. Both the video and that
post go hand-in-hand together.
I wrote my first ever guest post over at Hobo
SEO Blog. No, It’s not about SEO….. it’s about my true love, Social Media.
Shaun asked if I would write a post on how
to get involved in Social Media and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I don’t
write about the basics of Social Media often enough. I have a tendency to get
too advanced or talk about special techniques. It was nice to get back to the
basics.
Social Media can be very intimidating for many, so I broke down the process
into four steps making the process a bit easier to handle.
Figuring out what you want to get out of Social Media
Creating your Profiles
Learning the Community
Becoming an Active Part of the Community
So, check out my guest post and let me know what you thought.
When I catch-up with friends we’ll usually talk about the highlights
of our week, we’ll have a whinge about the things that got under our skin
and we will vocalise our opinions some of the current events that we feel strongly
about.
Take away the face-to-face interaction, convert the speech to text (although
not in every case thanks to how easy it is to create and share audio and video
content) and you have a blog.
When I get home from work, I’ll look through the cupboards and fridge
and work-out what I’m going to make for dinner. Once I’ve made a
decision, I’ll usually vocalise this to myself - “Tonight I’m
going to make spaghetti bolognese!” (yes, I know that talking to yourself
is the first sign of insanity and a lot of my friends already think I am a little
insane).
I’ll also continue talking to myself as I prepare the meal “a little
bit of oregano, a dash of wine…” and as the TV is usually on in
the other room, I’ll often make comments about the day’s stories
“Interest rates are up again, there’s still conflict in the Middle
East and Britney Spears did what?!?”
The above examples of small conversations that we have with ourselves everyday
could easily be seen by having a quick skim through Twitter logs.
When you’re at school, the more friends you have, the ‘cooler’
you are – aka MySpace, Facebook
etc. etc.
Take away the cheesy voice-over and Benny Hill music from ‘Funniest Home
Videos’ and I’ve just described at least a third of YouTube’s
content.
My mother sticks little yellow Post-It notes on the side of her computer monitor
listing websites she’s found and wants to remember how to get back to
them – if she understood what I was talking about when I tried to teach
her about del.icio.us
For your daily dose of tabloid news in an online format you don’t need
to look much further than Digg.
And just like you’ll need Amy Winehouse throwing-up on your shoes if you
want your pic in the tabloids, you’ll also need some Social
Media Celebrity Endorsement if you want your articles to appear on the front-page
of Digg.
So as you can see, most online social media has been inspired by something
offline (even if the inspiration was far from the examples above, you still
get the general idea). The only problem is that there is still a very big disconnect
between the real and the virtual worlds.
It’s like comparing reality TV with actual reality. I don’t know
who’s reality it is, but I can’t recall the last time someone locked
me in a house with a bunch of strangers and recorded my every move whilst making
me perform challenges like eating worms or pouring spiders on my head, or watched
me painfully sing karaoke, or become a model, or survive on a desert island
or made me lose half my body weight etc. etc.
Sure, it might be entertaining, but it certainly isn’t what happens to
you and I on a daily basis.
I’ve met bloggers that write well, seem quite entertaining and have hundreds
of subscribers but in person they are very shy and introverted or waaaay over
the top and are incredibly annoying to have a conversation with.
Whereas other bloggers that only have a handful of regular readers have been
charming, interesting and insightful when I’ve met them face-to-face.
There was a guy I went to school with who still lives with his parents, works
for the local government in an accounting role, hasn’t changed one little
bit from the weedy, nerdy, annoying guy from senior school… but his Facebook
page says he has 300+ friends.
Now I’m not trying to say that one’s online persona is inversely
proportional to how popular they are offline… there are some really great
people that I’ve met who are very popular both online and offline.
Although I think that we should observe how the online world has taken most
of its inspiration from the real world and as it continues to do this, there
will become a requirement for social media mavens to genuinely be as interesting
and insightful in reality as they are online. Otherwise they may find that the
virtual reputation they’ve worked so hard to build won’t hold-up
as the two worlds (offline and online) become one.
If you enjoyed this Guest Post you can check out more of Peter’s work at SiteMost.
And, while you are at it subscribe to the SiteMost
Feed.
A couple of months ago I
briefly mentioned that I had a Chronic Illness. It was something that was
very difficult for me to do as I was afraid that mentioning it would make me
look weak. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but if you have ever met me or
if we ever spoke for any length of time you would understand why. I am a perfectionist…..
an over achiever. Showing this side of me is not an easy thing for me to do.
Would I feel any less about anybody else if I heard they had a chronic
illness?? Of course not. Why then am I so hard on myself?? That answer, my friends,
is a whole other story.
Not too long ago a
friend of mine told me to ask for help. My response was, "I just
can’t. It’s way too difficult." He told me that not asking
people for help was a selfish thing to do.
What?? How could this be? In my mind not asking for help was me
being tough…. me being selfless. How would anyone think that me "toughing
it out" be selfish??
It took me a couple months into my Lupus Flair, two months of "toughing
it out", to realize what Edward meant when he said that I was being
selfish for not asking for help. But, I believe I have figured it out
and I’m ready to no longer be selfish.
In the next few days you will notice Guest Posts on Social Desire. As painful
as it was for me to ask, I posted a Tweet requesting guest blog posts about
Social Media and Web 2.0. I was thrilled to find quite a few bloggers ready
and willing to help me out.
Please bear with me as I rest a bit longer. God willing I will be heading back
into my Lupus Remission shortly and I will be back "full force". In
the meantime, please enjoy Social Desire’s guest posts. And, if you would like
to be featured as a Guest Blogger on Social Desire please contact
me.
Are Texting & Social Media Platforms causing teens to lack in Interpersonal
Communicative Skills?
I received a text from my oldest son last week that was very disturbing. He
was obviously too freaked out to discuss the topic with me face-to-face and
instead chose to tell me this uncomfortable piece of information via text messaging.
I feel I’m a very "with it" mom when it comes to
these things. Especially since being involved in Social Media is pretty much what
I specialize in. But, after this particular text I was left wondering….
“Are teens today lacking in Interpersonal and Communicative Skills?”
Is Mobile Technology and Social Media taking away what our Children
should be learning during face-to-face Communication?
When I was a teen growing up I was forced to discuss things with my parents
face-to-face….. even the uncomfortable discussions. And, through each of these
discussions, as difficult as they were, they each were a learning experience.
Could Instant Messaging and Text be robbing our children from learning
some social skills?
Teens are breaking up with boyfriends and girlfriends over text…. and this
is completely normal. These uncomfortable discussions that all of us hated to
have were all a learning experience for me. Mostly, I learned tact and empathy.
Are our children growing up more selfish & cold because they can
avoid these conversations entirely?
I was never an overly brave teen. I didn’t have as much confidence in myself
as others and this made confrontation much more difficult for me. If I had social
media platforms and mobile devices available to me back then I’m positive I
would have been using them instead of how I had to deal with things.
Maybe I wouldn’t have succumb to peer pressure. Maybe I would have been braver
in what I told my peers…. in saying, "No!!". Or, maybe I would have
dealt with confrontation in ways that maybe teens are dealing with it now…
"text and Instant Messaging".
This might not sound like a major issue, but after the text from my oldest
son I’m not so sure about that.
I believe that many of the uncomfortable situations and confrontations I dealt
with growing up taught me many things and made me into the person I am now.
Who knows…. maybe I’m reading too much into this. But, I really don’t think so.
Teen Crushes
As I mentioned earlier I lacked a certain amount of confidence growing up,
so certain things were especially difficult for me. For example, telling a boy
I liked him. I remember having crushes growing up and the boy never knew. By
the time I was in Junior High I was still extremely nervous to tell a boy I
liked him, but I would try very hard to push through the fear. Making a point
to talk to him, pausing by his locker, dropping something nearby to see if he
would pick it up, and dialing the phone to call him. I say dialing the phone
because unless one of my friends was calling for me I don’t think I ever stayed
on the phone long enough to talk to the boy. Most of the time I would dial the
phone number and once someone answered I would hand up. Thank Goodness this
was before *69…. otherwise, I would have been busted for sure.
How would Texting & Social Media changed this process?
Well, I wouldn’t have had to be brave and start a discussion… Simple texts
are so much easier than real words. I would no long have to worry about blushing
in front of a boy. He wouldn’t even have to know how nervous I was. There is no
way via text he could hear my shaky voice, see my knees tap together from nerves
or see me blush from fear. This fact would have given me the confidence to flirt
via text.
What learning experience would I have missed out on? Over
the years of pushing through my fear of talking to guys I built confidence.
I learned what worked for me and what didn’t work for me. I realized that guys
thought I was sweet when I blushed. Actually, over the years I wasn’t nervous
to talk to most guys at all. My confidence increased enough that I could easily
talk to a guy. Would teen develop this confidence if they were doing all interaction
between themselves and guys via digital methods?
Breaking up with a guy
Okay, if telling a guy I liked him wasn’t bad enough….. breaking up with
him was so much worse!! I hated making someone unhappy or feel bad about themselves.
I am still horrible at that, but disappointment is a fact of life and dealing
with it is part of it. Break ups can be some of the most difficult conversations
to have, but to move to the next relationship… break-ups must be done.
Many of my friends were broken up with by notes in school. I was mortified
by this and fortunate enough that this never happened to me. However, in High
School I was in the middle of a long distance relationship, so all of our communication
was via phone and "snail mail". We would see each other only on weekends.
How would a Break-up have been different if I had text or Social Media Platforms?
What makes a break-up so difficult is the confrontation. It’s
usually not an easy conversation because many times the other person feels a
bit under attack or defensive. Texting a break-up (which let me just state….
is cowardly and never okay in my book) erases any face-to-face contact. No confrontation.
As a matter of fact you don’t have to answer any further calls or texts. This
is an easy way out. There is something to be said about "closure",
people!! How the heck do you get closure from a text or instant message? Unless,
of course, the entire relationship was done via text or Instant Message then
a break up should NOT be done in this fashion. I couldn’t imagine
sending a text like….
"Have I told you just now how much I’m in love with U???
No??
Chew on it, have a nice life… "
Check out these other "Break-up
Texts" . They are unreal!!
But, texts like the one above are being sent to innocent
(or not so innocent) boys and girls everyday.
What I have learned from having to break up in a face-to-face
way…
Break-ups hurt
Break-ups are an end to something that you might not be ready for
tact
empathy
sensitivity
Dealing with Friends and Social Life in High School
I know that Social Life in High School means a lot to teens. It meant a lot
to me and still means a lot to kids. But, I also know that the peer pressure
and saying, "No" can be a sticky situation. I would never want to
go back and do high school over again due to the peer pressure I experienced.
I dealt with the peer pressure the face-to-face way, but how are the kids dealing
with it now-a-days?
Teens are using Social Media Platforms to deal with Peer Pressure.
They use text and instant messaging to say what’s on their minds. It not as
confrontational. Sounds less threatening, right? Nope!! To get revenge these
teens sometimes are using malicious ways to deal with their anger such as YouTube
videos, MySpace & Facebook public messages, non-private instant messaging
and other embarrassing ways. My thoughts are that because of the convenience
of social media ways of dealing that these same platforms are giving teens a
convenient & easy way to get revenge. This is making Peer Pressure tons
worse than it was when I was growing up.
What I have learned from dealing with Peer pressure face-to-face?
knowing you have to deal with them face-to-face makes you be choosy who
is your friend
Over time I realized what/who makes me happy
I don’t always have to say, "Yes" to everything
Could shut down the peer voices after school…. with text, Instant Messaging
& other Social Media platforms this is much more difficult.
I’m wondering if the lack of closure causes a teen’s need for revenge?
Could it be that communicating verbally face-to-face with someone forces closure?
Maybe with text and instant message there is no "end".
Telling Parents Bad News
I would like to think that conversations with parents hasn’t changed much since
I was growing up. But, even I know that’s not the case. I already admitted that
my son text me a message that he should have talked to me about in person. Why
did he do this? Because he felt it would be easier.
Was it? Well, probably. Temporarily anyway. And, probably by the time he approached
me in person I calmed down quite a bit. Did he learn as much from the whole
experience…. I’m not so sure.
And, I have some fond memories of when I was growing up of conversations with
my mother. I also have some memories of scary conversations with my mom. But,
bottom line…. they were face-to-face conversations. They were banter back
and forth that I believe made a difference in my life. Not only did I learn
something from it, but I also bonded with my mom. And, there is one other thing
that it left me with… something I can smile at later. Embarrassing situations
that I can smile at because I survived. Something I can laugh at by myself or
conversing with my sister.
I look back on those moments with my mom fondly…. now. However,
had I had the opportunity to get out of a sticky situation in an easier fashion
I totally would have.
Which brings to me back to the question, " Are teens today lacking
interpersonal communicative skills?"
What do teens have a fear of??
Confrontation
Rejection
Disappointment
Failure
Embarrassment
What are they missing out learning??
tact
sensitivity
empathy
respect
anger management
communication skills
I asked the following question to my friends on Twitter, "What would have
been different 4 you had you had text & IM as teen? How would Break-ups,
dating, peer pressure been different?" This were some of the answer I received:
Click on the image to see in full size & with Profile Links
What are your thoughts? Are teens today lacking interpersonal communicative
skills?
I have a little secret…. I’m the tooth fairy. It’s true. And, guess what
else?! I’m also Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, and Cupid.
Last week my 6 year old daughter, Hannah lost one of her front teeth and just
yesterday she lost the other front tooth. She is missing both of her front teeth
and as I stare at her beautiful face and her cute smile I realize how special this time is for her…. and for me for that matter. I haven’t seen her gums like this since she was an infant. And, it reminds me that she is growing up and how quickly the time goes.
So, as I do with all of my children when they lose a tooth I become the tooth
fairy. I grab my wings, tiara and wand from my "special closet". These
items sit next to my Santa, Easter Bunny, Cupid as they do for most parents.
These are roles that I am proud to hold and it got me thinking….
How has the introduction of Web 2.0 changed these Special Days for the Kids?
How Web 2.0 adds Pizzazz to our Children’s Holidays
St. Valentine’s Online
Kissing Game - I virtually kissed a frog to find out if I will spend my
days in the castle…. I found out that the frog turned into a gross gator.
YUK!!
Kids can ask The Love
Duck questions and get answers.
Web 2.0 isn’t going to change the fact that usually around 8 years of age children
start wondering if these characters are real or not. It’s sad, but it’s true…..
children will figure it out. I actually had this discussion on Twitter
earlier today and found some interesting
ways that children found out that these Holiday Characters weren’t who they
thought they were. They were, in fact, their parents. There is no interactive
website that will change this fact. The only thing we can do is help our children
believe in the imaginary for as long as we can.
All of the above amazing Web 2.0 methods for kids to enjoy the Holidays doesn’t
change the fact that Parents will remain involved in helping their children
believe in the "Imaginary". But, I believe that these sites add a
bit to the excitement of the holidays. And, it doesn’t mean that as a parent
I am not going to stick to tradition…. I enjoy my many roles as a Mom. And,
my dress-up clothes are not going anywhere!! I loved dressing up as a child
and I still love dressing as an adult…. I wouldn’t change that for the World.
So, as I hang up my Tooth Fairy Wings, Tiara and Wand until the next missing
tooth in my household I am already dusting off my Easter Bunny Suit, pulling
out the plastic eggs, baskets and easter grass from the closet. But, I can guarantee
that a little Easter 2.0 will be on the way too…. nothing like a good Online
Easter Egg Hung to prepare the Kids for the real thing.
