The Social Media Handyman

Twitter for Business: Plan of Action (Part IV in a series)

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:59:20 -0600

Here's the "money post" I promised. It outlines my thoughts on how to use Twitter to network, make connections and generate leads. (Here are links to Part 1, 2, 3 and 31/2) But first...

Resources from Ogilvy PR

Over the weekend I came across a couple of resources from Ogilvy PR that present the best business case for using Twitter that I've seen, hands down. The first is a PPT slide deck and the second a list of best practices.

Ogilvy PR 360 DI Twitter Webinar
View SlideShare presentation.
The Creation of Twitter Best Practices - This post contains a list of dos and don'ts for using Twitter.

Do yourself a favor and review both resources.

And now...

My Twitter Business Plan of Action

I'm going to begin by outlining a simple, workable social media marketing strategy that applies to any form of social media engagement, including Twitter. So simple, in fact, it consists of only two words, listen and engage.

Listen

My mother always told me, "Paul, God gave you two ears and one mouth. He did that for a reason. Listen twice as much as you speak." (Bet your mom told you the same thing, right?)

You cannot become an effective in social media marketing if you don't first listen to what's being said about you, your company, brand, service, industry and competition. Listening is the new marketing, someone said, but it's not something we're prone to do. Still, that's where it begins.

There are two ways to listen via Twitter:

Search - Complete searches using Twitter search and other such tools - Tweetscan and Twemes are two that come to mind - on relevant keywords, including those related to your geographic area.
Follow - Start following others where it makes sense to do so.

Keeping in mind that Twitter is just another marketing channel, go back to the basics and ask yourself the same questions you'd ask when considering any other form of marketing: "Who is my market?" "Who am I attempting to reach?" "What niche am I seeking to penetrate?"

Is it a certain demographic? The average Twitter user is 35 and older, is likely male (60% of users are) who has between 100 - 500 followers. Is it a certain geographic area? Find those people and start following them. Many will return the favor.

(That's not to say you don't follow others who don't exactly fit your target market criteria. It's just to suggest that you be very intentional and purposeful in your selection.)

Not being a Realtor, I'm working under a set of assumptions regarding where your business comes from:

Buyers/sellers in your geographic market (and occasionally from outside your area)
Referrals from other Realtors.

If that's the case, it's as important to build relationships with others in your profession as it is prospective clients.

(One group it makes sense to follow are those you already know, some of whom might be using Twitter. If you use a Web-based mail program such as Gmail, the platform will search your list of contacts to find them. You can also send invitations to those in your database not currently using Twitter.)

In addition, if you're connected to fellow Realtors and prospects via Facebook or LinkedIn, connecting on Twitter will only serve to strengthen and personalize your relationship even more.

Engage

Once you see what people are saying relative to the keyword searches, the next step is to jump into the Twitterstream and respond.

Years ago, my father took a rather "direct" approach at teaching me to swim. One summer's day we boarded in our small boat and paddled out to the middle of the pond on our property. Dad grabbed me up, threw me in the water and stated matter-of-factly, "swim or drown."

Looking back, I'm sure he would not have allowed the latter. At the time, however, I determined the best course of action was to make for the shore, which I did with all haste. And, guess what, in the process I learned to swim.

I'm a bit like dad when it comes to Twitter in that I think the best approach is to joining or starting conversations is "swim or drown." Just jump in and start conversing.

OK, for the faint of heart, here are some "rules of engagement":

Respond to what others are saying by adding your "two cents." Remember to use the "@" symbol when addressing an individual.
Provide information those in your target market would consider valuable. It could be links to other sites, answers to questions, advice or opinion. Position yourself as a trusted resource. You're already doing that on your Web site and/or blog. Do it via Twitter as well.
Engage in casual conversation with your followers. There are some who would suggest that, for business purposes, you shouldn't share the minuitia of your daily life or engage in casual conversation. To that I say, "Phooey." Social media marketing is as much about getting to know you on a personal level as it is professionally. Not only that, how are you going to get to know others if you don't converse with them. I think it's a matter of balance.
One thing you don't want to do is solicit business or "pitch" people. You know the type: "Thanks for the follow. Check out my blog at _________." It's okay to let people know what you do, but Twitter is a medium for conversation, not solicitation. Include a link to your Web site in your bio. those who have an interest will check you out.

When Does the "Magic" Happen?

I was afraid you were going to ask that. You see, by participating in the conversation, the magic is happening -- but you have to give it a chance.

Social media marketing does not lend itself well to formulas. "Markets are conversations" and "participation is marketing" is the only formula I know that works. You have to win the right to be heard. By participating in the ongoing conversation, you turn strangers into friends and friends into customers. But, there is no "X times Y divided by Z" equals a lead or conversion.

That's true with a lot of advertising, is it not? Can you easily factor the ROI of a billboard, newspaper ad, or TV commercial? One thing is for sure, conversing on Twitter is a lot less expensive than a television commercial!

Keep in mind, you've been selective and purposeful in choosing those you follow. And, you've concentrated your efforts on providing valuable information and, as a result, have become a resource others trust. And the longer you do so, the more trust you'll earn.

So, let me challenge you to try Twitter and join the conversation. Over the past several days I've given you the insight, resources and ideas needed to get started. The only thing I can't give you is the impetus. That has to come from you.

If and when you do become engaged with Twitter, I'd be honored if you'd follow me. My handle is @pchaney.

Happy Twittering!

Gary Vaynerchuk I Ain't, But I Do Share His Passion for Social Media Marketing

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:00:25 -0600

Terri Murphy asked me to do a video for a panel she moderated at NAR. What she didn't mention was that she also uploaded it to YouTube. Though I'm no Gary Vaynerchuk, I do have incredible passion for social media marketing. If you have 9 minutes, 10 seconds, take a listen. You might learn something.

Fifteen Twitter follow dos and don'ts

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:29:03 -0600

There are two schools of thought pertaining to who to follow on Twitter. One is what I refer to as the Guy Kawasaki method which says, "forget the influentials," "defocus your efforts," and "get as many followers as you can." It's more of a mass marketing approach.

Up and until Twitter imposed limits on the number of people that I could follow in a given 24-hour period, that's pretty much the school to which I subscribed and just about anyone and everyone qualified (minus the spammers of course).

Since then, I've had to be more discerning and have actually found that to be a good thing. So, here are fifteen suggested Twitter follow dos and don'ts based on my current Twitter follow modus operandi:

Dos...

1. Focus your efforts - If you're in sales and marketing, hopefully you've outlined specific target markets based on demographic, psychographic and technographic profiles. Maybe you've even created a persona of the ideal client or customer. Find those folks and follow them.

One good way to do that is by using Twellow, which is a Twitter "yellow pages." It categorizes Twitter followers based on geography and industry and covers everything from aerospace to Web development.

For example, a search on my city, Lafayette, LA, brought five pages of returns totaling 100 people. Not a lot, but consider that a) Lafayette is a small city by comparison and b) it's in the deep south which is often the last to catch on to new trends. If you're in a more metro area, chances are your returns will be manifold times this.

What might be more relevant is search by category. For example, Bizzuka, the company I serve as marketing director, is targeting the legal industry. A search for lawyers brought over 930 returns. We are also targeting healthcare. A search returned almost 100 hospitals.

Apply that same methodology to your own situation and see what comes of it.

Twellow defaults to ranking returns based on number of followers, but you can also sort by
recent activity and/or whether the person has verified their Twellow account.

Each person listed has a profile associated with their entry which, depending on whether they've verified their account or not, could contain lots of information, including a bio, latest Twitter updates (good for knowing whether they're an active user or not), and link to their Web site or blog.

2. Follow those with real names - That's one way to know it's a genuine account. (It's always a good practice when setting up a Twitter account to use your real name.)

3. Follow those who follow you - In most cases it's a common courtesy. Chances are they're in the same industry or have some relevance to you.

4. Follow those following the people who are following you - Same rationale as #3, just once removed.

5. Follow those following the people you are following - If you've chosen to follow a particular individual for whatever reason (maybe they fit the profile mentioned in #1), there's a good likelihood at least some of the people following them would be relevant for you as well.

6. Follow those in your industry - Obviously, one of the best uses for Twitter is as a vehicle for networking, gathering feedback and getting advice. It's a great tool for meeting others in your industry or discipline.

7. Follow those you find interesting and/or entertaining - In all the mad rush to turn Twitter into a business communications and marketing tool, leave a little for pure fun. If you find someone's posts interesting, maybe they're worth following as well.

8. Follow those who use the same hashtags (ex. #nms08) to follow a conversation - Again, if they're interested in the same things as you, consider following them.

9. Follow those who @reply you - @replies can be sent into the public timeline addressed to people you're not following. If a user has addressed you in that way, might be fruitful to add them.

10. Follow those interacting with people you follow - If you see a tweet with an @reply addressing someone you're following that comes from someone you're not, they may be worth following. Check em out!

Don'ts...

11. Don't follow those with numbers behind their names - This is a technique often used by spammers (Twammers) due to the fact that have multiple accounts. It's a dead give-away. (One word of caution: When setting up your Twitter handle, don't use numbers. Your real name will do nicely.)

12. Don't follow those with no avatar - If you can't see their face, company logo or some sort of avatar, don't follow.

13. Don't follow those who only broadcast - Unless you know it's an account set up strictly for that purpose - a news, shopping or "tips" type account - don't follow. If they don't participate in conversations with anyone else, they won't with you either.

14. Don't follow those who aren't active - I don't know the number or percentage, but I bet the number of people who've subscribed to Twitter and aren't actively using it is sizable. If a user is not actively maintaining the account, chances are it's dead.

15. Don't follow users based on their follower count - In social media, it's not necessarily how many eyeballs that count but who those eyeballs belong to. There are some very influential people who may not have huge numbers of followers.

There you have it - 15 tips for know who to follow and who not to. That's my list at least for now, though I'm sure I'll add to it. BTW, you can too! What criteria do you use in determining who to follow. Please share it in a comment. Thanks!

Finally, if you're not following me, please do. My Twitter handle is @pchaney.

Get the Complete Guide to Twitter for Business, only $9.95. This 35-page ebook equips you with everything you need to know to begin using Twitter to grow your business. Order today!

Top Three Social Networks to Join and Why

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:56:06 -0500

Most of my social media handyman posts will be in response to questions asked by Realtors and others. Today's comes from Irina Netchaev, a Keller-Williams Realtor in Pasadena, CA. She asks, "What are the top 3 social networks that you recommend joining and actively participate in and why?"

First, let me say that "three" is the operative word. There is an old proverb that says "a cord of three strands is not easily broken." I think that's applicable where social networking is concerned as well. It's a matter of strengthening your social graph. Being networked with a given individual in three different places makes for a strong connection.

Here's my pick for top three:

LinkedIn - That's your business suit. While LI is not very conversational in its orientation, having a profile there has become expected. LI lends a degree of professional credibility. It is also the site that requires the least amount of upkeep.

Facebook - That's business casual. FB allows more of a 360 degree view of you, combining both professional and personal sides. Plus, it's a more conversational platform.

Twitter - This is the cocktail hour. Think of after hours social networking events and you've got Twitter. It's the most informal of the three and allows for the greatest degree of conversation.

Keep in mind my focus here is on creating three-fold connections to individuals. It's not enough that you have a presence on each of these sites, but that you leverage your presence to connect with others who are also present on each.

Social media is about being "social." Each platform offers its own distinctive advantages, but it takes all three to build the strongest connection. Plus, it gives you ubiquity. You're everywhere!

Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about three real estate specific social networks where you need a presence. Later in the week I'm going to dig down into Twitter and share how it's being used for business purposes. I'd like to hear your Twitter story as well. Please leave a comment.

Finally, if you have a question for the "handyman," email me at pchaney [at] gmail [dot] com. Or simply leave a comment.

What's the number one question you have about marketing via social media?

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:41:12 -0500

One of the ways I can best provide social media handyman services is by answering your questions. Let me invite you to take a quick poll that ask four of the questions I hear most often.

How can blogs help me market my business?
How can I use Facebook for marketing purposes?
What's the deal with Twitter?
What are the best social networks to use in building my social graph?

If these four don't represent your question, please submit it in a comment.

Answering these questions helps me help you. Thanks!

Realty Blogging Book in the News

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:30:52 -0500

Just wanted to mention that the book Richard and I penned, Realty Blogging, is in the news. Inman mentioned it in a blog post about a “blog to book” (blook) the folks at Bloodhound Realty were putting together called Real Estate Weblogging 101 (which I'll talk more about later).

The other was a book review in Newsday.com, which contained the following quotes…

“The authors subscribe to the notion that traditional real estate marketing techniques, such as cold calling and open houses, ‘won’t cut it in the 21st century.’ The new marketing edge? Blogging. Although this technique hasn’t hit its stride within the real estate community, the duo believe it will.

“Topics include the basics, such as blog content and length. Statistics, quotes, tips and examples of real blogs are provided along the way. One might need a magnifying glass to read some of the example boxes and blogs, though. (That’s true actually. Some images are on the smallish side.)

“Veteran bloggers can skip this book. The unenthusiastic novice will most likely yawn, while those who are highly ambitious with a pioneer spirit may get the most out of it.”

The trouble with that last statement is that there are relatively few “veteran” real estate bloggers.

One more little tidbit. I just talked with the husband of Susie Gardner, who is updating and rewriting Blogging For Dummies, originally published by Wiley in January of last year. He tells me it's pretty much a complete rewrite. I don't know the release date, but he says she's well into it. BTW, Susie is the same lady who wrote Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies.

Since I'm talking about Dummies books, Lisa Sabin-Wilson, the author of WordPress For Dummies, is in the editing process and will be released later this year.

One more thing...It's actually crossed my mind a time or two to write a proposal to pitch to Wiley for Typepad For Dummies. Some of you use Typepad, don't you? Anyway, it crossed my mind.

Twitter for Business: What Others are Saying (Part 3.5 in the series)

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:10:21 -0600

Before I do the "reveal" on Monday and talk about how to use Twitter for Business, I feel it's very important to hear what others have to say on the subject. This post contains a list of leading voices.

I'd like to ask you to do a little homework over the weekend and review these. While there won't be a "pop quiz" on Monday, it will get you primed and ready for the final post in the series.

(BTW, here are Parts un, deux and trois)

Active Rain Twitter Group - Did you know AR had a Twitter group? They do and it's great. In fact, it's probably one of the hottest groups going right now. There are scores of others talking about this subject here and I bet you could find answers to just about any question you have on the subject. In your quest for Twitter mastery, start there.

Kim Woods Twitter Series - One of our very own here at AR, Kim Wood, is doing a series of her very own. It's better than mine and I'd take it personally if you didn't read it.

Why Your Company Needs to Be on Twitter - This is a survey conducted by social media strategist Warren Sukernek (I know. I love saying his last name too. :->) and Peter Sorgenfrei. It is one of the best posts on the topic of using Twitter for business that I've seen. If you don't read anything else I've listed in this post, read this!

It's posted in a great (GREAT!) online community called The SWOM (which stands for The Society of Word of Mouth) that I'd love to invite you to join. It's open to anyone.

Making a Business Case for Twitter - Connie Bensen, online community consultant and my friend, has compiled a list of reasons businesses should consider using Twitter. It's excellent. Even better is her post, Twitter 101, which contains links to a number of other resources.

Twitter Handbook - Another of my friend is Deborah Micek, known as Coach Deb on Twitter. She's not only written a book on the subject of using Twitter for business called Twitter Revolution, but has this blog, Twitter Handbook, as well.

Speaking of books, I did a search on Amazon using the keyword "Twitter," and here are the returns. It's amazing what is already in print about the topic considering the length of time its been around.

Twitter Business List - Laura Fitton, known as Pistachio on Twitter, has compiled a reading list on the topic. She is also authoring Twitter For Dummies, set for publication sometime next year.

50 Ways to Use Twitter for Business - From my friend Chris Brogan.

The Evolution of Brands on Twitter - Jeremiah Owyang, Forrester analyst and all-around schmart guy.

Business Uses for Twitter - If Valeria Maltoni says it, you know it has to be good.

Building a Twitter Following - What's your strategy for finding Twitter followers? In this post Jeff Tippett outlines an approach for building a Twitter follower base that's good for business.

Ten Ways to Market Your Blog on Twitter Without Being a Spammer - We all want to let people know about our blog, Web site, etc. However, we don't want to be accused of being a "Twammer." In this post marketing consultant Jennifer Slegg talks about the right way (and the wrong way) to go about it.

And you can't mention what others are saying without referencing Common Craft's Twitter in Plain English video...

You probably know of a number of resources I've left off the table here. Please feel free to include yours in a comment.

Monday is the last post in this series. It's where I talk about how to use Twitter for business. Stay tuned!

Twitter for Business: How Does It Work and What's the Value? Part 1

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:58:00 -0600

(First, sorry for my latency in posting of late. Was away with my wife Amie on the trip of a lifetime to NYC! Travels are over; getting back to business.)

One of the questions I'm getting A LOT is "What's up with Twitter?" and "How do I use Twitter for business?" Let me say at the outset it is an amazing app with manifold uses. Companies as large as Dell have created a business model around it and solo entrepreneurs (real estate agents included) are proving its case as another channel for business development.

It's my aim to answer the above questions, at least in part, by not only sharing my own thoughts, but providing links to others who've addressed these as well. It will take me far more than the 140 character limit Twitter allows. :-) In fact, this will be a multi-part series.

Let's start by attempting to define Twitter.

Wikipedia Definition

First, the wikipedia definition: Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

OK, stop right there! What the heck is "micro-blogging?" While I don't know who cooked up the term, it's a suggestion that Twitter is a blogging tool, one limited to 140 characters. Hence, "micro" blogging.

Why 140 characters? Because the guys who dreamed up Twitter (Biz Stone and Evan Williams, the same guys who created Blogger) saw it as an SMS (text messaging) tool. In other words, it was first conceived as an application for mobile devices, but one with a web-based interface.

Even though it started that way, Twitter's user-base largely ignored the SMS side of things in favor of the web-based version. At one point, due to bandwidth and thru-put demands on Twitter's servers, SMS capabilities were actually shut off. Essentially, Twitter started out as one thing and became something else. (More on that in a moment.)

Better Definition

A better explanation was one given to me by a gentleman (whose name I don't recall) I met at a social media conference in Houston a few month back. He referred to Twitter as a "high latency instant messaging application."Huh?

Twitter is like Yahoo! Messenger or AIM or any number of instant messaging applications, only you aren't compelled to respond immediately, if at all. Hence the term, "high latency."

Best Definition

In my opinion, Twitter is best defined as a social instant messaging application. "Social" in that you friend others who then see your posts and follow them (the term in Twitterese is, in fact, "follow," though it means the same thing), and "instant messaging" in the sense that it has that feel to it.

What it really is is a conversation stream that you jump into at any given moment in time and start talking. Participation is the price of entry. (More on that in a later post.)

More from Wikipedia

"Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them," says wikipedia. "The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Twitterrific or Facebook."

Twitter's Evolution

As mentioned above, Twitter started out as a mobile application, but morphed to something that was largely web-based, thanks to its users. And, I mean, let's face it, if you're following a few hundred people, do you really want to get text messages from everyone of them? You can pick and choose who to receive such messages from of course, but even if you've limited it to a handful, if they're avid Twitter users, you're phone will still be dinging all the time. In my view, it's overkill. If you like the SMS component, that's fine, but I'd limit it to a select few.

Back to the evolution...

Speaking of the user-base, Twitter's founders have been fairly well-receptive to the way Twits (one term for Twitter users) are using the app. For example, at some point people started using the "@" symbol to address a single individual via their Twitter handle (e.g. @pchaney). It was a way to delineate that the message wasn't for everyone, but for that specific person.

It wasn't long until Twitter incorporated the activity as part of its functionality. Not only that, they added a direct messaging capability enabling users to send private messages to individual users.

That's enough for this post. I'll be back tomorrow soon with another talking about how to use Twitter, explaining proper "Twittiquette" and sharing the rules of the road.

In part 3 (yes, there will be a part 3 and a part 4; I told you it would take more than one post.) I plan to delve into some of the applications that have developed around Twitter thanks to its API (A geeky acronym which stands for Application Programming Interface. It's a way for one application to be used by or integrated into another.)

Part 4 is where the water really meets the road in terms of how to use Twitter for business. I'll provide some practical, real life examples, including some from fellow agents. Look for that early next week.

FeedBurner RSS feed transition to Google, what you need to do

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:31:04 -0600

FeedBurner, which was acquired by Google in 2007, is now forcing a migration of its feed data into Google and anticipates completion by February 28. (See Google's FAQs to learn more.) To say people are unhappy about it would be an understatement. For example...

Many, many people, including TechCrunch's Micheal Arrington, reported losing some or all of their subscribers. You may have noticed similar problems.

If you have a Feedburner feed tied to any of your blogs, in true handyman style this post outlines what you need to do in order to make the transition. It's really pretty painless.

Step 1: Log into your Feedburner account.

Step 2: Note the following statement. Choose "Move your account now." (As if you really have any choice.)

Step 3: Sign in using your Google account. (You do have a Google account right? If not, you'll have to set one up.)

In all likelihood you're already signed into the one you want, so click the "Next" button and you will be presented with this screen. (Well, of course it will have your feeds listed, not Bizzukas.)

Step 4: Click the "Move feeds" button. FeedBurner's server will start talking to Google's server and you should see this screen.

If all goes well, and it will (fingers crossed), you will next see this screen.

You will receive a detailed email from Google confirming that the transaction has taken place, along with other information relative to the matter.

Once you've made this transition, you can never go back to the old FeedBurner account. (Awe!!!) From now on you will log in via the Google version, http://feedburner.google.com. Well, actually, you can go to Feedburner.com for the time being, but it will redirect to this new URL. After February 28 that won't be the case.

If you happen to be a Blogger user, you are at an advantage. Because Blogger, like FeedBurner, is owned by Google, they offer a one-click migration. Everyone else has to follow this routine.

Lastly, there is a new URL for the feeds, http://feeds2.feedburner.com/yourblogname. You may want to go ahead and change the URL on your blog. However, Google does indicate in the FAQs that they intend to maintain backwards compatibility as long as the service exists.

In a second post, I'm going to discuss some of the proposed benefits from making this transition and offer my opinion on alternative solutions. For now, I'd go ahead and make the transition. No need to wait to the last minute.

Got questions? Ask the Handyman!

Get the Complete Guide to Twitter for Business, only $9.95. This 35-page ebook equips you with everything you need to know to begin using Twitter to grow your business. Order today!

Get Weekly Twitter Tips from the Handyman

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:09:57 -0600

In keeping with my recent emphasis on using Twitter as a business communications and marketing tool, I've started a weekly Twitter Tips enewsletter.

Click here to sign up or use the form in the right-hand column.

Each week you'll receive one brief idea for using Twitter for business...short, sweet (tweet) and to the point. I won't spam you, sell your name to list vendors, or use it for anything other than the stated purpose, that of helping you learn more and better ways to make Twitter a useful tool in your marketing toolchest.

Here's the best part too. If you share an idea via a comment (or you can email me via the AR contact form in my bio), I may use it and will credit the source.

If you'd like to receive the tips, use the simple sign-up form located to the right.

Complete Guide to Twitter for Business eBook

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:40:57 -0600

I'm about to do something I rarely ever do, that's use this blog post to promote a product.

The reason I'm making the exception in this case is that it's my product I'm promoting, the Complete Guide to Twitter for Business.

The guide is a 35-page ebook contains everything you'll need to start maximizing the value of your investment in Twitter.

It will teach you:

How to choose a Twitter handle, set up your account and start using Twitter right away.
Who to connect with in order to maximize your potential for business development, lead generation and sales!
The right and wrong ways to engage others in conversation.
Cool Twitter techniques like @reply, direct messaging and retweets.
How to create a Twitter for business action plan.

Whether you are a Twitter novice or a veteran user, I dare say you'll find something useful.

While I would love to give the ebook away for free, I cannot. There are too many hours invested in its development to do so. However, at $9.95 it's almost like giving it away. (That's a special price just for Active Rainers too, btw.)

Plus, I offer a 100% money back guarantee. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with the book, I'll refund your full purchase price and you get to keep the book free as my gift. You've literally got nothing to lose!

Buy the Complete Guide to Twitter for Business!

Join the Affiliate Program

Want to get the ebook at an even better rate and make some money for yourself as well? Sign up for our affiliate program and earn approximately $5.00 with each sale made through your affiliate link.

Weekly Twitter Tips

Use the form in the right-hand column to sign up for weekly tips from the Social Media Handyman on using Twitter for business.

Well, that's it. You asked for this ebook and I delivered. Please let me know what you think. Of course, you're welcome to leave a comment and let everyone know. If you like it, leave a comment and likewise even if you don't.

MarketingSherpa Report on Real Estate Marketing, Blogs and Social Media

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:39:28 -0600

Back in June, I was interviewed by MarketingSherpa reporter Natalie Myers for a report she was writing dealing with real estate online marketing strategies. The report is now available as the second of two-parts: Online Strategies from Real Estate Marketers – Try Blogs, SEO, Social Media

I regard MarketingSherpa with the same esteem as MarketingProfs. For years, CEO Anne Holland and her crew have been creating high-quality content to benefit marketing professionals and I'm honored to have the privilege of participating in this report.

Submit Your Blog to Blog Directories and Search Engines

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:08:05 -0500

I have to admit that what you are about to read is a bit promotional. Not for me though, but for my son, Alan.

Back in the days when I ran a business blog consulting agency - Radiant Marketing Group it was called - my son, Alan, worked with me in submitting client blogs to an extensive list of blog directories and search engines, as well as major engines like Google and Yahoo. He's now started his own business providing that service. It's something he's very adept at and enjoys doing.

More on that in a minute. Let me talk about why I think submitting your site to these various and sundry directories is a good idea, regardless of whether you do it yourself or get someone to do it for you.

First of all, the list to which I refer is known as Robin Good Top 55, though now there are well over 200 such directories and engines included on the list. Here's what the list's creator has to say...

"As more and more people get involved with the Internet and as more Web sites, blogs, news services and other online resources continue to grow in number and variety it becomes increasingly important to maintain high visibility and exposure for the content being generated.

Until now the web was populated by Web sites and other HTML-based content pages, and the main vehicle for reaching content has been the large use of major search engines and directories.

As a rapidly increasing number of content sources, new and old, migrate or add RSS as a key distribution channel, and as more people utilize RSS newsreaders and aggregators to keep themselves informed, the ability to maintain high exposure and visibility is gradually shifted from a complete attention to major search engines and content optimization techniques to an increasing awareness of RSS feed directories and search tools."

Here's what the About.com Web Search guide had to say about blog submission: "If you haven’t already submitted to blog directories, you are missing out on some great one-way links. Many of the top directories can be found on Robin Good's Top 55 list."

Personally, I think there are two distinct advantages to submitting your blog to these blog-specific directories and search engines, which is why we offered this service to clients back during the Radiant Marketing days to begin with:

Added Google Juice - To one degree or another, these site have authority with Google. As such, having links from these have bearing on your PageRank and standing in Google. I'm not suggesting that simply by having your blog (and your RSS feed) listed on these sites will suddenly vault you up the rankings so that your blog is achieving first page returns. I am suggesting that inclusion in these directories will help. It is yet another way to build incoming links to your site and serves as another promotion strategy.

(BTW, some of these sites do a good job of in promoting themselves via SEO, and it's not unusual to see them showing up in front page returns on Google keyword searches.)
More ways for readers to find you - These blog directories and search engines not only have relevance to search engines, but have real human beings who use them as well. It's yet another way for people to find you based on category and keywords.

Special Offer to Active Rain members

Normally, Alan will submit a blog to 100 of the most relevant of these directories/search engines for $99. However, he has, at my request, agreed to offer Active Rain members submission to 150 of the most relevant of these sites for that price. Considering the work involved, that's a very good deal, folks!

Here's the information you need to send him:

Your name
Blog URL
RSS Feed URL
Contact information including address, phone number, and email address
A 200 word description of your site (less than 200 words is fine, but not more than that)
A list of relevant keywords
A list of relevant categories (obviously 'real estate' would be one of those)

Once he has that information (and your payment of $99) he will begin the process which usually takes a couple of weeks. When the process is completed he will send you an Excel spreadsheet containing the list of sites he's submitted to and whether the submission was accepted by a given site. (Just because a site is submitted doesn't always mean it's accepted, but normally it is.)

You could do this yourself of course. However, it is a time-consuming process that is manually done. That's the best way to ensure inclusion as each of these sites require different information. The basic being the blog URL and/or the blog RSS feed URL.

I personally vouch that Alan will do a good, comprehensive job for you and in a timely manner. He just provided this service to Ines and I think she would vouch for him as well.

He is in the process of getting a website up to promote the service, but it's not finished. In the meantime, you can contact him via email. His address is: achaney82@gmail.com. He takes payment via PayPal.

Finally, I hope you don't mind too much that I'm schilling for my son, but, well, he's my son and, as his dad, I couldn't be happier that he's taking an entrepreneurial step to provide a useful service to bloggers.

PS: He's not a bad looking kid either, despite the fact that I'm his father! :-)

Twitter for Business: How It Works and Rules of the Road (Part II in series)

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:50:42 -0600

This is part 2 in a four-part (at least) series on how to use Twitter for business. Truth be told, I'm sure I'll be talking about Twitter quite a lot in the days and weeks ahead.

This post focuses on two areas:

A sequence of four short videos that walk you through setting up a Twitter account, familiarizing you with the Twitter interface, and showing you how to tie your Active Rain blog posts into Twitter.
Valuable Twitter "rules of the road," otherwise known as :Twittiquette."

How to use Twitter video series:

Twitter Rules of the Road

Rule #1: You must win the right to be heard

Originally, Twitter was viewed as a "presence" app where you simply answered the question, "What are you doing?" In addition, many considered it a "broadcast" application as well, simply a place to make announcements, share information and links, etc.

While I don't decry the use of Twitter in either of those respects, it really is the 24/7 365 ongoing cocktail party I talked about in a previous post, and who goes to a cocktail party and only makes broadcast-style announcements. No, you go to interact, converse and network.

That, to me, is the primary role Twitter serves. And to gain any traction whatsoever you have to "win the right to be heard." How to you do that?

Follow others. Don't do it indiscriminately though. Find people that it makes sense for you to follow. Other Realtors, people in your local community, etc. Think about who should qualify to make the grade.

That's not to suggest you refuse to follow those who first follow you, but that you be intentional in connecting to people where it makes the most sense from a business perspective.

Remember what I said about the cord of three strands. Perhaps you're connected to others via LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo or Active Rain. Strengthen your social graph by connecting via Twitter as well.

Thank others for following you. It's a matter of common courtesy and an evidence of respect. (It's also advice I need to give myself because I don't often do it.)

Interact. Converse. Those who just broadcast announcements will never garner the same degree of respect or depth of relationship that someone who takes time to interact with others. That, to me, is the true price of admission into the Twitterverse.

Rule #2: Don't follow, if only to pitch

I'm seeing a very distasteful trend developing among new Twitterers ("twits" as we're called). People are following me, then, if and when I respond in kind, their first tweet is to thank me for following (which I do encourage), then immediately pitch me on a Web site they want me to visit or explain how they can provide a service to me. Whaaaa????

Sorry, folks, that ain't how it's done in Twitterville! The rules of social media engagement may be unwritten, but they are real nonetheless. Don't follow or friend someone if all you want to do is pitch them on your Web site, product or service. Don't! Get to know the person first and let them get to know you.

If you want a formula for how this should work, it's this: Stranger > Connect > Converse > Friend > Client. Connect with those you don't know, get to know them and, then and only then, is it permissible in my view to make a pitch. You have to build trust first. In fact, you may find that no pitching is needed whatsoever. They may seek you out.

Bottom Line: Don't pitch me if you don't know me. Am I stating this clearly enough?

Rule #3: Provide value to the community

Give people a reason to follow you by becoming a valuable member of the community. One way to do this is by providing good information in the form of links, quotes, advise, answers to questions, etc. People will see you as a resource, thought-leader and knowledgeable expert. They will come to appreciate your generosity of spirit. Just make sure every link you send them is not one to your own site of course.

Rule #4: Mix business with pleasure

It's okay to share both from your business side and your personal side. In fact, it's preferential. That's the best way for others to get to know you.

I hope these explanations have been helplful. In part 3 we will delve into some of the applications that have been built around Twitter, many of which I use. Then part 4, that's the money post where I talk about how to actually turn this into a high-powered business generating tool!

'Designed to Sell' or 'Buy Me' Blogging

Paul Chaney (Social Media Handyman) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:30:25 -0500

My wife and I watch a lot of HGTV, TLC and any other channel that has real estate related programming. Two of our favorite shows are Designed to Sell and Buy Me.

It's almost humorous, the contrast between those two programs, especially considering they're juxtapositioned back-to-back on HGTV. On Designed to Sell everyone gets along all the time, peaches and cream, plenty of people show up for the open house and properties always sell...always.

Buy Me, on the other hand, is much more raw, much more "reality television" fraught with emotion and drama. Often, there is no closure. No one shows up for open houses and homes don't always sell.

I may be stretching my point here, but it seems to me those programs reflect two marketing mindsets among Realtors.

From my travels in real estate circles at conventions and conferences, with hours spent working tradeshow floors, I've reached the opinion that a lot of Realtors really want to take the Designed to Sell approach when it comes to marketing. Professionally done photos, logos, and marketing materials. Marketingese spoken here. Everything positive, bubbly, and shiny.

That mindset extends itself into blogging as well. No negative comments. Little or no positions taken on local issues. Nothing that might incite anything that looks as if it could be controversial. Well, blogging doesn't work that way, nor should it. Blogging, to quote Brad Inman, is about "telling it like it is at street level." Very Buy Me oriented.

I realize it's a bit risky to open yourself up to potentially negative comments and I'd like to use this post as a forum to allay any fears you may have.

First, you can always moderate comments. Virtually every blog platform I know allows you to hold comments in abeyance until you sign-off on them. That way, you can ensure notoriously negative comments never make it to the site.

Second, you can use negative comments as a way to make your case. As I've said many times, blogs are designed to create conversations, and it's those conversations that can lead to transactions. It's about building relationships with people, even those who don't always see eye-to-eye with you.

Take the negative comment and use it as a no-spin way to defend your case or make your point. After all, people are going to talk and, thanks to blogs, review sites like Homethinking and others, they have a means to do it publicly. Wouldn't it be better if they were able to do it on your turf rather than somewhere else?

Third, allowing comments evidences your willingness to be open and transparent. In today's culture, transparency is a highly valued ethic which can serve to foster increased trust.

In truth, I love Designed to Sell and usually leave the room when Buy Me comes on. Who needs all that drama and "reality?" I already have enough of my own that I don't need to watch it on television.

Nonetheless, when it comes to blogging I take the position that it is best done when there is the opportunity for some real, visceral interaction and even a degree of controversy. As a client of ours puts it, that adds "salsa" to the site.

This may sound corny (OK, it does sound corny), but blogging puts the "reality in realty." (See, told it sounded corny!)

So, which are you...a Designed to Sell Realtor or a Buy Me one? I'd love to hear your opinion.