A business will lose touch with its customers, industry and prospects if it relies solely on traditional marketing methods.

A business that doesn’t put itself out there is an invisible business. Social networking and Twitter help the business get noticed.

A Mystery The Case of the Undiscovered Business Tool Meryl K. Evans www.meryl.net @merylkevans

The Mystery How can a business stay in touch…

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” -- Wayne Gretzky

The Unknown Subject The “Unsub” Who or what is ?!? [Cue theme] Can’t play “Who Are You?” due to copyright laws… oops. Sorry … :(

Meet the Suspect Don’t take “What are you doing” literally. Only 140 characters INCLUDING your ID. RT = Retweet. Repeating another user’s tweet.

Twitter? Business? Seriously? Seriously!!

“But … but … it’s for kids … “Well … maybe for some folks.” “For reporting every activity you do… Showering, eating… Borrr-ing! “Nuh uh. Wait! Stick with me…

Evidence: Exhibit A Nope, not making it up! Straight from the Nielsen’s mouth What age group do you think uses Twitter the most?

Evidence: Exhibit B Convinced? No? Hrm…

Clients Business One way conversations = Old marketing Zzzzzz ... Making the Case: Picture This Industry Prospects

Making the Case: How about this? Business Clients Prospects Industry Prospects Clients Media Clients Investors Contractors Employees Bloggers You get the idea… That’s word of mouse in action!

Proof! True Stories I swear! I promise! They’re real! Publicity Expertise / thought-leadership and RT (retweet) to share with others Word of mouth / mouse

Proof! True Stories More… Savings : Because of Twitter, I got a new laptop and saved money. Hire: Because @wpanswers solved my WordPress problem, I hired him for web site work. Pretty, isn’t she?

Proof! True Stories More… Problem solving Networking within industry I could go on and on …

Word of mouse wasn’t enough for you? I worked hard on that picture! OK, OK … you’re the judge ...

Connect with ... New people Potential clients, contractors, experts, etc. Current customers and industry, so they think of your business

Round out Marketing Efforts Send traffic to your web site, articles, wherever … from Twitter. Build buzz with tweets. Manage reputation, crises and problems.

Boost …

One way to get trends. Search for business-related keywords. Discover Trends Other search and Twitter tools available

Share Expertise and Resources Information Referral Experience / Expertise

Putting Human Touch on Your Brand

Let’s get the show on the road!

Basics: Where Do I Start? Good place, ya think?

Basics: @Name? Note #1: Shorter is better. Note #2: Real and business name. Note #3: Name change. Your name counts in the 140 characters when people tweet you. Use real name or business name for @name and add real name into “Settings.” If you change @name later, your account starts over.

Basics: Create a Cool Profile No default image allowed! Nice pic, ya think? Rare! Click “Settings” to get here. Uncool!

Basics: The Bio 160 characters Keywords: Industry, interests, business. Twitter tools like Twellow let people search by keywords. Share fun fact to help personality stand out.

Unwritten Rules Following & Followers Rule #1: You are NOT obligated to follow everyone back. Rule #2: Don’t follow everyone. Rule #3: Quality not quantity.

Unwritten Rules Who to Follow? Step 1: Study numbers. This is not good. Lopsided. Step 2: Much better! Check frequency of updates. Too often = overwhelming. Or never. Take your time adding people to follow to avoid lopsided list.

Engage! Tweets add value. What’s in it for OTHERS not you. Link wisely: Don’t overdo linking period … especially your stuff. No original thoughts. Spammy and often links to own stuff.

Engage! 3. Quotes can be inspiring, but not if that’s all you tweet. 4. RT others (copy their tweet and add “RT” in front) Space an issue? Shorten as best as you can. Shows respect and shares with people not following @alferretti.

Engage! 5. Be yourself. Twitter users can detect fakery easily. Faking it WILL backfire.

Engage! 6. Customer Service Respond ASAP even with “We’re working on it.” 7. Crises / Reputation Management

Beyond Twitter Track and Monitor Spy on keywords, competitors, etc. RESOURCES Tweetbeep.com Twilerts.com search.twitter.com Keyword

Beyond Twitter Tools for Twitter Organize Group More features RESOURCES Tweetdeck.com Seesmic.com Ubertwitter.com - BlackBerry More control Mobility Many more! Just search!

Beyond Twitter Social Media Mix up social media =

Fin The End That’s It Back to work! Thank You Images: sxc.hu and flickr.com Presentation: Meryl K. Evans Thank you to Twitter followers for making this possible © Meryl K. Evans

Meryl K. Evans www.meryl.net @merylkevans