Many small business owners and entrepreneurs have a negative view of Twitter and see it as a waste of time…but is it?

Your doubts and concerns are understandable unless you take the time to do your own research.  Initially, I also wondered how much good could be accomplished by ‘tweeting’ or sending a post that is 140 characters long.  In fact, I wondered what I would ever have to say that’s of value in only 140 characters.  So for a while I watched what others did.

Twitter is a segment of Social Media that can be a valuable business tool. It provides a medium for you to reach a wide audience in a brief, (more…)

Featured “Monday Writer” – Martha Giffen

Social media marketing has taken the online business world by storm and the quickest, easiest way to participate is by using Twitter.

Twitter is to online marketing what the business networking luncheon is to the offline world.  People are there to meet and greet, see and be seen, and engage in conversation about their products or services.

Just like the networking after-hours club, Twitter does have some do’s and don’ts.  Think of it as many conversations going on at once and you are going to insert yourself into the conversation.  You wouldn’t go into a crowded room carrying a neon sign telling the whole room “buy my stuff, buy my stuff.”  Right?

Social media is relational.

The sooner you realize that, the faster you will tip the scales in your favor.  People buy from people they know, like, and trust.  Period.

So, how do you get people to bond with you in 140 characters or less?  By following a few simple guidelines:

• Always use your real name. You are trying to brand yourself.  Don’t hide behind some cute screen name.  Doesn’t work for your biz!
• Use a current picture. It’s all about the know, like, and trust. They need to “see” who they will be buying from!
• Be engaging. Start conversations and contribute to the ones going on.  Let people know you are one interesting person!
• Watch your tweets. Tweet good content and they will come back again and again.  Remember, no negative comments.  Ever.
• Do unto others. Be a team player.  Retweet other’s content and links.  They will surely do the same for you!
• Keep it coming. Sprinkle your links to your products throughout your Twitter time and be consistent.  You want people to be watching and waiting for your awesome tweets!

Social media is here to stay.  Don’t try to keep up with everything at once.  Master Twitter and you are in the game to win!

If you want more Twitter advice, my free copy of BestTweetTips can help you out!

Happy Tweeting!

-Martha Giffen

p.s.  Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter! @MarthaGiffen

Martha helps entrepreneurs through the MAZE of online marketing. She owns Best Kind Marketing, LLC, am a motivator extraordinaire, social networking diva, blogger, wife, mom, and all-around happy person!

When you market offline you get to physically interact with your prospects and customers.  They get to see and read your facial expressions as well as your body language.  When you market online people can base their opinions only on the image or persona that you present to them.  They can individually create their own perception of who you are.

It is not always easy to translate who you really are online and it takes time to refine as well as a measure of skill.

Perhaps like me you may have found Twitter a challenge at the outset.  I’m more reserved, like to observe people before jumping in.  I laugh a lot with close friends, but smile more often than laugh.  I’m detail oriented and like real discussions and conversations but was never good at ‘one-liners.’  So, initially I found it difficult to condense what I wanted to say in 140 characters.   Did you have that challenge?

Another thing that presents a challenge when marketing online is that you can say something with  smile in your heart (more…)

Over the past week we have been discussing the importance of having a personal business online, even if you are in Direct Sales with your company affiliate website.  However, as I noted in my posts, there are some essential steps that need to be taken first: having  the correct mindset, personal and practical action steps to determine how you will brand yourself online.

One recommended way to build your brand is to engage in building a Profile on the three main Social Networking Sites.  The first one we will focus on is Twitter.  I am by no means an expert on any of the social networking sites, and I am learning as I go.  What I do know is that it is imperative to allocate time to engage in conversations, etc. each day.  Your goal as you build your brand is to increase your visibility and this can be achieved only by consistency.  This point is one of the first lessons that one of my Mentors, Denise Wakeman, gives in her “Online Visibility Secrets” program.  I’d encourage you to  click on the link to learn more about what the 26-week program offers.

In the meantime I’d like to share an article I recently read  on “5 Small Business Tips for Social Media” which I feel that you as a small business owner can gain a lot of information from.  You can read more…

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