Social Media Marketing University » twitter hashtags http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com The #1 Most Trusted Social Media Training Firm Sat, 08 Jun 2013 01:50:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 10 Social Media Marketing Tips To Use This Mother’s Day http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/10-social-media-marketing-tips-mothers-day/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/10-social-media-marketing-tips-mothers-day/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 17:08:14 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4971 social media mother's dayMother’s day is nearly here, and that means sellers will be priming this week’s marketing strategies to sell lots of products to kids and husbands everywhere. But what can you do to sell more products this Mother’s day? Today I’ll be giving you 10 powerful hints that will help get your social strategies ready for [...]]]> Mother’s day is nearly here, and that means sellers will be priming this week’s marketing strategies to sell lots of products to kids and husbands everywhere. But what can you do to sell more products this Mother’s day? Today I’ll be giving you 10 powerful hints that will help get your social strategies ready for the onslaught of sales!

tumblr inline mm4rvhJWeL1qz4rgp 300x153 10 Social Media Marketing Tips To Use This Mother’s Day

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Tip #1: A Thoughtful Pinterest Promotion

The people on Pinterest love sentiment, which means Mother’s day will be a big hit. Pick a product of yours and have a tutorial image made. To spice it up, have your mom be the presenter in the image!


Tip #2: The Mother’s Day Hashtag

Everyone is going to be using Mother’s day hashtags this weekend, so be sure to create yours and get the word out. Get your mom to hold a sign with your hashtag on it, and promote it across your social pages.


Tip #3: The Viral YouTube Video

Mother’s day is a great reason to be non-traditional – so do something different with your promotions to get the ‘alternative’ crowd buying from you this week. Or try looking for alternative markets. Single dads are moms too!


Tip #4: The Facebook Share

People all over the world will be looking for a beautiful image and words to send their mom on Facebook. Create something incredible and then brand it by subtly putting in a link to your sales page URL. Lots of people will share it.


Tip #5: Facebook Cover Opportunity

If you haven’t yet used your Facebook cover for a discount, Mother’s day is a great time to test it out. Create a fun, heartwarming cover that promotes your goods and services, with a special discount for moms only.

Landing page calibri 300x285 10 Social Media Marketing Tips To Use This Mother’s Day

Courtesy of aviewfromthecave.com


Tip #6: Create Blog Posts For Your Email List

Create a series of 3-5 blog posts centered around Mother’s day, and attract traffic to your newsletter sign up page. You could even advertise that all moms who sign up get a free mystery gift! Make it worthwhile.


Tip #7: Run a Mother’s Day Competition

Use Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to run a successful Mother’s day competition, where a special mom can win something amazing. Clearly state that each entry is only valid if they sign up to your list, like your Facebook page or share a specific post.


Tip #8: Start a Mother’s Day Board

Holidays are great because they drive tons of sales. That means if you invest time and effort into curating great images for your Mother’s day board, it will convert over time. Plus, you’ll end up growing your community and making more sales.


Tip #9: Give Something Back

Remember in the old days when you used to get a 13th donut for buying a dozen? Old fashion loyalty tactics like this are back in. Send everyone on your email list something special, like a coupon or a free ebook. Mother’s day is about appreciation!


Tip #10: Social Proof For Exposure

Mother’s day is photo day, which means that you have a unique opportunity to get shots of your mom and your brand together. Do something special for your own mom, and use the photos to send a message to your fans. They will love the intimacy and your community will grow.

What are you doing for your mom this Mother’s day? Anything special?

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The Universal Appeal of The Hashtag: How To Use It In Business http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/universal-appeal-hashtag-business/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/universal-appeal-hashtag-business/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:51:40 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4926 HashtagThe hashtag, once a uniquely Twitter-based element, has become the most efficient means of categorizing content online. As such, sites like Pinterest and Google+ have joined Twitter as hashtag users, and news is spreading about Facebook adopting it too. In light of this new information, what does your business need to know about online hashtag [...]]]> The hashtag, once a uniquely Twitter-based element, has become the most efficient means of categorizing content online. As such, sites like Pinterest and Google+ have joined Twitter as hashtag users, and news is spreading about Facebook adopting it too. In light of this new information, what does your business need to know about online hashtag use?

1 The Universal Appeal of The Hashtag: How To Use It In Business

Courtesy of designtaxi.com


The Beginning of The Humble Hashtag

No-one knows who invented the hashtag, but we know that it was around BEFORE Twitter brought it into the public eye. They were first used on IRC networks to label topics and groups. Chris Messina, an open source advocate first introduced the idea to Twitter users, by mentioning that they should use the pound symbol (#) for groups.

The hashtag quickly shot to fame after its inclusion in the high profile #sandiegofire news event, when wildfire tore through California at the time. In order for fellow tweeters to see Nate Ritter’s posts, they needed to stay on his hashtag channel. The rest was history.


Interesting Points About Hashtagging

Today, hashtagging is one of the most prolific and fun ways of describing content online. Hashtags are a way to describe a mood, to predict an event, and even to chat about a specific location. They are easily the most efficient crowdsourced means of organizing disorganized content on any social network online right now.

This is why the hashtag is not just a Twitter thing anymore. In fact, you’ll see hashtags being used on Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, Tout, Tumblr and perhaps even Facebook in the coming days. Because organizing content helps people find it, hashtagging has just become one of the most important lessons you can learn as a small business owner.

hashtag The Universal Appeal of The Hashtag: How To Use It In Business

Courtesy of contentious.com

When you know how to accurately hashtag your content, you’ll get more traffic and interactions from it – which usually amounts to more sales. Hashtags are also becoming a form of keyword property like a domain address. The better your hashtag keywords, the more people instinctively use them or search for them on your networks.

Hashtags like #ilovenewyork are very general, but because of the millions of people that use this hashtag every day, it’s an incredible hashtag to use in marketing messages. Similarly, hashtags have temporal value, meaning that they are connected to real-time events, and can cause massive surges in traffic to your sites if you know how to use them. The recent hashtag #bostonmarathonbombs attracted tons of traffic.

Of course this begs the ethical question – is it alright to use tragic news events for marketing purposes? I believe if you do it with sincerity and grace, there’s no reason why a tweet here or there can’t help you with your Twitter marketing goals. Many businesses sent out tweets, offering their condolences to the families of the people that died. There is nothing wrong with that. However, direct marketing is distasteful and should be discouraged.

“Get 20% off product X with these explosive savings at brand X! #bostonbombings”

This kind of tweet is unethical, and will contribute to the devaluation of your brand online. Are you starting to see how important hashtags are becoming to small business marketers?


How To Use Hashtags For Business

This brings us to the question – how do you, as a business owner, learn to use hashtags to improve your business – across all participating social networks?

The easy answer is that you will have to integrate a hashtag strategy into your current marketing campaigns. Hashtags are universal now, and that means you need to start treating them as a dominant form of sourcing traffic from social networks.

According to RadiumOne, 58% of all social media users that participated in their survey, use hashtags on a daily basis. More than 70% of these do it from their mobile phones.

hashtag pins1 The Universal Appeal of The Hashtag: How To Use It In Business

Courtesy of blog.laptopmag.com

  • 40.7% of people said that they used hashtags to communicate personal ideas or feelings
  • 34.1% of people said that they use it to follow relevant categories and brands that they’re interested in
  • 14.8% of people said that they use hashtags to redirect audiences to external web content like videos, articles and links
  • 10.4% of people said that they use hashtags to promote social or corporate events

You can use hashtags in any of the following ways:

• Use hashtags to curate content
• To find conversations about your brand, book, or persona
• To meet important influencers in your niche
• To join in on conversations about relevant topics
• As research tools when creating content for your blog or marketing materials
• As a news archive tool
• To check out what the competition is doing
• To see how the competition is chatting with their audiences
• To organize and run live events like Twitter chats and meetups
• To source social proof from relevant fans and experts
• To find great guest bloggers for your blog
• To find more people to add to your network (fan base growth)


The Coming Facebook Hashtag

There still seems to be some confusion about hashtags online, with many memes coming out and going viral on sites like Facebook. There will always be resistance to change, but those in the ‘know’ understand that this progression is actually good for everyone. It means that soon, you’ll be able to find conversations on Facebook that interest you and join in.

Facebook Hashtags The Universal Appeal of The Hashtag: How To Use It In Business

Courtesy of newsey.es

Whether this will further muddy their lack of ‘privacy’ is another matter. All hashtagging is public of course – it’s an indexing system. Luckily you’ve taken your first step to becoming a small business owner that knows how to properly use hashtags in their daily strategies online. For the early adopters, only growth and success will follow.

I recently noticed a survey on Facebook where they were asking fans to provide feedback on their search functionality. Will hashtags be the new search system Facebook adopts? What do you think?

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How To Use Twitter Vine To Rapidly Boost Internet Traffic http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/twitter-vine-rapidly-boost-internet-traffic/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/twitter-vine-rapidly-boost-internet-traffic/#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:25:33 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4600 Twitter VineTwitter Vine is taking the social media world by storm, and it’s opened up new ways for your business to market itself for next to nothing. Best of all, the mobile app is a unique and valuable way to ramp up your traffic when you need it. Today I’m taking an in-depth look at how [...]]]> Twitter Vine is taking the social media world by storm, and it’s opened up new ways for your business to market itself for next to nothing. Best of all, the mobile app is a unique and valuable way to ramp up your traffic when you need it. Today I’m taking an in-depth look at how your business should be using Twitter Vine for website hits.

vine app for iphone How To Use Twitter Vine To Rapidly Boost Internet Traffic

Courtesy of queensquill.com


#1: The Super-Powered About Us Pages

Creative companies are using Twitter Vine to add looping videos to their ‘about us’ page on their websites. They tell their brand story in snippets, instead of simply using boring old words. The result is an SEO boost, a traffic increase and a much lower bounce rate. What more could you want from new marketing method?


#2: Product Showcases and Sharable Content

An image of a product can only do so much, but Twitter Vine lets you showcase the product in all of its glory. Include something really interesting about your product and show something exciting, or useful. An example may be to showcase your new juicing machine, along with the best recipe result ever – like a trademark smoothie.

2r7oub6 How To Use Twitter Vine To Rapidly Boost Internet Traffic

Courtesy of business2community.com


#3: Get Your Product Fans Posting with Hashtags

Whether you own a hair salon, or sell gadgets off the internet, Twitter Vine can be one of the most powerful methods of social proof ever created. Get your fans and friends to take Vine videos and post them on Twitter under your brand hashtag, and on your Facebook page. People love user-generated reviews and tutorials.


#4: Show Your Customers The Human Side of Your Business

If there are ever events, workshops or conferences where your employees are all together making a difference – use Twitter Vine to show your fans and customers how awesome you are. This puts a human face on your business and encourages repeat sales. You can also take Vine videos of each employee to showcase who they are on your website.


#5: Use Twitter Vine as a Portfolio Snippet Tool

Entice your potential clients to buy from your company by using Twitter Vine to take snippets of your services or products – and send it to them as portfolio ‘sneak-peeks.’ A wedding company for example, might send a Vine video of the table decorations they’ve done from the last few weddings they were involved in. Instant sales tool!

Vine How To Use Twitter Vine To Rapidly Boost Internet Traffic

Courtesy of Twylah.com


#6: Feel Good Formulas For Additional Sales and Traffic!

Everyone loves a good story, and I’m sure your business has many. Tell them by using Twitter Vine videos and posting these on your social media pages. You can also illustrate how to enter a competition that is based on one of your social media pages. Businesses all over the world are joining in on this 6 second extravaganzas.

On Twitter right now you can enjoy many creative, and business-based Twitter Vines, brought to you by the big brands online. It’s time you, as a small business, started capitalizing on this virtually free application that can do so much for your brand. A Vine today could mean an additional 1000 hits tomorrow, so get moving!

Join our Twitter page here!

Have you tested Vine yet? How do you use this app to improve your business?

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The Ultimate Bird Watchers Guide To Twitter Marketing http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/ultimate-bird-watchers-guide-twitter-marketing/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/ultimate-bird-watchers-guide-twitter-marketing/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:24:58 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4506 Twitter marketingTwitter marketing is a complex game to master – but there are loads of lessons from local bird watchers that can help you improve your strategies. Instead of ‘the ultimate guide’ why not try out this more social approach to using Twitter? Today, I reveal how the bird watchers of the world would use this [...]]]> Twitter marketing is a complex game to master – but there are loads of lessons from local bird watchers that can help you improve your strategies. Instead of ‘the ultimate guide’ why not try out this more social approach to using Twitter? Today, I reveal how the bird watchers of the world would use this excellent marketing platform.

How Twitter and Facebook are changing internet marketing The Ultimate Bird Watchers Guide To Twitter Marketing

Courtesy of virtualsocialmedia.com


Twitter is For The Birds

What makes a Twitter marketing campaign successful? I would say the combination of Twitter users, a highly interactive account and real life returns, leads or business from your page. All three of these elements need to be what drives your strategy.


Step 1: Research The Many Bird Types

The first step in your ultimate Twitter marketing strategy is to do your research. For some reason, many businesses forget to perform this vital function on an ongoing basis. Be like the bird watcher that is preparing for a trip. Research the accounts that you want to be like or outdo – and don’t be afraid to take note of specific strategies you’d like to try.

Tip! To find Twitter followers be like a bird watcher that preps for a big trip. The more you know about your competitors, the easier creating an engaging account will be.


Step 2: Twitting Marketing Diversity Tools

In the realm of bird watching – without binoculars, a camera and map systems – you’ll never find certain bird species. It’s the same on your Twitter account. If you don’t have the right tools, you’ll never attract any followers or engagement. Make sure that you find and use the most appropriate Twitter marketing tools for your niche.

Tip! Use the new Twitter app ‘Vine’ to capture 6 second looping videos that you can then use to market products, services or extend your brand reach.

twitter infographic1 The Ultimate Bird Watchers Guide To Twitter Marketing

Courtesy of inblurbs.com


Step 3: Use Third Party Sites

How do you find the birds you want to photograph? Easy! With maps. On Twitter, you can choose to use the basic search function, but honestly –third party apps and sites make it easier for you. Use sites like TwitterCounter Search, Listorious and Twellow to become part of the right Twitter communities.

Tip! Half the struggle is following the right people, or reaching out to the right networks. Do this daily by finding a few new birds in the Twitter forest, and your account will thrive.


Step 4: Automation and Personal Contact

When you have your page ready, you’ll need to decide how to run that Twitter business page. No effective Twitter accounts can run manually all the time. You must create set content that you can schedule in a management tool like Tweetdeck. This set content will become the core of your Twitter marketing strategy. You should still post 70% fresh content each day.

Tip! Split the content into 70/30 – 30% scheduled content, and 70% new, fresh and responsive content. Much of this should be talking TO people, not at them.

The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Marketing The Ultimate Bird Watchers Guide To Twitter Marketing

Courtesy of virtualsocialmedia.com

Twitter marketing is about patience, long term results and consistency. Even if your messages aren’t that strong, what matters most is how you approach and connect with people. Bird watchers know everything they can about each type of bird – you should know as much about your followers, to deliver a better profile experience!

Check out our Twitter page here!

Can you name one Twitter marketing practice that you use all the time?

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10 Ethical Ways To Find Twitter Followers Online http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/10-ethical-ways-find-twitter-followers-online/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/10-ethical-ways-find-twitter-followers-online/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:25:49 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4502 find Twitter followersTo find Twitter followers for your account, you’ll need to employ some tactics that don’t involve paying for ‘fans.’ This trend to pay for fans and followers is being undermined by the changing algorithms on these social platforms. The only way to find and keep good followers, is to source them organically. Today, I show [...]]]> To find Twitter followers for your account, you’ll need to employ some tactics that don’t involve paying for ‘fans.’ This trend to pay for fans and followers is being undermined by the changing algorithms on these social platforms. The only way to find and keep good followers, is to source them organically. Today, I show you how.

121003 TECH twitterfollowers.jpg.CROP .article568 large 10 Ethical Ways To Find Twitter Followers Online

Courtesy of slate.com


#1: Have a Custom Page

If you want to find Twitter followers in your niche, then you need a great looking Twitter page. Invest some time and money into your design, your logo, your icons – and focus especially on your background. When people check to see who you are, they should be able to find out in a matter of seconds. Keep those Twitter ethics in mind!


#2: Find Twitter Followers Via Directories

The internet is full of quality directories like Twellow and WeFollow, where you can discover the most applicable people to follow in your niche. Sometimes all it takes is a friendly hello and for you to follow their account. Then they will follow yours (as long as you’re relevant). Directories are a great place to find business contacts, friends, mentors or peers.


#3: Run a Twitter Contest

It sounds cliché, but Twitter marketing contests do work! Simply put together a nice prize for the winner and create a catchy hashtag. The bigger the prize the more followers you’ll get. You can also offer multiple prizes and be sure to keep it exclusive to Twitter. Find Twitter followers by adding general contest hashtags to these posts.


#4: Discover Twitter Online

The easiest way to find Twitter followers is to explore certain niches or hashtags on Twitter itself. Twitter often recommends some great people for you to follow. Alternatively you can click on a Twitter business account you admire and see who they follow. Sometimes the best people are hidden away in these more mainstream accounts.

photodune 882828 follow checkbox xs 300x199 10 Ethical Ways To Find Twitter Followers Online

Courtesy of get-social-fans.com


#5: Be Highly Interactive

The first thing real Twitter users look for is to find Twitter followers that actually interact with them. Be sure to interact regularly with your Twitter users, chat with them – share stories and advice with them – anything to get the discussions or comments moving forward. That way when new users check on you, they’ll see that you are an active user.


#6: Authentic, Regular Posting

Nothing is easier than posting on Twitter every day, and it’s something you must do if you’re trying to grow your following. Find Twitter followers by adding at least 4-5 pieces of new content to your account daily. Consistency is really the key to a successful Twitter page.


#7: Live Tweeting For Followers

Host special ‘live tweet’ events where you and your followers add event details or up-to-date news on your page as it happens. Going to a niche seminar? Keep your Twitter fans in the loop by tweeting all about it.


#8: Use Tweets in Your Blogs

You may have noticed that I sometimes use Tweets as social evidence in my blogs. You can do this to boost the number of people flowing from your blog to your Twitter page! Find Twitter followers by adding tweet evidence to your blog posts.

twitter followers 10 Ethical Ways To Find Twitter Followers Online

Courtesy of productsreviewsblog.com


#9: Be an Authority

I know it’s been said a lot but if people know who you are they will follow you. Write an ebook, podcast or webinar and brand it with clickable links to your Twitter page!


#10: Use Hashtags Properly

Learning how to properly use hashtags will help you find Twitter followers ethically. Notice how other people use them on Twitter and be specific. Never more than 3-4 in one update!

Use these 10 tips to find Twitter followers online. You don’t need to PAY for followers, and it’s an unethical practice that has no real value. Do the right thing!

Join our Twitter page right here!

How do you ethically collect Twitter followers?

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Twitter VS Instagram: Take Your Hipster Photos and Leave! http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/twitter-instagram-hipster-photos-leave/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/twitter-instagram-hipster-photos-leave/#comments Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:02:21 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4195 Twitter InstagramTwitter has recently kicked Instagram photos off the popular microblogging platform, an aggressive move in the ongoing Twitter-Facebook photo-off. No more retro filters, faded landscapes and artsy food images for Twitter! But why has Twitter made this move, and what has prompted them to ban the world’s most loved photo app? The Twitter VS Instagram [...]]]> Twitter has recently kicked Instagram photos off the popular microblogging platform, an aggressive move in the ongoing Twitter-Facebook photo-off. No more retro filters, faded landscapes and artsy food images for Twitter! But why has Twitter made this move, and what has prompted them to ban the world’s most loved photo app?

instagram twitter Twitter VS Instagram: Take Your Hipster Photos and Leave!

Courtesy of soccialissimo.it


The Twitter VS Instagram Debacle

It was just another day on Twitter, when Instagram users noticed that their hipster-cool photos were buggy and on the fritz. Now, no more Instagram photos will be allowed on Twitter – ever, ever again. Is that true? What’s up?


SMMU Theories on This Bold Twitter Move

• It’s no secret that Twitter is becoming bolder than usual, and it’s developing its own photo filter app that will be used on the site. Much like Facebook has Instagram now, Twitter will launch a competitor, and they really want users to use their option over the incredibly popular Facebook option. In theory a good move, but I’m not sure if I’d bet against an app like Instagram.

• Twitter is a little bit sore about the fact that Facebook outbid them to GET Instagram several months ago – $1 billion was a hard bid to beat. At the time, both companies knew that the future of social relied on image communication. Twitter also blocked Instagram users from using its data to find friends.

• The Twitter creators are in the process of launching and developing 2 new concepts – Medium and Branch. Both will use images as a central part of the attraction of the core concepts. It has to be planning ahead by Twitter.

• Twitter itself is becoming a massive photo sharing site, with people attaching images to their tweets. The potential is huge for expansion…if only they had a great photo app.

• Essentially Instagram wants people to interact with images on their app and on Facebook, and Twitter wants the same for their upcoming editing software.

facebook and instagram Twitter VS Instagram: Take Your Hipster Photos and Leave!

Courtesy of globalpost.com


Word on The Street and on #Twitter

The internet has its own opinions as we all well know – and people are FURIOUS about Twitters sudden Instagram ‘ban.’ Users can still tweet about their Instagram photos, but they can’t view them on Twitter anymore. It really messes with people’s profiles. Imagine if Instagram photos are the core of your business, and now that’s over.

Many, many people shared their opinions on Twitter:

@hipsterrunoff – I feel bad 4 all those ppl who wasted time integrating their #instagrambrand with their Twitter brand. *Retweeted 82 times.

@christiankoo – Why mess with a good thing? I don’t get it. #instagram

@marcorubio – What? We can’t #instagram on #twitter anymore? The world no longer makes any sense!

@Cinemaduo – So goodbye #Instagram hello #twitter photo filters. Just FYI a good photo stands alone without any filter

instatwit 625x1000 Twitter VS Instagram: Take Your Hipster Photos and Leave!

Courtesy of digitaltrends.com


How Do I Get Around The Twitter Ban?

Twitter users are ‘getting around’ the Instagram ban by using Michael Schonfeld’s Chrome-based InstaTwit extension. With some clever URL jiggery-pockery this extension ignores the new ban, and allows you to post Instagram URLs and images – all day long if you like.

Will Twitter’s answer to Instagram be any good? We’ll find out and let you know!

Did you like todays post? Then share it with all of your Instagramming friends!

Otherwise, what is your take on this Twitter VS Instagram debacle?

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20 Quick Twitter Tips To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/20-quick-twitter-tips-thankful-thanksgiving/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/20-quick-twitter-tips-thankful-thanksgiving/#comments Fri, 23 Nov 2012 04:51:35 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4001 Twitter tipsLearning Twitter tips like these will give you good insight into how you can improve your strategy, and ramp up your networking efforts this Thanksgiving. From now until Christmas, you have a window of opportunity to leverage these great ideas and make them work for your business. Today, I’m giving you a quick and easy [...]]]> Learning Twitter tips like these will give you good insight into how you can improve your strategy, and ramp up your networking efforts this Thanksgiving. From now until Christmas, you have a window of opportunity to leverage these great ideas and make them work for your business. Today, I’m giving you a quick and easy list of pro tips for your Twitter strategy.

twitter tips teachers 20 Quick Twitter Tips To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

Courtesy of edudemic.com


#1: Add a Page Header

You can now add a page header image (1200×600, max 5mb) make sure that yours helps define your brand identity.


#2: Bookmark Twitter Tips

Add a few key search terms on Twitter tips to your list of indexed keywords on Google, and have fresh information delivery to your inbox each day.


#3: Dial Back The Direct Promotion

Instead of publishing ad tweets, add value by promoting something worthwhile, and attach an ad message to that once the reader clicks through.


#4: Exclusive on Twitter

Treat your Twitter followers like they are special, and give them exclusive deals and coupons. These twitter tips will help expand your fan base.

twitter915 20 Quick Twitter Tips To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

Courtesy of consumerqueen.com


#5: Be a Twitter Crusader

Your Twitter details belong on your business card, email signature, general stationary, website, sales pages, forum extension – everywhere you can put it.


#6: Use Lots of Images

One of the best Twitter tips I can give you is to focus on uploading images that enhance your tweets. People love to respond to the emotion in images.


#7: Find People on Twitter Directories

Want to add relevant people to your page? Use Twitter directories like Twollow, WeFollow and Connect.me.


#8: Resource Twitter Tips

Share resources with your community that are truly valuable and interesting. Anyone can find an infographic, but is yours something special?


#9: Make Hashtags a Habit

Use hashtags to describe your blog posts, Facebook updates or other content – or integrate a hashtag into important content, that will draw people to your Twitter page.


#10: Get on Expert Lists

Make friends with 5 key niche experts, and interact with them often. Twitter tips like this will get you put on expert lists, by the experts.


#11: Be a Twitter Chatter

Host live tweeting events or attend them to become more visible in your niche. There, you can connect, network and share with lots of influencers and potential followers.


#12: Focus on Quality Users

Focus on getting quality users by finding people to connect with who always share things on Twitter. Twitter tips like this will have a dead page transform into an active feed within days.


#13: Maintain Your Profile

Check on your connections daily, follow back, learn, reply, retweet – be active. You need to maintain your profile all the time.

Twitter Follow Text Bird Web 20 Quick Twitter Tips To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

Courtesy of makeitinmusic.com


#14: Use a Twitter Client

If you find direct platform use a bit much to manage, use a Twitter client like Tweetdeck. There you can form a strategy and schedule tweets.


#15: Focus on Variety

Twitter tips often don’t extend to the conversation itself, but that’s what you’re after. Focus on speaking to and about a variety of things (and people), to attract more followers.


#16: Creative DM Use

Don’t use your direct message system to try and sell something to new followers. Be creative, personal and add value instead.


#17: Be Direct and Honest

When connecting with people, get to the point! Be direct and honest and make your intentions known, or you won’t get replies.


#18: Thoughts VS Actions

Actions are important, but thoughts on Twitter matter more. A Twitter tips stream for example, with no opinion or substance won’t gain many followers.


#19: Showcase Twitter Talent

Use your Twitter community to enhance your blog, newsletter and other marketing goals. Roundups, shout-outs and ‘discussion topics of the week’ are a great place to start.


#20: Going The Extra Mile

Twitter tips like these will keep your profile buzzing! One last thought – Being on Twitter is like paying to get into a nightclub. You’ve made the effort to be there, but you won’t have a good time if you don’t reach out to other people. Buy people drinks, put a platter out – show them some great dance moves, and you won’t have to spend the night alone!

Did you enjoy this post? Then please share it with your friends!

Which one of these points did you find most useful?

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9 Excellent Ways To Use Tags on Your Social Pages http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/9-excellent-ways-tags-social-pages/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/9-excellent-ways-tags-social-pages/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:43:04 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=3041 Tagging is a popular action in social media, that helps you identify people, things, keywords or places. There are a number of ways that you can use this feature to increase engagement on Youtube, Pinterest, Flickr, Facebook and other social pages. Today, I’m going to let you in on 9 great tagging techniques that you [...]]]> Tagging is a popular action in social media, that helps you identify people, things, keywords or places. There are a number of ways that you can use this feature to increase engagement on Youtube, Pinterest, Flickr, Facebook and other social pages. Today, I’m going to let you in on 9 great tagging techniques that you can use in your next campaign.

Screen Shot 2012 01 24 at 6.19.06 PM 300x139 9 Excellent Ways To Use Tags on Your Social Pages

Courtesy of hunchfree.com

#1: Facebook Competition Tagging

Get your fans to tag images on your fan page to enter a competition. Randomly select a winner from a location on the image you’ve previously chosen!

#2: In-video Youtube Tagging

Tagging ‘in-video’ means that you’re leaving a tag, or note, for the viewer to read as they watch your video. Make sure that yours enhances your video, and that they aren’t spammy.

#3: 3 Point Keyword Tagging on Your Blog

Find the right tag keywords for your blog posts using the 3 point method – check Google suggestions, Google Adwords and your direct competition.

#4: Flickr Tagging by Location

If you upload lots of photos on Flickr, you’ll want to use a geotagging system. Tag your photos systematically by location, or by description.

#5: Hashtag Your Pinterest Pins

There are hashtags on Pinterest, but they work a little differently. Upload your image and tag it with a hashtag. It’ll act as an easy search source for your followers. When they click on the hashtag, it’ll automatically search for more images with that descriptive term.

#6: Facebook Fan Recognition Tagging

Get your fans to tag themselves and their friends in images that you post, when you collect fan photos at events. These will help encourage commenting, liking and sharing.

#7: Pop Up Tag on Youtube For Direct Traffic

Use a Youtube in-video tag as a URL pop-up, in strategic places. People are more likely to click on a URL during video play, than after it. Time yours carefully.

#8: Twitter Free Giveaway Hashtags

If you have trouble getting followers to use your hashtags, try incorporating your brand name with an obvious free giveaway tagline. It adds value and causes a viral surge.

#9: Source Popular Hashtags Already in Use on Twitter

Instead of making up your own hashtags, find a particularly popular and applicable hashtag that already exists in your niche. Often this will gain you a lot more followers.

BONUS TIP! Tagging is almost always about SEO in social media. Unless you’re tagging faces or locations – chances are you’ll need a solid keyword to increase your ranking potential. People forget that every single tag is an opportunity to improve your SEO.

Use these 9 great tips to shape your tagging into something useful – and remember to keep an eye out for tagging that is noticeably well-optimized. It’s easier to learn, when you see expert SEO in action. Make a note to always check what your competition is doing in the tagging department, when conducting other SEO research.

Do you have a tagging tip for the SMM community? Leave it here, and let’s discuss how it’s worked for you!

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4 Insights on What Not To Do With Hashtags, Ever! http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/4-insights-hashtags/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/4-insights-hashtags/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:43:07 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=2639 Twitter HashtagHave you ever used a popular hashtag in a Tweet? It's called piggybacking - and these are the 4 things you should never, ever do! Ignore this post at your own peril!]]> Hashtags are a wonderful marketing tool when used ethically and uniquely. Unfortunately for so many marketers out there – ethics are not on their main list of priorities. The spin-off is that many novice marketers fall into a horrible trap – because of something they’ve seen or read about, and tried themselves.

hasg 4 Insights on What Not To Do With Hashtags, Ever!

Courtesy of florenceroad.com

Today, I’m posting 4 insights that will help you steer clear of bad hashtag marketing practices – they’ll save you a world of trouble!

#1: Never Ever Piggyback on Meaningful Hashtags

Kenneth Cole, the world renowned fashion house, gets a lot of great publicity from supporting meaningful causes. Then, they posted a tweet using the hashtag #Cairo. This tweet was meant to help people find and follow the bloody democratic protests in the country at the time. Only – they used it to drive traffic to their spring collection.

“Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at ….”

This insensitive tweet caused an outcry on Twitter. They piggybacked on a serious hashtag to sell their products. These hashtags are not meant to sell your products – so never, ever piggyback on controversial or meaningful news hashtags!

#2: Don’t Be Blatant About Your Hashtag Piggybacking

If the new Avengers movie is causing Twitter to come alive – that is an opportunity for marketers who sell dvd’s, music and comics, related to movies. But, if your niche has nothing to do with the movie, you either have to be a darn good writer, or absolutely silly to use this hashtag.

“I love the new #Avengers movie. Check out my scrapbooking website, I’m selling my paper at half price! …”

This is ridiculous. Don’t do it!

#3: Using Base Model Hashtags To Attract Followers

If you’re going to base a hashtag of your own around another popular hashtag – with either the same premise or structure, be careful how you do it. McDonald’s tried to do this with the wholesome foods hashtag #MeetTheFarmers. They started a hashtag, #McDStories, to introduce quotes about the quality of McDonald’s food.

As you can imagine, this didn’t go down well. Thousands of people used the hashtag to complain about the negative quality of McDonald’s food. The lesson? Think about the angle you’re coming from, with your hashtag. Does it invite ridicule? Ask a few people to think about the hashtag first, before it goes live!

#4: Random Popular Hashtag Lists

The final insight here, is about abusing the piggyback system. Yes, you can use popular hashtags if they are relevant to your business or niche. But populating your tweet with #Bieber, #Obama or #iPhone5, is enormously irritating. No one is going to regard your feed as useful, if your tweets make no sense.

The key thing to take away here is, while hashtag piggybacking is considered an unspoken method of expanding your Twitter community, or even making sales – don’t confuse it with ethical practices. Use it at your own peril, and avoid these 4 horrible mistakes marketers make. You don’t want to end up being a hashtag yourself, after a massive Twitter blunder.

Do you think Twitter hashtag piggybacking is ethical or unethical? Have you seen one recently that made you laugh? Share it with us here!

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5 Ways Twitter Can Be Improved http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/5-ways-twitter-improved/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/5-ways-twitter-improved/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:26:23 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=2132 Twitter picWill Twitter be able to evolve like Facebook and Google+? Here are the top 5 things we'd like to see Twitter implement in the coming months. Read it now!]]> No social media site is perfect, and people do a great job of letting these top sites know what needs to be changed. So, this is our contribution to a controversial list. We want to see some positive changes on Twitter, for increased social networking and better business exposure.

twitterWhale 5 Ways Twitter Can Be Improved

Courtesy of telerikwatch.com


#1: Trending Topics Filter

It’s nice that every time you log onto Twitter, you get to see which topics are trending in the world, but they are very rarely useful. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to filter these topics by niche or category? That way you can keep track of what’s hot and trending in your field. Less “Birdy Nam Nam” more “Social Business.”


#2: Lists That Don’t Profile Publish

Following lists is fun, but it’s a bit of a hassle wading through one-on-one person spam. Instead, why not allow users to publish exclusively to certain lists? It would increase list popularity, improve hashtag use, and make for a true second location to visit on Twitter. No on wants to see these posts on your profile.


#3: Can and Can’t See Profile Tweets

We always check out someone’s profile before following them, but a lot of the time – you can’t make sense of it. When you start a conversation with one person on Twitter, it litters your profile with conversation. All the good stuff ends up hidden. Instead of choosing between a great profile and a good conversation, why not add in a tweet profile editor, where you can show or hide certain tweets?


#4: Hashtag Filtering

It’s great that hashtags can solve a lot of filtering issues, but what if you only want to see a hashtag used by one specific person? Yes there’s the refine search option, but wouldn’t it be easier to have a little one click button on your Twitter page? Simply pop in the hashtag you want to find, click the button and it automatically does it. No more 10+ screening options. Twitter users like it short and quick.


#5: Hashtag Collections

Sometimes when we’re on Twitter, we come across a hashtag we really enjoy. Then suddenly, it’s gone. How about a widget that allows you to store your top 5 or collections of hashtags, that can be viewed by your community? They will help define your business account, and add great crowd sourced info to your profile.

Twitter will continue to evolve, and hopefully we’ll see some of these changes in the future. There hasn’t been much discussion on how the Google+ vs. Facebook debacle will affect Twitter – and we think it’s more than they’d like. Both Google and Facebook have spent a lot of time and money expanding their services, and we’d like to see some from Twitter as well.

There is so much more that they can do to make their site business friendly, improve on spam filters and update their hashtag technology. If they do these things, it’s likely that Twitter will remain a prominent player in social media.

How do you think Twitter can improve? We’ve given you some suggestions, now add to the list!

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