What’s a Twitter Hashtag??

A hash tag is simply a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic. For example, if you search on #PUPPY (or #Puppy or #puppy, because it’s not case-sensitive), you’ll get a list of tweets related to the puppies. What you won’t get are tweets that say “I lost my puppy yesterday” because “puppy” isn’t preceded by the hash tag.

If you want to create a community of people with a common interest you can simply create a tweet with the hash tag in it. For example: Fellow puppy lovers. Let’s share tips and tricks by adding #puppy to our tweets.

Before you create the hash tag you will want to make sure it does not already exist. To do this do a regular Twitter search for puppy.

The possibilities are endless on Twitter if you use your creative thinking and stay up-to-date on the latest trends!

Do You Tweet for Business?

This Twitter Video shows how to set up an account, customize your page and learn to use tolls and resources to make Twitter work for you!

How to be a Better Tweeter

Twitter leaves many people perplexed. Just what is the point and why should I Tweet? How Can I be a Better Tweeter? Here are some tips taken from http://news.cnet.com/how-to-be-a-better-tweeter/

The Sweet Retweet
Although it’s a relatively new practice, retweeting is an outstanding way to improve your standing on Twitter.

Has one of your followers updated their Twitter stream with an interesting article they found somewhere on the Web? If so, don’t just read the story and go about your day, retweet it! I’ve found that when I do so, most of my followers will do the same and in the process, some add my username to their own update, exposing me to their entire list of followers. Not all articles are created equal, though, so you need to make sure that the message you’re retweeting is something your followers actually care about. I learned the hard way: it turns out my followers really don’t care about horseback riding in Moscow.
To retweet, the accepted practice is to copy the original text into your own Twitter post and prefix it with “RT” or “Retweet” and the originator’s name. For example: “RT @donreisinger: I resubscribed to the NY Post last week. Delivery was supposed to begin on Jan. 31. I have YET to receive a paper.”

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Twitter Tools

Although Twitter has changed over the years of its existence, it can still be a powerful marketing tool for your business with the right add-ons. Here is an overview of five free tools that you might want to use to make your Twitter marketing more effective.

TwitterMail – Use Email to Post Tweets

TwitterMail is especially useful for people who have phones that can send email, but don’t have an app for Twitter. Besides allowing you to send an email to post onto Twitter, this program allows you to specify when that tweet is posted. For the techie among us, it also allows you to post to Twitter from an HTML form or a PHP script without having to use the Twitter API.

Twitscoop – An Alternative Twitter Interface, with a Unique Cloud

Twitscoop allows you to send tweets, receive tweets and manage friend requests without ever having to change pages. If you are a heavy Twitter user, this will save you lots of time. In other words, it’s a faster, free, alternative Twitter interface. Twitscoop also features a unique Twitter cloud that can help you keep track of all the most talked-about topics in the twittersphere.

Retweet Rank – How Many Retweets Are You Getting?

When you send out a tweet, how many people in turn tweet that out to their friends? How does your “retweet-power” measure against other Twitter users? Retweet Rank can tell you. You don’t need an account; all you need to do is go to their site and type in your username.

Twitter Grader – How Influential Are You?

Want to know how you stack up against other Twitter users overall? Twitter Grader can show you. In addition to ranking you against other Twitter users, it’ll also offer brief suggestions for improving your Twitter account and being more influential.

Qwitter – Know Who Unfollowed You!

Ever wondered who clicked the Unfollow button? Ever wonder how many unfollows you’re actually getting? Just because your follower count is going up doesn’t mean some people aren’t unfollowing you. Qwitter will send you a daily email, showing you exactly who unfollowed you. This can be useful both from a personal perspective (i.e. knowing if someone influential is losing interest) as well as from a statistical perspective (i.e. finding out your average follower retention rate).

These are just a few of the hundreds of Twitter tools that are available to make Twitter an effective free marketing tool for your business. Make sure to explore Twitter tools like these and others if you use Twitter and read this earlier Biz Tip about Twitter platforms.

This post was taken from a newsletter by Janet Slack janet@lifeadventurecoaching.com

Wack Wednesday – Twitter Mastery Video Course

I have lost it again – this course is of unbelievable and I am practically giving it away for just $6.97!

No doubt you’ve heard of Twitter, but if you’re not using it in your marketing efforts, then you’re missing out on BOATLOADS of traffic and ultimately, sales.

Twitter is the 10th largest website in the world – wouldn’t you like some of their traffic?

Twitter is everywhere…

On the news, in TV commercials and shows, and celebrities even use it to commumicate with their fans.

Not to mention, numerous businesses are using it to find hungry buyers and increase their bottom line…

Are you?

This new course is delivered as a series of 21 videos and a step-by-step PDF guide that you can use as you watch the videos.

Invest just an hour or two a day over the next 5 days and you will have all the knowledge you need to make Twitter a major part of your sales and marketing plan.

And this is NOT some sloppy little “thrown together” course…

In fact, it’s one of the best “primers” I’ve ever seen on the topic.

Go grab your copy now – you won’t regret it!

Happy Tweeting!

Sherry Lynn

Why should you set up a Twitter Auto-reply?

An auto-reply is very important, if you are using Twitter to build your business.
Twitter has millions of users. There are a few thousands who would have setup their accounts and would never have used Twitter. There are yet others who have setup few robots to manage their Twitter accounts and then there are the others who are serious users. How will you let your followers know, the category that you fall into? If you seriously want to use Twitter to build relationships then you want to do it right!
An auto-reply can help in many ways:
Setting this up will introduce you to you followers. Some people have thousands and thousands of followers who tweet every day which means they are getting a ton of tweets. There is simply not enough time for people to read them all. Most people will prioritize their followers in order of whose tweets and DMs to read. An introduction and Thank You goes along way to increase the chances of them watching you closer.
Sets the intent that you will be interactive. Your auto-reply is your first interaction with your follower. They are following your for a reason, but is yet to know your worth at Twitter. A well written auto-reply will show you mean business and your follower will know that he is following a person who is interactive and might respond to his tweets and DMs and will in some way form a mutually beneficial relationship.
Thanks your followers: Your followers are your assets. These assets are valuable and behave like a shareholder in a company. The more the shareholders or, shareholdings the more powerful the company. So when a follower chooses to follow you, he is putting his trust behind you. It is a courteous jesture to go ahead and thank him for putting his trust at you and following you. Your auto-reply can serve this purpose, if your write it well.
Prepares the foundation for your business:- The first lesson in sales speaks about preparing your prospects for your sales pitch. If you go out hard selling your product in your first interaction itself, the chances that your follower will acknowledge your tweets is very slim. You will have to prepare your prospects for your sales pitch. Your followers might be your prospective buyers. In some instances they might become the network to reach your prospective buyers. In both these circumstances, you need to prepare your followers to believe in you and your words just like you need to build trust when networking in person. You auto-reply written properly can set a good foundation.
Spend some time on thinking what you auto-reply should be. Then write it down and fine-tune it over a period of time. A good auto-reply can do a world of good to your twitter activities.

Things to Remember:

Do not start to sell yourself or, your product in your auto-reply itself.
Avoid promotions or, links especially to free stuffs, because everybody knows there is nothing free in this world.
Make it just a welcome note (about 30 words) and a brief introduction of your personality (about 100 words).

Setting Up Your Auto Reply
Setting up an auto-reply is extremely simple. All you need is an account with Socialoomph.
Once you have your account set up you can set-up an auto reply very easily.
STEP 1
Go to Social Accounts – Add New and add Your Twitter Account
STEP 2
Go to Direct Messages and then Edit Welcome DM
That is it, a simple step towards better relationships on Twitter!
Happy Tweeting!
Sherry Lynn

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