Tweet

Tweet

When I was a kid, I lived and breathed golf. Not such an easy thing to do, living in a climate that sometimes resembles the arctic.

I loved to play and dreamed of becoming a pro. My dad also shared my passion, and whenever the pros came to town, we would go to the pre-tournament practice rounds together, which provided me with some of my best memories with my father.

It was 1989 and we were attending such a round at the PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes. My dad and I spent all day following around our favorites, many of whom drew big crowds even on a practice day. We were enjoying the event, lingering around on some far end of the course when we noticed the crowds were disappearing and most of the pros were heading back to the clubhouse. The summer sun was just entering its late-day golden hour. And ours turned out to be golden in more ways than one.

As we began our trek back to our car, sad that our time with the pros was ending, we looked down a fairway and saw a golfer and his caddy making their way toward the hole. We stopped and squinted, trying to figure out who it was. Maybe an amateur? There weren’t any other fans around, so that must have been it. If it was anyone accomplished, surely there would be more people flocking around the hole, more people than just us, the player and his caddy.

I think my dad and I figured it out at the same time.  As the pair approached, we realized that this last player on the course was none other than golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

We watched him hit his approaching shot, walk to the hole, then putt. He said something to his caddy, who was also his son. Then he left the green, walked right past us and proceeded to the next tee. The way I remember it, he quietly said hello to us and we said ‘hi’ back, and watched him go on his way. Apparently, as long as there was daylight, there was more golf to be played, even for the best player in the game.

Out of all of the tournaments I had seen—both in person and on t.v.—that memory sticks with me like no other. And why? Because I came thisclose to greatness. Thisclose to someone I truly admired. Thisclose to Jack. For a brief moment, it was just the four of us out there. It was like he played that shot just for me. It was like I was dreaming.

That’s one of the reasons I was drawn to Twitter. It has made me feel closer to people I admire and respect—and not just big names, but those from all walks of life: people to communicate with, trade ideas with, learn from, become informed by. Twitter really has made me feel better connected to people I might not have had any connection to at all in the past. Get a tweet from someone you admire, and you’ll feel they are talking to you and only you. That’s part of the allure: you feel special, like you’re in on a secret. Like you’re a VIP. Twitter has made people and organizations accessible in ways we could not have imagined years ago.

This story is also a testiment to the character and discipline of a true winner. By the time I had my encounter, Mr. Nicklaus was already a legend, already the winningest golf professional. And yet he was the last one on the course, still practicing after everyone else had packed it in. After all those years, all of that training and experience, he still felt the need to be out there. Maybe he just enjoyed being there and playing when everyone else had left. But to me, it looked like he was studying the course, trying different shots, analyzing his game.

I think throughout life, we all at one time or another have someone we dream of meeting one day. Back then, Jack Nicklaus probably topped my list. For me, all it took was to linger on the edge of a fairway after everyone else had gone home. Maybe nowadays, all it takes is a tweet.

Tags: Golf, Jack Nicklaus, PGA, Twitter

Tweet

Tweet

With more than 110 million tweets being sent per day, it’s easy for most messages venturing into the Twittersphere to get lost in the timeline shuffle. Unless you’re Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber or CNN, so much of what people tweet ends up being seen only by a few followers or goes unnoticed altogether. So how do you get your missives to stand out and get retweeted? Here are some tips:

Quality: Good writing gets noticed in part because it’s easy to read. Make good use of your 140 characters by making them good ones. Always spell correctly. Use proper grammar. Write using an active voice (such as “Jane shared her quilting tips”) rather than a passive voice (The quilting tips were shared by Jane). Don’t over-abbreviate—not everyone abbreviates words the same way and tweets containing too many abbreviations slows readers down as they try to decipher your words’ meanings. Always shorten links. Use all caps and punctuation sparingly and for emphasis. The easier you make it for people to read your tweets, the more likely they will want to read them and come to know that your tweets are worth reading when they see your avatar appear in their timeline.

Content: People follow you for a reason. Maybe you represent a company that specializes in search engine optimization, or you’re a long-time sewing expert who loves to tweet about quilting tips and fabric sales. When it comes to tweeting, create content that is appropriate for your account. If your followers follow you mainly because you said that you will tweet about basketball news and NBA players, you probably don’t want to start sending multiple paid tweets for Acai berry products. An offbeat tweet now and then is fine and acceptable, but remember to stay focused on your purpose for tweeting and why people follow you. You know the saying: “Give ‘em what they want.” Give them anything else, and your tweets might become a turn off. Even if people don’t begin to unfollow you, they might simply tune out and overlook your tweets whenever they appear.

Frequency: If you send out several tweets a day—great! However, if those several tweets are crammed into the same hour, you will be missing out on the opportunity to reach more of your followers who tune in throughout the day. If possible, spread out your tweets more so that you increase the odds that more eyes will see them. If your schedule does not allow for checking into Twitter more than once a day, consider assigning the task of sending tweets to someone other than yourself. Often companies manage social media accounts in shifts, which allows them to interact and be available more for customer service questions (some companies even post their ‘tweeting hours’ on their account bios). There is debate over whether or not people should use a service that allows them to schedule tweets. Some argue that if you tweet you should also be available to respond to comments about those tweets. I agree that conversing with your followers is imporant. However, if you do not have the staff to support extended time on social media, a compromise might be in order. Try a mix of real-time tweeting and scheduled tweets. Log in to Twitter when possible to send real-time tweets and monitor follower feedback. Some services that can help you get started in scheduling are Social Oomph and Twuffer.

Twitter is all about reading. The easier you make it for your followers to read your tweets, the more likely your message will get noticed…and retweeted. Happy tweeting! ~Erin

Tags: 140 characters, business, how to tweet, lesson, tweeting, Twitter, Twitter marketing, writing

Tweet

Most people agree that when it comes to social media, one post alone won’t likely boost your business. Instead, each tweet or post is just one small piece over the overall social media marketing puzzle. Just as it takes many bricks assembled together to make a house, each tweet builds on the others until all of our efforts add up to something in the long run. It’s about creating relationships and interest in our products and services and most of the time it’s not about making a quick sale.

But while one tweet cannot make your business, can it break it?

One such scenario that made the news recently was a tweet sent out by designer Kenneth Cole (@KennethCole) that many considered to be in very poor taste. Here’s the tweet that was later removed from Twitter:

Kenneth Cole later issued the following apology on the company’s Facebook page:

“I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.” - Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer

It is unclear what impact-if any-this will have on Kenneth Cole’s business. Today the company still has over 10,000 followers. However, there were dozens of comments left on Kenneth Cole’s Facebook page, reactions ranging from expletives, outrage and promises of boycotts-the kind of publicity no company desires.

So how does one avoid such a mess? It’s easy to say, “Don’t post anything stupid,” but sometimes that might be easier said than done, especially if your business has multiple people manning the social media helm. Here are a few tips to help your company send tweets that don’t garner negative reactions:

Think Before You Tweet. Sounds easy, right? But Twitter is a medium that by its very nature compels people to tweet their latest thoughts and opinions. That’s fine if this is your personal account seen only by friends. But for a business, every tweet becomes part of your public image and might be scrutinized by followers and media alike. It’s good to be current and ‘in-the-moment’ at times, but be sure to think about what you’re tweeting and the impact it might have on your followers. Be sensitive. And when in doubt, leave it out.

Set Standards. If you have more than one person representing your company on Twitter or Facebook, set guidelines for what should and should not be posted. Be explicit about what is and what is not acceptable and make sure everyone understands what is expected of them when tweeting. Just as you want to keep the lines of communication open between you and your followers, do the same with your staff. Regularly meet and discuss what your social media objectives are, what feedback your account has received from followers and fans, and what gets the best reaction. Make social media a team effort. Your online presence should have one consistent voice that followers come to identify and trust, even if many people comprise that voice.

Be Wary of Humor. It’s good for a business to have a personable ‘voice’ on Twitter and Facebook-to let people see that the account is not an automated robot, but rather populated by real people with real personalities who can respond when asked a question. But be careful if you try to make your posts humorous. Everyone’s ‘sense of humor’ is different; what’s funny to one person, might not be so amusing to another. Sometimes written humor can be misconstrued by the readers. Keep in mind what your purpose is. Is it to entertain? Then by all means, crack jokes now and then. But is it to inform and to interact with consumers and provide them with some form of customer service? Then it just might be best to leave the rubber chicken at home.

Be Wary of Politics. Often companies get involved in charitable causes and tweet about fundraisers or organizations they support. But be careful of tweeting or positing about anything of a political nature, unless you want to take a stand or know that the majority of your followers would agree with you. There is evidence that people do not respond or click on links if they do not agree with the political statements being made in them. If you want to engage your followers in a conversation and keep them talking to you (and about you), leave out the politics, unless that type of dialogue complements your business.

Tags: business, etiquette, Facebook, Kenneth Cole, Twitter