I’m one of those people.

In a movie theater, I have to do everything I can to suppress my chatter. As the film unfolds, I want to talk about it. When watching t.v.—be it a football game, documentary, reality show or drama—I feel the need to add discussion to the mix, most often to my husband’s chagrin.

But apparently, I’m not alone.

Last week at the NewTeeVee conference, a Twitter executive spoke about the low-cost way for shows to incorporate “a social and community element” to watching t.v. by bringing viewers together via Twitter during a show (from PC World article). And it just might pay off: according to a study mentioned in that article, 60% of t.v. viewers surf the net while watching shows.

Through the use of a common hashtag, Twitter can unite people of similar interests and engage them in discussing the same topic. Pick a unique hashtag, and a date and a time—such as the time a new show premieres—and you have a live event viewers can participate in. By offering a Twitter party or chat that occurs while a show is in progress, you will only adds to the viewers’ experience. If someone feels they cannot participate in both, then so be it; however, for those who crave some discourse during a commercial break, the combination is a marriage made in virtual heaven.

Last week, I co-hosted a Twitter party during the airing of a PBS Documentary. The purpose was to encourage discussion about the issues that were addressed in the film. Twitter parties and live t.v. events go hand-in-hand. I’ve seen Twitter parties and chats organized for the Super Bowl, The Oscars and Emmys, MTV Music Awards, Project Runway, Comedy Central roasts, Top Chef, and even one this week for Bobby Flay’s Throwdown.

In the old days, people used to gather around the water cooler to discuss the previous night’s episode of Seinfeld. Now Twitter is the new water cooler, but instead of having to wait until you meet the gang the next day at the office, now you can log on and share comments live and in real-time. This presents a tremendous opportunity for networks and those presenting the shows: to engage people who are interested in your program and get them to chat about what they see on Twitter, thus spreading word of the discussion to their followers. You can even take it a step further and include ‘calls to action’ during the party, such as asking them to become Facebook fans or give them special offers from an advertiser.

Don’t have a t.v. show? No problem! Create your own by adding live, streaming video to your party via UStream or LiveStream (which now can stream directly to your Facebook page). Invite a guest speaker, celeb spokesperson or showcase your products via streaming feed to give your viewers something to watch while participating in the discussion.

Twitter events that coincide with t.v. programs offer the shows an even greater opportunity to connect and entice viewers and enhance viewers’ overall experience. And for people like me, I can ‘discuss’ all I want while keeping my trap shut, thus saving my marriage.

Tags: live tv show event, livestream, twitter chat, Twitter party, ustream

You probably already have a Twitter account for your business and regularly send out tweets that are informative and helpful to your followers. You might reply to all inquiries and use your Twitter account as a venue for Q&A, customer service or a mode to distribute news and information about your company. But is simply sending out tweets and replying to your followers enough?

One of your main goals for using Twitter for business should be interaction. That’s what social networking is all about: being social. So how do you get your followers to interact with you? Here are five easy, cost-effective steps you can take to convert your followers from being passive readers of tweets to active participants in a conversation.

Hold a Contest Nothing generates more buzz online than word that a company is giving something away. Have a contest and you’re sure to get people tweeting. Encourage your followers to take some sort of action to help spread the word about the contest, either by retweeting or posting the contest info on their Facebook page. Be sure to keep in mind any legal terms and conditions that you will need to adhere to for your contest to be legit. And remember to post your contest guidelines somewhere on your website and link to it in tweets so the rules are easy to follow and view.

Give a Special Offer Make your offer one that’s nearly impossible for a fan to refuse. And make exclusive to Twitter followers or Facebook fans only. With a special offer made just for them, you’ll make them feel special and glad that they’re ‘part of your club’ and following you. It might be a discount, a freebie or a ‘two-for one.’ Regardless, an offer distributed to Twitter or Facebook users alone might help you generate more followers or ‘likes’ and help create a buzz around your offer that can have far-reaching effects through social sites.

Have an Event Throw a Twitter party or a Tweetup as a way to open the lines of communication in a fun, interactive way. Pick a date, time and hashtag, as well as a theme. Invite an expert on the subject of the party to join you as a guest host to help answer questions of those in attendance. Give away some prizes during the party to generate more attention while promoting it and attracting more people to the event. A Twitter party can be a fun and informative event that not only gives your followers the opportunity to learn from you and interact with you in real time, but gets them talking about your business before, during and after the event. (For a guide to the differences between Twitter parties and Tweetups, click here).

Seek Opinions Another great way to engage your followers is to ask them for their input. Often TweeParties has asked our followers about what they like or don’t like about Twitter parties, things they would like to see change, what some of their favorite events have been like, etc.. The feedback we have received not only has shaped the way we host parties, but it also has helped us stay connected with our followers and better understand their needs and expectations. It’s a win/win situation: you engage your followers in a conversation, and you gain valuable feedback that you can apply to make your business even better. You’re also showing your followers that their opinions matter.

Make Them Feel Special People like to feel that they are part of something special. Everyone wants to be a VIP. This last point calls on you to make your followers feel that they are part of a select group or club. They’re your followers so they must be an awesome group of people, right? Make them feel that way by creating special offers or giveaways just for them; let them be the first to learn of any news or changes within your company or with your products or services; and always do what you can to respond to their tweets in a timely manner. Give them a peek at the ‘face’ or personality behind the Twitter avatar. Let them know that there’s a person (or persons) behind those tweets and that you’re hearing what they’re saying. Make a connection and you’re sure to feel the love in return. Or hopefully, feel the love in the form of more tweets and retweets about your business.

Tags: Engage followers, social media tips, Twitter, Twitter party

Drive past your local forest preserve or recreational area and you probably see just that: a nice place to spend the day, have a picnic, fly a kite. But what if it contained hidden treasure for you and your family to find?

Our first cache found...in a tree!

There’s an activity my family and I tried for the first time this past weekend that we all fell in love with. It’s called Geocaching and it’s something many of us can do just minutes from home. To summarize, Geocaching a treasure/scavenger hunt where you are given coordinates for where a ‘treasure’ is hidden (usually hidden at a park or other public space).  All you need is a GPS device (a smart phone will work—we used our Garmin) and a free account from Geocaching.com. Here’s how it works:

• Go to the Geocaching website and sign up for a free account. You’ll have to come up with a team name (get the whole family involved on brainstorming-think of something fun that defines your entire group)
• Once you have an account, enter your zip code to locate a list of Geocaching sites near you.
• Decide upon a cache you would like to find and enter the coordinates in your GPS device. Then head to your destination!
• Work as a team to find the cache (which is a small box or container). The caches are usually hidden from view so when you arrive at your coordinates, you might have to search a little (we found our first one in a tree!) And remember…most of the fun comes in the journey itself: working together as a family to find the cache!
• Once you find the cache, open it up, and see what you’ve found! Usually the cache includes trinkets left by other Geocache teams (we found stickers, small figurines, tickets, wood coins, and other small mementos). If you take something, remember to put something back of your own of greater or equal value.
• Sign the log book included in the cache. Write in your team name, date and time and any comments about your experience.
• Once home, log on to Geocaching.com to record your team’s experience. You can even upload photos and share other details of your journey.

Geocaching can be done by anyone—couples, friends, groups or scouting troops. I think that it can be a great activity for families. My husband and I loved the experience and our 3-year-old who wasn’t sure about the whole thing when we started didn’t want to leave!

A three-year-old's treasure

We found two caches this weekend, both of about the same level of difficulty (easy ones for us first-timers). On Geocaching.com, the caches are given a ‘level of difficulty’ rating so you can start out easy and take part in more difficult hunts as you and your family gain experience.

Who hides the caches? Anyone can! I suspect my family and I will sooner or later. There are people taking part in geocaching all over the world. According to Geocaching.com, as of today there are 1,211,988 active caches and an estimated 4-5 million geocachers worldwide. Their site is full of geocaching info, including how-to videos and GPS resources. Before we went, we input in our zip code on the home page and were surprised to find so many caches hidden just a short drive from our home.

Here are some additional tips that we learned from our first time out:

• Wear long pants. You never know what brush or terrain you might need to walk through to get to your cache site.
• Bring a bag. Our pockets were loaded down with our GPS, camera, and trinkets to place inside the cache once found. It would have been much easier to have one of our members carry a backpack.
• Wear comfortable shoes. Preferably hiking boots or something similar.
• Bring water. Always a good idea on a day spent outdoors. Especially with kids in tow. Snacks might be helpful too.
• Bring a pen. Just in case the one in the cache with the log book doesn’t work anymore. It would be a shame not to be able to sign it once found!

So if your family needs a little together time and an activity that won’t break the bank, visit Geocaching today! My family and I—er, I mean, my awesome cache-finding team—can’t wait for our next cache-hunting adventure!

Tags: family fun, free activities, Garmin, Geocaching, GPS, treasure hunt

Some Twitter users have attended hundreds of Twitter parties and love them. Others have just heard about them and are curious to learn more. If you fall into the latter category, here’s a short ‘Top 10 List” of reasons why Twitter parties are worth delving into:

1. They’re Free All you need is an internet connection and some free time. You don’t have to pay to get in or pay for gas to get there.

2. You Can Attend in Your Jammies How many parties can you attend in bunny slippers? Have nothing to wear? Who cares! Bad hair day? Not on Twitter (unless you dare to post a pic)! So grab a comfy blanket, pillow and your laptop. And remember: BYOB. Or BYO mug of cocoa.

3. You Can Learn Something New Most Twitter parties have an element of education or tip-sharing to them. There are often expert hosts who have vast knowledge on a subject whether it’s parenting, auto maintenance, sewing, travel-you name it! Also, often attendees are experts themselves on a variety of topics and contribute advice and helpful tidbits to the parties. The bottom line is: come to a Twitter party and you’ll most likely have learned something new by the time you log off.

4. You Can Make a New Friend (or Two) When I first started attending parties, I was surprised by how many new Twitter friends I made. People whom I then followed and chatted with afterward. The topics and themes of Twitter parties usually bring together like-minded people who share similar reasons for attending. A lot of times you will see attendees address each other like old friends do. That’s because they are just that. Twitter is social, and there’s no better way to get people socializing than throwing a party.

5. You Might Win a Prize Usually at parties in ‘real life’ you give gifts. At Twitter parties you get them. The hallmark of the Twitter party is the giveaway. Most parties have them. Businesses sponsoring the events draw more people to them by giving away their products and services. So if you register for a party and attend, there’s a chance you’ll walk away from the party with a nice gift.

6. You Can ‘Ask an Expert’ Many parties include an expert guest host who contributes to the topic by tweeting tips and advice. If you attend a party, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to ask a question about the topic and have it answered by an expert on the subject or a representative from the company sponsoring the event. Twitter parties are fast-paced, and not every question can be answered during the event. Most often, sponsors are more than happy to answer your questions afterward via Twitter or e-mail. All you have to do is ask!

7. You Might Gain Some Followers When you attend a party, you make new friends. In Twitter, friends follow each other. It’s as simple as that!

8. Great Chance to Network First let’s just say this: never, ever spam a party. Someone else’s Twitter party is not your opportunity to spread the word about your business unless you’re asked to do so. But in meeting new friends through parties and gaining more followers, you might make new connections that can lead to more opportunities down the road. Maybe even think of the parties as ‘soft networking’ events. In the future, maybe a follower will see a special offer you’ve tweeted about, recognize you and take you up on it.

9. You Can Multi-Task I’ve attended parties while watching t.v. Actually, some Twitter parties are hosted by t.v. networks and held solely for the purpose of discussing a particular show while it’s in progress. It is possible to attend a Twitter party while working on a project, surfing the ‘net, or making out your grocery list. You might not see every tweet or take party in every conversation, but parties can be something fun to attend while tending to a project a bit more tedious.

10. You Can Help a Good Cause There are many parties that have a theme that involves helping a good cause. Recently, there have been breast cancer awareness parties,an ovarian cancer awareness party, a pet adoption party, parties that discuss issues such as bullying, self-esteem and other topics of interest to parents. By participating in such parties, you help generate more awareness by placing that hashtag out in the Twitter stream. By retweeting the party, you help spread the information to your own followers, and thus help bring attention to a good cause.

So that’s the list! If you haven’t yet attended a Twitter party…what are you waiting for? Check out the TweeParties Twitter party calendar and find one to explore! And have fun!

Tags: party attendee tips, top ten lists, Twitter party, value in twitter parties

Every business that uses social media constantly looks for ways to measure the success of its marketing efforts. We check our follower counts and monitor hashtag performance to determine how many times our message is mentioned. Another statistic of interest to marketers is that of ‘reach,’ or ‘the maximum number of Twitter users who possibly could have seen our message.’

For example, say you have 100 followers. Send out one tweet and your reach is 100. If one of those followers retweets your tweet, and they too have 100 followers, your reach extends to 200 people.

Calculating reach can be difficult (if not impossible) to do alone. The more your hashtag is tweeted around the Twitterverse, the more adding up of recipients you would have to do. If you don’t like to be driven to the brink of insanity, then it’s best to leave it to the experts. Tweet Reach helps determine how far your hashtag, keyword or url spreads across Twitter. They can run reports not only to determine reach, but also to interpret how many times in total your message was received by all users (called ‘exposure’ — this number includes how many times one tweet was received multiple times by the same user), and  also who exactly tweeted or retweeted your message to their followers (for a more detailed description of these terms and their meanings, check out Tweet Reach’s definition page). By compiling these stats, you not only will learn how many times your keyword/hashtag/url was mentioned, but who was interested in it enough to mention it to their followers—which could help in determining who to contact for future campaigns.  

So just how important is a statistic like ‘reach?’ Just because your tweet had a reach of 200 doesn’t mean 200 sets of eyes actually saw and read your tweet. Reach is all about possibilities. ‘How many people did I reach?’ would then turn into ‘How many people actually read my tweet?’ followed by ‘How many people read my tweet and took action because of it?’

And that is the key here: we want to expose our tweets and share our information with as many people as possible. We want people to take notice of our messages and in turn, hopefully take notice of us and our products and services. If you have a specific goal in mind for a Twitter campaign, definitely keep an eye on reach, but also include a call to action. When we tweet about an upcoming Twitter party, we include a link to a party RSVP page. Our goal is to get as many people to sign up as possible. Another tweet might be to encourage people to take part in fundraiser for a non-profit. Or order something today and get free shipping with a special code that is included in the tweet. Here social media meets traditional marketing: having a call to action helps track how many people not only saw your message but reacted to it. 

I think of reach as being like the circulation of a magazine. Knowing the circulation of mags helps advertisers decide which one gets their ad business. However, with magazines it’s not strictly about the numbers, and it should not be in social media, either. Advertisers like big numbers, but they also look at the types of readers who comprise that circulation. No sense for a kayak manufacturer to place an ad in a magazine that reaches 500,000 subscribers who are into fashion (unless the fashion is limited to Teva sandals). Better for to place an ad in a paddling magazine that reaches 50,000 hard-core kayaking enthusiasts.

Monitoring a statistic like reach can help you modify your campaign so that you better target the audience you’re trying to, well…reach. For example, according to Tweet Reach, if you have a low reach rate but a high exposure rate, it could mean that a small group of people are tweeting your message too many times: not a good thing if you want to reach a more diverse group and not annoy the smaller group of users who might feel as if they’re being bombarded by your message. You might need to do some research and reach out to another group of users whom you haven’t targeted before who might find your tweets of interest and tweet it to a different pool of users.

Twitter stats can help you better guide your marketing campaign and fine-tune it. But remember that while the medium has changed, the basics of marketing hasn’t: you still need to utilize traditional tools such as including special offers and incentives to signup for lists or newsletters in your message to help determine how many people actually do turn that tweet into action.

Tags: hashtag, reach, social media marketing, tweet reach, twitter statistics

When I was in college, I studied the history of broadcasting very nearly religiously.

I was a journalism major specializing in broadcasting, but the history of the medium wasn’t covered much in our school. To satisfy that need, I had to head on over to the radio, tv, film department. After taking a couple of courses, one curious professor approached me and asked what I was doing there. Apparently non-majors didn’t care much about hearing about Guglielmo Marconi or Philo Farnsworth if they didn’t have to. But I did.

I loved hearing about pioneers in radio, film, television and documentaries. The development of the technology was fascinating (often various inventors pursuing the same results thousands of miles apart), as was the creation of content. People experimented on both ends: sometimes they made it work, other times they failed (depending on the opinion, Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast could have fallen into either category). The early history of radio, tv and film was one big invention, a grand experiment filled with passionate people trying to figure out how to reach people better to tell their stories. And, I suppose, to use broadcasting to make a buck.

When I was about to graduate and start my job search, I realized something that made my heart sink: my dream job didn’t exist. What I was searching for was long-since over. I wanted to work in broadcasting, but I wanted to work in the early days of broadcasting, when an air of excitement was paired with uncertainty. When the next few minutes could either soar or succumb to technical failure. I went out into the world at a broadcasting job that rarely varied—everything was set in place; it was my job to help keep things moving along as usual. There was a handbook filled with rules and regulations that I didn’t even really understand.

But then came the internet. It was mainly informational at first, then interactive. And now we have social media. It’s new. It doesn’t always work. It can be a source of frustration. Businesses are still trying to figure out what to do with it. People are constantly experimenting, seeing what works and what doesn’t work. Developers are trying to come up with ways to use it differently through the use of thousands of applications. These are very exciting times. The sky’s the limit.

If you own a business, be a pioneer. Dive on into social media. Explore it. Experiment. Don’t be afraid of failure. Be creative. Be fearless. And have fun. Social media is an adventure: a big, bold, vast landscape that is changing daily. And like kids from the old days who bought dime store radio kits, it doesn’t cost much to get in on the action.

In studying broadcasting, I often wanted to go back in time and take a job at an early-20th Century radio station. Now, if I could go back in time, I’d visit college-aged me and tell myself not to worry. That it’s true what they say: history does repeat itself. And to get ready for one wild ride.

Tags: history of broadcasting, radio history, social media, television pioneers

Last Saturday, like legions of other die-hard college football fans, I strapped on my oh-so-fashionable clear plastic rain pants and jacket, stuffed more plastic bags in my pockets, and headed through a downpour to my alma-mater’s football stadium. And while I and thousands of others sat there and watched the kickoff—little beads of water dripping from our hoods—I wondered what drives this kind of loyalty.

I’ve never played football. I don’t know any of the players on the team personally. But year after year, with a ticket in one hand and often a handwarmer in the other, I sit through blazing sun and biting cold and cheer on my beloved team to (hopefully most often) victory.

As the band played the ‘alma mater’ song and the rain clouds drifted along, I realized there are some lessons here that could be applied to business.

1). Loyalty matters. Whether you’re selling a product or service, nothing beats a loyal customer base. Fans of your products will not only return for more, they’ll likely spread the word to people they know especially through retweets and posts via social media. However, generating loyalty takes both work and time. Keep in touch with customers after they make a purchase. Send them a note, an e-mail, a special offer. Make your products and customer service unbeatable. Throw in free shipping if you can. Connect with consumers using social media sites and respond to questions. Address complaints and try to resolve them quickly. Make it impossible for your clients to switch teams and go somewhere else.

2). Be a cheerleader. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. If you do something positive, tell people about it. Get excited about your company and where it’s headed and let it show. Excitment is contagious. If you believe in what you’re doing and express this to others, in turn, they’ll get enthused about your company too. Sis boom bah!

3). Make your ‘fans’ feel that they’re part of something special. Everyone wants to feel that they’re part of a special experience. Whether I watch my team play in person or with a group of friends via t.v., I feel that by following them throughout the season, I’m being part of a unique experience that in some way, defines who I am. If I meet another Wildcat fan, I immediately have a connection and a sense of camaraderie. Make your customers feel that by using your products and services that they’re part of a club whose membership is something special, unique and cool.

4). Be consistent. When it comes to generating loyalty, people don’t like surprises. Return customers come back with certain expectations: good quality, good customer service, fast delivery and great prices. Don’t have good service one day and mediocre the next. Maintain brand consistency (imagine if for one game our beloved purple and black uniforms were replaced with orange and blue; or if Coca-Cola tasted differently from one bottle to the next). Be there for your clients and always be what they have come to expect.

5). Be a winner. It’s true what they say, at least when it comes to loyal fans: It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. Play fair. Demonstrate good sportsmanship. Have ethics, honesty and integrity. Admit to your mistakes and try to correct them if they happen. Show your customers that they should be on your team because you are worth it. Always strive to do your personal best and you will earn the respect of your fans. You will always be a winner because of how you play the game.

My team won this week. It was a fairly easy victory, but next week’s away game is expected to be more of  a challenge. Whether they win or lose, come the next home game you’ll find me in my usual seat in Section 125, wearing my team’s colors (albeit possibly covered in some sort of plastic-wrap, weather-permitting), surrounded by the same season ticket holders who’ve sat around me for the past 10+ years. The team has my loyalty; they’ve earned it.

Social media is booming among all age groups. Businesses large and small are finding that Twitter is a great tool to help them engage with consumers, increase awareness about their products and services, and provide users with a quick and easy way to give feedback and ask questions.

As a way to better connect with users, businesses can incorporate special Twitter events such as tweetups, Twitter chats or Twitter parties into their social media plan. While all three types of events can be used effectively by businesses as a way to connect with their followers, all three are different. So exactly what are the differences and how do you go about hosting one? Here’s a brief summary:

Tweetups Tweetups (or “Twitter meetups”) are events where Twitter users meet each other in person. They are a great way to catch up with Twitter friends, make some new ones, network, and finally put a face to a Twitter ID. There is usually a topic, theme or purpose for the Tweetup, and may include a guest speaker or two to attract people to the event. The events can be educational, informational, and fun. Businesses can organize Tweetups and host them at their headquarters or another venue as a way to bring their followers and clients (or potential clients) together. When planning a Tweetup, make sure you find a venue large enough to accommodate what could be a large gathering (events spread quickly on Twitter), include Twitter ID nametags for attendees, and provide refreshments. While the tone of the Tweetup should not be one of business promotion, simply having a helpful event could generate good PR and good will amongst your followers. For more tips on how to organize a successful Tweetup, check out this article from Mashable.com.

Twitter Chats Twitter chats are events held entirely online and are primarily used as a forum for people to exchange ideas and discuss a specific topic of interest. They are also considered a way to network with other like-minded Twitter users. Twitter chats are casual, drop in events (you often do not need to register to attend), and are usually organized by a person (or persons), an organization or company. Even if hosted by a business, the main purpose of the event is educational and informative—this is not a place to hawk your products. Organizers pick a hashtag for the chat, which all attendees must use in their tweets in order for their tweets to be seen during the chat. Twitter chats often are held on a weekly or monthly basis, with the day of the week and time of the chat remaining consistent. Usually, a group will begin a chat with just a few people, but over time—if the chat proves to provide attendees with good discussion-can grow into one that becomes popular and regularly well-attended. A Twitter chat can be held on any subject: business, education, a specific industry, social cause, or hobby. Many chat attendees use a Twitter aggregator to follow all tweets using the specific chat hashtag, which helps users focus on the discussion by filtering out tweets from their followers that do not include the hashtag. Some popular aggregators for Twitter chats are TweetChat or Twubs. Here’s an article about how to organize a tweet chat, check out this article from Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media, Inc., including a link to a tweet chat calendar listing popular chats by hashtag.

Twitter Parties Twitter parties are very similar to Twitter chats in that they take place entirely on Twitter and use a specific hashtag as the way to follow along with the party. Like chats, Twitter parties select a specific date and time for the event, as well as an interesting theme to attract users. The main difference between Twitter chats and Twitter parties is that while a chat is purely a discussion, a Twitter party’s underlying goal is to help promote a company, brand or cause. While the theme of a Twitter party can be educational and informative, there are usually mentions of the company sponsoring (or hosting) the Twitter party, as well as tweets about their products and services, special offers and product giveaways. Companies and organizations holding Twitter parties also usually have an objective such as increasing their follower counts, generating more web site traffic, gaining more brand exposure and generally connecting with and engaging their followers and other Twitter users. However, promotion of the business should not dominate the party. Rather, the theme should be front and center while promotional aspects take more of a backseat. Some popular aggregators are Tweet Grid, Tweet Deck and Tweet Chat. For more information on planning a Twitter party, visit TweeParties.

Regardless of which path you choose, hosting a Twitter event can be a fun, low-cost way to reach out to and engage more of your followers. So dive on in and become of the life of the social media party!

Tags: business, event planning, social media marketing, Tweet chats, Tweetups, Twitter marketing, Twitter parties, Twitter party

As business people, marketers and advertisers, we all want our messages to be heard by as many people as possible. In order to generate new leads and business, that’s typically the goal: get the word out to hopefully thousands of sets of ears.

That being said, there are so many articles and services out there that claim to help boost the number of followers you have, or subscribers to your mailing lists. Many people focus on numbers, trying to always increase followers with the idea that they will increase the chances of their messages being viewed. I’m here to argue the opposite.

It is more important to have a following or mailing list comprised of those truly interested in what you have to say, rather than a list filled with people who follow you but don’t really care to listen to you.

Twitter There are services out there—both free and paid—that guarantee 100’s of ‘quality’ followers to follow you. If you sign up today, start following their members or pay them a few dollars, you’ll have hundreds of followers by tomorrow. In reality, it takes time to build a list of quality Twitter followers. By ‘quality’ I mean followers who might have more than a passing interest in you or your business and who follow you out of a genuine desire to read your tweets. Social media is all about, well…socializing. Exchanging dialogue. Meeting new people or staying in touch with current ones. To have random followers follow you without any real interest in you—those who are following you simply because they are being paid to do so or want to increase their own following—won’t really benefit you in the long run. You’ll have a high count, but not a lot of attentiveness. Follow those you genuinely want to follow, and in time, others will follow you back—others who really want to follow you back.

E-Mail Marketing If you compile a list of e-mail addresses of those who did not consent to be on your list, not only is the practice illegal, but the likelihood of the recipients actually opening your e-mails is small. Even if you compile a list of e-mails from current customers (which is legal without explicit consent, if they in fact had a transaction with you during the past two years), but do so without their consent, you’re likely to have many unopened messages. It is much better to either A). ask them if they would like to be included on an e-newsletter list, or B). incorporate a form on your web site for such a sign up. Once again, traveling this route will take time for your list to increase in numbers, but those who do sign up will do so willingly and will be more likely to open your messages and read them.

For example, a business I worked for compiled a list of current clients, a list of about 300. Very few were asked if they wanted to be included on that list, but they were in fact current clients. The open rate for this list hovered around 10%. However, a smaller list of about 150, compiled entirely from newsletter signups regularly had close to a 50% open rate.

For both Twitter and e-mail marketing, building quality followings takes time. Start out slow and do what comes naturally: for Twitter, follow those you find of interest; for a mailing list, gather names and contact information only from those who truly consent to receive the mailings. Think quality over quantity. If your first few mailings go out only to a handful of people, be reassured that those people want to hear from you; they will expect to see your messages in their “in” boxes and are likely to be receptive to the messages contained in them.

This is not a paid endorsement, but one given by me, from the heart: if you want to give e-mail marketing a try, check out Mail Chimp. They have a “forever free” plan that will cost you $0 for up to 500 subscribers and 2,000 e-mails a month. Now that’s an offer I couldn’t refuse!

Tags: building followers, direct mail, e-mail marketing, followers, Mail Chimp, mail lists, marketing, subscribers, Twitter

We all know how it goes: computers freeze, internet connections get lost, Twitter ‘fail whales’ appear. It’s part of life for us techies, right? I’m all-too-used to backing up files on a zillion different devices just in case (one, in an extreme display of geekiness, I even wore around my neck on my way home from work-a flash drive on a rope). Of having backup battery packs positioned at every outlet to keep computers running, just in case the power goes out. Let’s just say that—like any good infielder—I have my bases covered.

As a Twitter party host, none of the party attendees can actually see me, which makes me feel sort of Wizard-of-Oz-ish. So let me give you a little behind-the-scenes peek into last night’s hosting gig. In summary: when the going got tough, I learned to keep going…and laugh.

You see, last night I was set to host the online launch of TweeParties, Inc. I won’t lie to you: I’m in Chicago, but I’m not doing this from the glamourous confines of say, the Sears (er, sorry, I mean Willis) Tower. While I do have an office space (basically an oversized, windowless closet a family member has generously donated to my cause), I was to host this party from home. My real boss (insert preschooler here) insisted upon it.

So….the night before the party, working hard at one a.m….Where’d the internet go? Um….hello? Anyone there? Nope. No one was. Just a browser with a “cannot connect” message staring me in the face. I panicked. But tomorrow’s the party!?! Where will I go? What will I do? After fretting until 2:30 a.m., my connection reappeared. A scheduled (albiet unannounced) outtage by my ISP. Phew. Onward and upward (I hoped)!

After three luxurious hours of sleep with fingers crossed, I’m off to my day job. I get a call from my hubby near the end of the afternoon:

“Um, hun? The backup UPS battery is dead.”

Today, of all days. No time to get a new one. Instead, ‘Hi ho! Hi ho! It’s plugged into a flimsy powerstrip we go!’ After brief analysis, I decide that now is the time to pray.

Then my backup internet connection (satellite) decided to, well…disappear too. My ISP asked if perhaps, I am too rural. “Um, I can see your store from my house.” Oh.

I could set up a time to bring in my laptop for a diagnostic. Tomorrow. Of course.

I decide it’s time for…what else? More prayer! But would God listen to the pleas of a Twitter party host praying for a sustained internet connection? I felt guilty for taking up His time. I prayed again, but this time for forgiveness.

Despite all of this, just minutes before the party, I’m at my desktop, all set to host. Both computers are up. The internet is working on each (one cable connection, one WiFi). I say another prayer (and another one, again to counter the first one).

Hopeful and eager, I log into Twitter. I suddenly find I have…no followers. And no one is following me. And Tweet Grid is bogged down by other parties. Two minutes to go. As Mary Poppins blares on the t.v. in the other room, I think, Poppins-esque: ‘Spit-spot! Spit-spot!’

So I get to work. I keep trying to tweet, but I’m met with errors. It’s showtime and I can’t get the show started. It’s like an actor’s worst nightmare: curtain goes up to a packed house, spotlight blinding and…he opens his mouth but nothing comes out. The patrons throw their tickets in the air and demand their money back.

But suddenly, after repeatedly hitting ‘send’ to no avail—my tweet makes it out into the Twittersphere. It’s just after 9:00 here in the Chicagoland wilderness. The aggregators pick up pace. Before long, follower counts are restored. My computers keep running; the internet stays connected; and all is well. From the small confines of my home office, the party soars! TweeParties is launched. The show does indeed go on.

So now I’ll schedule that diagnostic and uncross all of my fingers. At least until the next party.

Tags: humor, twitter party hosting