Years ago, as a customer service representative at a printing company, I greeted a customer who came in to pick up his order. He looked it over, signed for it, then told me how surprised he was that I treated him so well. I asked him what he meant.

“My order only cost $30, but you treated me like it was worth thousands.”

As someone who has spent time on all ends of the totem pole, I can tell you that often people treat the receptionist differently from the VP; they react to the guy in shipping differently than the CEO. But a key point to keep in mind is that you never know when someone might move up in rank, and when they do, they might remember those who treated them with respect and those who didn’t.

The same goes for social media. Many companies have set up pages on Twitter and Facebook, but often they don’t use them effectively. They might send one-way marketing messages to their fans, follow no one at all in return or reply to very few who contact them. They might only tweet occasionally or sporadically. Or they might not learn many aspects of how to use the platform, and thus do not  seize the full power or potential social media has to offer. They could have an ongoing conversation with their fans, but feel it might not be worth their time or trouble. They just don’t get it.

It pays to be nice to everyone, because for many companies, even the janitor sweeping the floor as you exit the elevator can be a prospective customer. Anyone who works anywhere has some level purchasing power because they are earning income. You can’t assume because someone does not have an office with a beautiful view and a gold nameplate on their door that they don’t have a say in what is purchased and what is not. They could be an influencer. You just never know.

Remember that book by Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten? It espoused lessons such as: “Share everything,” “Play fair,” “Say you’re sorry when you hurt someone.” It could be said that all you really need to know for business you learned in kindergarten. Being nice to people is a simple lesson, but one that sometimes gets overlooked when time is limited and the pressure to sell is high. Why bother taking the time to ask an assistant how his day was when you have a dozen more calls to make? Because if that person is willing to speak with you, it could be another door worth opening.

It is simply good PR for company reps to be nice to everyone because anyone can be a prospective customer. If you already practice this philosophy, make sure your employees do too. Make sure they understand how they are supposed to interact with people from all backgrounds and in all positions. Everyone who works for a company represents that company. If someone has a bad experience with one employee, it will reflect poorly on the entire organization. Don’t ignore e-mails. Try to reply to more tweets or Facebook posts (some companies now have a dedicated social media customer service representative). You might not be able to respond each time someone contacts your company, but if you try to respond to many, it will reflect positively on you.

As for my satisfied customer? He never placed an order for much more than the first one, but he did recommend us to friend who did. People talk in person and via social media. Many like to share their positive experiences with friends and family with the hope that they’ll patronize the same company and come away with the same good experience. Then that friend becomes a hero. This is why it is important to be nice to people—all people—and send a message that your company is friendly and helpful to everyone. Not only is it good business sense, it’s the right thing to do. But you probably already knew that. You learned it in kindergarten.

Tags: business etiquette, customer service, lessons, marketing

My grandparents used to say, “Nothing in life is free.”

If you were raised to believe in this notion, then you might cast a skeptical eye on any offer that stands before you with a $0 on the price tag.

But in business, offering something to your clients or prospects for free can work toward your advantage by better promoting your products and services and possibly gaining a new or repeat customer in the long run.

We’re used to seeing freebies: food samples at grocery stores, product samples or special coupons mixed in with the Sunday paper, a buy one get one free entree at a restaurant. But many businesses often are hesitant to give away anything for free for fear of lessening the perceived value of their products and services.

However, in the increasingly-competitive clamor for people’s attention online, it might be worth it to offer something to your clients or prospects for free, especially if the cost to you is minimal. Here are some ideas on how offering a freebie can be worthwhile for your business:

Product Samples If your product really is worth its salt, giving out free samples not only gives people a taste of what you have to offer, but also demonstrates the confidence you have in your products—your belief that if someone tries them, they’re bound to make a follow-up purchase. People often buy into that confidence: they want to buy something others think is good and of a high value.

Free Trials Often people shy away from trials when they’re asked to give out a credit card number to activate it. Within the past year, I was offered free trials (no credit card required!) for Website Magazine, Social Oomph and Mail Chimp. I had nothing to lose, so I went for it. As it turns out, I am now a HUGE fan of all three: I subscribed to the professional level of Website Mag, the professional level of Social Oomph, and will soon upgrade to a paying service for Mail Chimp. After trying all three, I now feel that I can’t live without any them. I’m hooked! Three examples of three companies that believe in their products so much so that they’re willing to give people like me a little ‘taste’ for nothing in return. Very little risk, very big payoff.

Information If you cannot offer a free trial or a product sample, at the very least give visitors to your site something useful to come away with. If someone gleans useful information from your site, they might bookmark it and return to it to learn more at a later date, or even (hopefully) come back to make a purchase. You will be seen as an expert if a visitor can come to your site and learn something that they can implement immediately. Offer visitors tips, information relating to your products or services, or expert advice—free of charge, of course. You can offer this information in the form of a downloadable ‘white paper,’ guide or manual, or by simply displaying the information on your web site. At TweeParties, we offer visitors a peek at our Twitter Party Calendar that lists all parties we can find on Twitter. We also offer tips and guides on how to attend parties, as well as this blog for tips on Twitter, social media and marketing. We even offer visitors an incentive to sign up for our weekly newsletter, offering them the freshest party information available and special offers.

As long as the cost to you is minimal, a free offer can be a great way to entice people to take notice of your company, and hopefully, make a connection with your products and services—one that they will come to find that they cannot live without.

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Tags: advice, business, free trials, freebie, marketing strategy, special offers, tips

Remember “Friends?” The t.v. show centered around the lives of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler & Monica—six best buds who would gather at the “Central Perk” coffee shop on a daily basis to commiserate about twentysomething life in urban America. If set in 2010 NYC, there’s no doubt these friends would be hooked on Foursquare.

If you are part of a business that people can physically walk into—be it a dining establishment, a bar, a clothing store or sporting venue—you should claim your establishment and actively participate in Foursquare. Why? Just visit the Foursquare website and search for your biz. Chances are, people are already using Foursquare to “check in” to your venue. So what is Foursquare and what does this all mean? Here’s a quick overview:

Foursquare is a real-life game people play. It’s all done via the Foursquare web site or through various smart phone applications that work with and connect to Foursquare. Users sign up for a free Foursquare account, then “check in” to an establishment each time they visit it. The users then accrue points each time they check in, with the highest point earner becoming known as the “mayor” of that particular place. It becomes competitive amongst friends and regulars at a certain venue. It is also informative: friends can share tips about an establishment, and post their likes or dislikes about a venue with other friends and users. They can also see how many points a friend has earned, as well as where a friend has checked into recently.

But Foursquare goes beyond simply being a competition where the winners earn bragging rights. Users earn actual awards from businesses: special offers, discounts or freebies that they “unlock” once they check into an establishment. For example, a patron might check in at a restaurant and see that since this is their 10th check in, they’ve been rewarded with a free drink at the bar. A visitor to a clothing store might check in and see that the shop is offering all Foursquare participants 20% off on their purchases during their 5th visit. What better than to earn actual rewards for playing a game?

So why should a business get involved in all of this? First off, it’s free. Just visit Foursquare and claim your establishment. Then let the creativity begin. It’s a great way to engage people and make your brand part of the game. Keep people coming back for more by earning good reviews and giving out special offers and discounts. And remember to keep the “mayor” of your establishment happy. He or she may be your biggest fan and act as a vocal champion of your products and services on Foursquare for all other “players” to see and hear about.

Foursquare also makes it easy: it helps businesses easily develop their own specials for players to unlock, as well as gives companies marketing tools to promote their participation in Foursquare (such as a set of window clings). Businesses can also leverage their presence on Twitter and Facebook to promote their venue as Foursquare-friendly. Once a special is created, businesses can log onto Foursquare to track analytics and see how many visitors check in and used the special offer. As stated on the Foursquare site: “You’ll be surprised how effective a little friendly competition — over the Mayorship, over free fries! — is at driving customers back to your venue.”

No doubt if we could set their watches to the 21st Century, our “Friends” friends would get hooked on Foursquare. But the real question is: ‘Which one of them would be Central Perk’s mayor?’ Let the debates begin!

Tags: business tips, Foursquare, social media marketing

Each day, Twitter and Facebook gain thousands of more users. However, many businesses are reluctant to dive in and test the social media waters. Here are ten reasons why every business should consider having a social media presence:

1. It’s Free. Businesses can set up Twitter accounts and Facebook pages for no cost other than the time it takes for them to do it. If you’re looking for a low-cost way to connect with current customers or prospective ones, this is it.
2. It’s Easy. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but a custom Twitter or Facebook page can be. The learning curve for both is small. If you’re not at all technically inclined, chances are there’s someone in your company who is already familiar with using one or both social networks.
3. Everybody’s Doing It. Well, maybe not everybody, but many are—in fact, thousands more are each day. You might think your business and social media aren’t a good match, but most likely there are potential followers out there—clients, colleagues, friends—who would be interested in hearing from you. If you have a niche in your industry, you can probably seek out that niche on Twitter.
4. Social Media is Here to Stay. Will Twitter be here in 50 years? Maybe, maybe not—but the need for people to connect with each other through social media isn’t going anywhere.
5. It’s Fun. People gravitate toward Twitter and Facebook because they have fun interacting with others in those environments. And what better way to reach potential clients than in a place where people go to enjoy themselves?
6. It’s a Conversation Starter. Literally. Unlike traditional advertising methods where it might be difficult to judge just whose listening, if you send out a message on Twitter and Facebook, you’re likely to hear about your post from someone. Social media isn’t just a place to send out one-way sales communiques, it’s a great way to get feedback from users, engage them in a dialogue and learn about their likes and dislikes. It just might help you fine-tune a new product, redesign a web page to make it more user-friendly or change course with a marketing strategy.
7. It’s a News Source. More and more people get their news from users found on Twitter and Facebook. You can add to the mix by giving updates and links about news items related to your industry. The more you help people get quality information, the more willing they will be to listen to your own messages when you tweet them.
8. It’s a Virtual Customer Service Center. Many users are reaching out to companies for customer service issues on Twitter and Facebook. It’s quick and easy for them to send a tweet, and many companies respond more quickly on Twitter than through e-mail.
9. You’re Not Alone. If keeping up with a Twitter account seems like a never-ending, overwhelming task (log off and the tweets keep coming!), don’t sweat it: there are many free or low-cost, third party applications to help you manage your account. We recently fell in love with Social Oomph as a way to pre-program tweets and Facebook page updates. We still log on at least once a day to check for replies and comments to our posts (and to reply/comment back, of course!) but in case we get tied up in a meeting (or, as is typical in Chicagoland—traffic), we know our updates can still get out, even if we can’t.
10. The Possibilities are Endless. Uses for social networking sites are still emerging and changing every day. The exciting part is that they are only bound by the limits of your imagination. Have fun and come up with creative concepts to engage your followers (such as Twitter parties by TweeParties). In doing so, you just might find a new one who turns out to be your next client.

Tags: business, Facebook, social media marketing, Twitter

Yesterday I came across an old blog post someone had written about a year ago that questioned the use of Twitter parties as a social media marketing tool. The writer argued that the events tied up the Twitter stream for non-partying users. Also at issue was the effectiveness for companies. The blogger wondered if a party host could give a company tangible stats to prove that a party held gave some sort of results.

That was then and this is now. And fortunately, Twitter parties have evolved somewhat from a year ago. And they’ll keep evolving and becoming more and more useful for both the companies sponsoring them and the users attending them. Here’s why:

Cost effectiveness: I’ve spoken with many small business owners who have wanted to place ads in magazines only to discover that it would cost them thousands to do so and wasn’t in their budget. Broadcast media can be just as expensive. Pay-per-click advertising is more reasonable, but when someone clicks, are they really absorbing your company’s message or simply clicking? Maybe, maybe not. The great thing about Twitter parties is that they are low cost. You can learn to do them yourself, or have an organization like TweeParties help you for not thousands, but rather hundreds of dollars. And instead of simply posting an advertisement for someone to read or hear (or not read or hear, as they case may be), you’ll have a group of people engaged and interacting with you. People who are listening to your message might tweet about your party to their friends, and so on. How many magazine readers clip ads and pass them on to their friends?

Results tracking: In the past, it might have been difficult to track results, but not anymore. There are a number of web sites and applications that track the frequency of hashtags. Simply register your party’s hashtag in advance, and you’ll be able to see how many times that hashtag was tweeted, when it was tweeted, and what users tweeted it the most (typically the hosts during promoting phase of the event). Many hosts also do not request the e-mails of participants upon registering. TweeParties does, usually with a disclaimer that any e-mail correspondence will be limited to communications from the party sponsor and that the attendee can unsubscribe from the list at any time. In supplying a company with e-mail data from attendees, the party sponsoring the event can send a follow up e-mail thanking the user for attending, requesting that the recipient take further action (such as complete a survey) or receive a discount, special offer or product sample.

Technical issues: With any emerging technology, you sometimes hit stumbling blocks (look at the recent antenna issue with iPhone 4). Twitter is still evolving. With approximately 600 tweets per second hitting the Twittersphere, Twitter is constantly being pushed to its limits, and sometimes fails.  The blogger I mentioned above was concerned that very large parties could bog down Twitter and disrupt service for other users. Worldwide discussions about World Cup soccer bogged down Twitter; I seriously doubt a party with several hundred participants could. The only concern in the case of a party would be excessive tweeting by those several hundred participants, which thanks to Twitter’s policy of temporarily freezing accounts that tweet close to 100 tweets per hour (Twitter Jail), would be difficult to achieve. Besides, Twitter is constantly looking for ways to free up traffic. They recently announced they will expand to a large facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, in an effort to better keep up with demand and avoid outages caused by bugs. No emerging technolgy is perfect and most users understand that. Growing pains are common, but they have to be endured to grow into something even better.

I do not believe that a company should have one Twitter party and be done with interacting with its customers. It is just one piece of the puzzle, but one that I truly believe in. Social media does just that: it helps people socialize. Companies with a presence on social networking sites should keep finding ways to engage their clients. We at TweeParties believe that a Twitter party is a great way to open up conversations with consumers and keep them interested in your brand. Have Twitter parties, talk to your followers, answer their questions, come up with other contests & events to hold on Twitter and Facebook (or Foursquare). When it comes to social media, it’s all about engagement. Otherwise, you might as well drop $25K on a glossy magazine ad and be one with it.

Tags: Facebook, Having Twitter parties, interactive advertising, social media marketing, Twitter

Twitter parties are all about the #hashtag. If you’re new to Twitter and not familiar with the term, you soon will be. It’s a vital component of the social networking site.

A hashtag is a keyword with the pound (“#”) sign in front of it. In a tweet you might see something like this: Party Tonight! Check it out at TweeParties.com! #tweeparties Notice the bold portion: #tweeparties. This is a hashtag in action. In Twitter, if you see a hashtag and click on it, you’ll see a list of all tweets recently posted using that hashtag. It makes searching for specific topics easier by uniting similar tweets with a specific keyword. Without hashtags—one specific keyword picked out just of the party and used by all attendees’ tweet—we wouldn’t have Twitter parties.

You can follow a party in Twitter alone. Just search the right sidebar for the hashtag. However, in order to view the most recent posts, you would have to keep hitting your “refresh” button. So rather than tiring out your mouse, try a Twitter aggregator program. An aggregator program is free software, either available through your web browser or for download. Programs such as Tweet Chat, Tweet Grid, Tweet Deck and Hootsuite make it easier to keep up with a party by automatically refreshing your timeline. First off, to do any of this, you’ll need a free Twitter account. Pick a user name that sums you up and get tweeting!

The first party I ever attended, I attended on Twitter, so don’t feel badly if you give it a go that way! Depending on the maneuverability of your fingers, you might do just fine. Or the “refreshing” might drive you a little crazy (as it did me).

The next time, I tried Tweet Chat. This is a great one for beginners attending their first party. Visit Tweet Chat’s homepage and you’ll get a quick 3-Step guide to using the program. It’s free and all you need is a web browser to use it. You’ll sign in using your Twitter account. Then, enter the party’s unique hashtag in the box at the top (following the “#” sign) and hit “Go!” A one-column list will appear showing all of the tweets using that hashtag in reverse-chronological order (most recent first). Two benefits: 1) the timeline will automatically refresh itself (no manual refreshing!); 2) Each time you tweet, the hashtag will be added to your tweets for you (you don’t have to type the tweet each time! So you don’t have to worry about making a typo and having a tweet miss being seen during the party! The single-column format provides less confusion to a party newbie. But watchout! When that list refreshes, it might list a ton of tweets at once. If you want to make sure you don’t miss one sent specifically to you, have two windows open: one for Tweet Chat and the other for your Twitter account. Then occasionally refresh your “@” button to see if anyone has responded to one of your tweets.

You could also use Tweet Deck or Hootsuite. Both of these are different from Tweet Chat in that you can have more than one column. So you can set up one column to follow the hashtag, another to follow the party host, and another to follow your own account (which helps to see when people are replying to your tweets). Both are free. The only difference is that Tweet Deck is a program you download and install on your computer and Hootsuite is something you can use via your browser alone. I’ve tried both. Both have real benefits in day-to-day tweeting. However, when I’ve used them during parties, I felt they didn’t automatically refresh often enough.

What seems to be the most popular party aggregator is Tweet Grid. It is not without occasional problems, but in contacting the programmer, the problems lie with Twitter, and hopefully someday will be resolved. Tweet Grid makes it easy to follow parties (in fact, many party hosts create custom links to the grid—all you need to do is click on the link, enter your Twitter ID, and bingo! You’re in). On the welcome screen, just enter the hashtag, the Twitter ID’s of the party hosts, and your ID. A new screen will open up revealing the three columns, and you’re in! When you tweet, you don’t need to include the hashtag—it will include it for you. Also, you can upload photos via Tweet Grid and send DM’s much like being in your own Twitter account. You also could create more columns to follow another hashtag, if needed.

Sometimes when using Tweet Grid the center column freezes up—the party host column. One way to get the column moving again is to try removing the “from:” that’s before the Twitter ID in that column. You will now see all tweets mentioning that ID, including those from other users, but at least you won’t miss anything from that ID and the column will start refreshing again.

The bottom line: use whatever method is most comfortable for you. And have patience. New technology doesn’t always work brilliantly 100% of the time (insert a Twitter ‘fail whale’ here!) But with a little know-how and some practice, you’ll be able to find your own path to Twitter party enjoyment! (Any questions/comments, please leave them here!) Happy Tweeting!

Tags: hootsuite, social media marketing, tweet chat, tweet deck, tweet grid, twitter aggregators, twitter party tips

I love Twitter parties. I guess there would be no point in starting a company specializing in planning them if I didn’t. However, if you rewind to the first one that I ever attended, my launch onto the Twitter social scene was far from favorable.

My first party reminded me of my eighth grade graduation dance. Back then, after I had put on my lacey peach dress, sprayed my 80’s bangs, and applied my pink eyeshadow, I proceeded to be held up by a wall for two hours while I observed a herd of awkward preteens attempt to break dance. I was a wallflower back then, and years later, to my surprise, I was a wallflower at a Twitter party. It doesn’t get much geekier than that, now does it?

If a transcript were available, it would probably look something like this:

@erin Hi, I’m Erin! Happy to be here!

Refresh screen. No replies.

There must be something wrong with my browser. Or Twitter. Or my ISP.

Refresh again. Still no replies.

@erin Um okay, I guess I arrived fashionably late to this Twitter party. And I wouldn’t call reindeer pajama pants fashionable. LOL!

Crickets.

All right, so there weren’t crickets, because as we all know, Twitter doesn’t yet have sound, but it felt like they were there, chirping while I tweeted. In reality, everyone was chattering with everyone else—at what seemed like a very rapid pace, I might add—and having a great time. And I was, well—watching my tweets languish, unread, unnoticed, unloved—while the rest of the party rocked on like a finger-flying guitar solo.

But the topic that night interested me: wine. I learned a few things about different favorites among users. Despite not partaking in a two-way conversation and instead watching other people’s tweets fly across my monitor like 90 mph fastballs, found it interesting enough to attend another one. And fortunately, after reading some tips online about how to improve my experience, I did.

Because at the next party, I had responses from those who had most likely seen my tweets during the first event, but didn’t get the chance to reply. Now they recognized my ID and avatar, and replied to me. Through the use of a new Twitter aggregator program (I now used Tweet Grid or Tweet Deck) I could better see tweets from the party hosts and follow along better. It took another party to really get the hang of it, but once I did, I found them to be a fun and rewarding experience (literally, when I snagged a prize!). For me, Twitter parties weren’t love at first site (er, I mean sight), but with a little experience and advice, I was on my way to the dance floor!

To recap, some advice for Twitter party newbies:

• Give it more than one chance. If at first your tweets don’t succeed, try, try again. Don’t let lack of replies on your first party to discourage you. Keep going, and chances are you’ll make some very good like-minded friends.
• Just relax. Twitter parties can be fast-paced. Select a tweet you find of interest to reply to and start a conversation with just one or two other users. Just like any real party you attend, you can’t be part of every conversation in every corner of the room all at once.
• Be yourself. Don’t feel you have to try to entertain people, crack jokes, be witty, or ask phenomenal questions to stand out. Just be who you are naturally. Like they say, “If you tweet it, the replies will come.” Give it time and have fun!
• Get educated. Visit our “Etiquette and Tips” page on TweeParties. There we have other helpful hints, including recommended software to help make following parties easier. We will continue to update our Tips page, as well as this blog, to give you more information and pointers, as well as software updates to make your party experience even better!

If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment here or contact us at [email protected]. We’re here to help! That’s the thing about the Twitter community: for the most part we’re a caring, helpful bunch. And at TweeParties, that spirit of community carries over to our services. Just don’t ask us how to moonwalk.

Tags: aggregators, tips, TweeParties services, tweets, Twitter parties

Earlier this week, the British woman billed as “the world’s oldest Twitter user”—Ivy Bean—died. She was 104.

Ms. Bean had been active on Twitter (with 53,000+ followers) and Facebook, often posting entries about her daily life and sometimes video. I’m not sure if she did all of this herself, or had help, but the fact that she wanted to become involved on both Twitter and Facebook really says something.

It’s a simple lesson—and an old one at that—but when it comes to technology, perhaps a new one:

You’re never too old to learn something new.

Social media is proving that it is, in fact, for everyone—not just for tech-savvy youth. It connects entire families and has gained popularity as a way for Grandma to see that picture of Junior that was taken five seconds ago at the park. One could easily argue that social media has made people feel more connected; geographically distant or even extended families and friends have a greater presence in each other’s lives if they can keep up with them in real or nearly real-time.

Ms. Bean was not raised on computers, video games, or cell phones. In fact, when she was born—in 1905—people weren’t even using telephones. But she was drawn to social media and by measuring the size of her following, people were drawn to her.

Research has shown that the demographics of social media users might be older than some first thought:  18-34 year olds comprise the largest group of U.S. users on Twitter and the 50+ demographic has nearly the same number of Twitter users as the 13-17 year old demographic (via Quantcast).

Whether they grew up with technology or not, people are using social media and becoming less intimidated by the technology. Once registered, people might find the learning curve to be lower than expected and they get hooked. Besides, who wants to miss an upload of Junior’s first solo attempt at the monkey bars? Not @Grandma.

Erin Boudreau

Tags: age, demographics, Facebook, Ivy Bean, Quantcast, social media, technology, Twitter, users

So much talk these days about social media and how it applies to businesses.

Companies large and small are scrambling to incorporate Twitter and Facebook accounts into their marketing plans—if they haven’t already done so. Some have succeeded in converting tweets into more business, while others are struggling, wondering if the buzz is worth the fuss.

A study released this week by digital marketing agency 360i examines this Twitter business/consumer dynamic. One of the results from 360i: “Only 12% of all marketer tweets demonstrate active dialogue with consumers, signifying that most of them aren’t tapping Twitter’s full potential.”

People use Twitter and Facebook to connect with other people. To have conversations. Advertisements or “hard sells” are a turn off. If you are a company that tweets one-way messages and does not engage in a dialogue with your followers, you’re missing the boat, and potentially the revenue. Your followers might keep following you, but they might not pay  much attention to what you have to say.

In a recent article in a marketing magazine that I read religiously each month, one columnist recommended using an automated tweet service and taking a few hours each month to pre-program a month’s worth of tweets, as a time-saving measure. That’s fine. I use auto-tweet service Twuffer to spread out my tweets and reach different people at different times of the day. But I still sign in to Twitter frequently to see who’s responded to my tweets and I try to reply to as many as possible. I have conversations, not advertisements. Besides, the conversations are much more fun than ads, aren’t they?

Social media is exciting and fun to use because it’s comprised of people conversing in real time. And that’s what it’s all about. Not not one-way messages, but dialogue. Engage your followers in one and they’ll be more likely to listen to your company’s message when you tweet it.

Erin

Tags: business, social media marketing, tweets, Twitter

Some people launch companies. But this feels more like a birth of sorts.

I’d like to announce the birth of TweeParties, Inc., a social media marketing company specializing in creating and hosting unique online events, such as Twitter parties.

TWEET!

My goal is to help businesses engage their customers in real-time through the planning, promotion and execution of social media events. I love social media and marketing. Sites like Twitter and Facebook have unlimited potential for companies to better connect with consumers, build brand awareness and gain exposure in a fun environment. I am excited for the future of social media and excited for TweeParties’ role in it.

This has truly been a labor of love, albeit sometimes a late-night labor of love fueled by Dr. Pepper and corn chips. I have to give credit to my husband, Brian, as the creative mastermind behind the name TweeParties, a take obviously on “Tweet” and “Tea Parties,” which explains why on our web site you will find many birds hanging around and sometimes even in tea cups, hopefully not deciding to leave their “mark” behind on any of them (fingers crossed).

And thanks to the many friends and family members who previewed the site and gave constructive comments and criticisms to work out the bugs! It really does ‘take a village’ to raise a child, in this case, a child having HTML for DNA.

I look forward to hearing from both Twitter party attendees and companies alike. I hope to use this blog as a way to impart information to both entities: party tips and information for partygoers and social media marketing news and helpful information for companies interested in harnessing the power of social networking.

So, “Happy Birthday, TweeParties!” Welcome to the world!

Erin

Tags: advertising, social media marketing, TweeParties, Twitter party