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

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

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

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