January 2012
31 posts
2 tags
On... Brand monitoring with Twitter
In today’s Social Web or Web 2.0 scenario you need to know exactly what people are saying about you, in real-time, in order to stop bad reviews or criticism spreading and causing incalculable damage. Likewise, if there are other users or companies singing your praises, you’ll want to take advantage of positive comments, reviews and goodwill… In order to know what people are saying about...
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On... #Tagging on Twitter
One of the most important things about providing and storing information is how best to organise it. As web users we’re generally getting better at both finding data and marking or tagging data so that it can be found by others. If you’ve dabbled with Search Engine Optimisation or web design you’ll be familiar with the importance of metadata and Header Tags to alert both the search engines and...
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On… Online Reputation Management (ORM) using...
Online Reputation Management consists of analysing and researching what is being said about ourselves and/or our companies on the Internet. This discipline has gained importance lately due to:
Easy-to-use publishing tools: anyone and everyone has access to hundreds of publishing tools that are available on the web – it’s never been easier to express opinion through blogs, videos, pictures, web...
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On…Twitter and measuring web metrics
What impact is Twitter having on your site? Which subjects interest your Twitter audience the most? Use your web analytics system to know your Twitter audience. Analyse the quantity of traffic Twitter is driving to your site, all web analytics systems have a ‘referrals’ sections; referrals are sites that drive visits to your site, Twitter will be one of these referrers. Try to correlate visits...
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On… Twitter and Online Reputation Management (ORM)...
For companies your online reputation is of paramount importance. Existing and potential customers will use the internet to find out more about your products and your company. They look for reviews and some of them even write them, they share opinions and in some cases they criticise what you’re doing. To find out what users are saying about your business, you can use the search functionality...
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On… Using Twitter to distribute your content
As Twitter grows in popularity there will be more and more eyeballs on your content, and that means more opportunities to encourage your audience to view pages of your website. A Twitter audience is a discerning audience. Coupled with the fact that a large number of Twitter users are ‘influencers’ who distribute content they like among their own networks, Retweet posts and form opinions; if your...
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On… Communicating with your Twitter users
Once you have read what your customers have written about you or your company, you must analyse those comments and define you objectives based on them. For example, it might be that existing or potential customers are revealing that they have lots of doubts about how to use your product correctly or are asking questions regarding specifications. It might be that users are bemoaning your customer...
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On… Twitter as a Research Tool for business
At the same time that we listen to our users in order to understand them, and to address their specific issue. We can use the information they are providing to improve our existing products, by addressing where things are going wrong. Twitter is also a great way to ask for suggestions to improve a company’s customer service or product development; it is a great tool for asking user opinion and...
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On… Businesses, start listening to what people are...
Your brand is what your users say about it. They have more power than ever to comment on or even define what your brand is. You don’t own any one communication channel any more; communication belongs to users and crowds and the only way to ensure that your message reaches the ears and eyes of the people you want it to is to join that conversation.
But before joining in, you need to know...
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On… Remember, always, Twitter means a two-way...
Let’s face it, as business owners we are not used to conversing, we have spent years of effort and resources mastering the art of unidirectional messaging by displaying aspirational ads to a passive audience watching TV, banners to encourage click-throughs to our website, or to newspaper readers who may or may not be interested in what we have to sell. Now things are quite different, through...
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On… Twitter - dipping a corporate toe in the water
Is Twitter suitable for my company? The simple answer is yes. No matter what you sell or what service you provide, there is always a way in which Twitter can help your business either as an internal or an external tool. Twitter first and foremost is a means of communication that will help you identify and interact with both potential and existing customers.
If you are new to Twitter and...
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On... Using Twitter to promote your business
Companies can no longer operate with their head in the sand when it comes to social media. Twitter is really hot; it gets column inches in the offline press like no other application (especially The Guardian - they seem to have a Twitter story everyday, at least on their online offering).
If you run, or work for a company, you have to be where your users are, and that means on Twitter. Twitter...
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On... Timing your Tweets
Schedule allowing, it’s far more effective to split your Twitter activity over the day rather than trying to do everything during a concentrated single period of time. Because of the instant nature of it all, if you fire off your Tweets, along with a load of @replies, you run the risk of ‘spamming’ your Followers as your updates effectively block all other updates. So rather than saying at 10am...
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On… Avoiding Twitter spammers
As always, as soon as something on the web becomes popular, i.e. has a lot of visits or users, it’s not too long before the spammers come in with their guns blazing trying to trip the newbies into buying Viagra, or whatever they’re trying to sell this month…<sigh> The very nature of Twitter leaves a number of paths open to spammers to connect with you directly and try to entice you...
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On… Optimising Twitter Follows
Don’t be afraid of Following people; if you find a user with some interesting updates Follow him or her! And start to ‘talk’ with the user. Read what they have to say, don’t be afraid of asking a question if you need to and hopefully you are on your way to a mutually beneficial Twitter relationship. The worst things that can happen are a/ you are blocked from following them or...
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On… Not forgetting your Twitter Favourites
It’s fair to say that the majority of users don’t use their Favourites function much. It’s small things that count and your Favourite Tweets say lots about your personality, as well as being a great way to share information that you yourself have appreciated. There’s kudos to be had if your favourite Tweets are @you from celebrities, or industry leaders in your field responding directly to...
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On… Following the right people on Twitter
Twitter isn’t all about you. Communication is two way and that means at least half of your time interacting with Twitter should be spent reading what others have to say, about you, your service or a topic that interests you. In today’s ultra-complex world, in which we are all interconnected and millions of messages and new content is created every single second, we have to learn how to listen....
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On… Gaining and retaining Twitter Followers
It always feels good when someone is listening to what you have to say, and to have tens, or hundreds or even thousands of people following your every Tweet is fantastic. Twitter can be a great way to attract and maintain an audience; to express yourself in a different and challenging way, to market your business or simply to meet new people from around the world who you would ordinarily never...
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On... Effective Tweeting
Probably the intimate details of your bowel movements and what you intending to eat for your dinner may well be of incredible interest to your friends and possibly even some of your colleagues at work – but not to the rest of the world. Twitter is many things, but it’s not Facebook – it’s a public tool in which all of your posts are, well, public, and therefore you don’t have the ‘protection’...
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On… How to succeed with Twitter - Humanise...
Twitter is a great for humanising people; seeing a Twitter profile helps you to better understand the person behind the Tweets, seeing the new updates everyday of one person you are following bonds Follower to the Followed.
For that purpose some celebrities have started to use Twitter in a big way. Bill Clinton, former President of the United States, when in office commented on the web: “When I...
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On... The convenience of Twitter
Using Twitter can take up as much or as little time as you want it to. You can quite easily spend hours reading through swathes of Tweets from friends and strangers alike. You can make it a five-minute habit over coffee before you go to work, or you can mix and match, depending on what you want to do – there are no rules, and there are no limits. Twitter is working when you’re not, so, you’ll...
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On… The language of Twitter for Corporate accounts
Although you’re going to want to use your Twitter account to show your company as approachable, friendly and ‘down with new technology’, the appearance of your Twitter page/s and the tone of your Tweets must still reinforce your brand messages and the house-style being used across your other marketing channels. Obviously using the same logo or device and corporate colours is a must and...
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On... The flexibility of Twitter
As a consequence of its simplicity, Twitter is really flexible, fitting myriad different purposes. Twitter, if you strip it down, is just a box for posting 140 characters. You can write whatever you want in that box; you can say what you are doing, but you can also send an @reply or a Direct Message to someone. You can use it to remember things or to add valuable information or to share valuable...
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On... Got a Twitter account, now what?
So now you’re armed with your new Twitter account, know your way around the dashboard and you’re all ready to go. So… What next? I think it’s fair to say, on first appearance, Twitter doesn’t look like much – I’ve heard ‘it’s just another stupid application’ and ‘this year’s Facebook’ quite a few times. ‘Twitter is too simple and too basic to be of any value or use to me or my...
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On... Twitter Search
Recently Twitter has added a search functionality, which borders on the fantastic. This is real-time search baby! Google is great… but sometimes you need, just that, to know things in real-time. Test it for yourself – include a brand name or obscure word in your Tweet, and then search for it – it’s been indexed and is accessible by every Twitter user immediately. Incredible.
Coupled with the...
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On... Re-Tweeting
Retweeting is broadcasting something you have picked up from a user you Follow, which you choose to share with those who Follow you. Some Tweets are so interesting, relevant, important, topical or just so hilariously funny that you want to spread the word among your Followers. This is called a Retweet. Remember to be generous to the user who shared the information with you and to mention your...
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On... Following others on Twitter
By far the most important concepts on Twitter; Following and Followers are the concepts that will determine your relationship with the Twittersphere, there are those who wish to read what you post – Followers, and those whose posts you wish to read – Following. Your relationship to both and the equilibrium you create between the two will both determine, and be determined by, how you interact...
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On... Twitter @Replies and Direct Messages
Twitter is for posting Tweets and also to be able to read other’s Tweets, but the defining difference that separates it from blogs or even forums is how it encourages conversation. When you notice an interesting Tweet you can reply direct to that user using the @replies function – by clicking on the username such as @sanseng, you will be able to write (publically) to that user. A simple tweak of...
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On... Twitter Followers
A Follower is someone who is interested in you, your company, your opinions, your expertise or even your witty retorts. They want to receive your updates or Tweets. This means that every time you Tweet, your followers will be reading it. A Twitter account without followers is like talking to the wall. So, you’re going to have to get yourself some followers! The first problem is if no one knows...
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On... What on earth is Twitter?
Twitter is, on first glance, completely mad; tell the world what are you doing in 140 characters or less, and read what the world is doing in 140 characters or less… Simple, yet extremely powerful. Twitter is the ‘marmite’ of internet applications – it has some hardcore followers who see it as revolutionary and it has its fair share of detractors who just think it’s plain stupid. Twitter is...
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On... Twitter
Social Networking is this year’s black. It will probably be next year’s black too. Leading the charge and this ‘fashion revolution’ is Twitter. The idea that an application which allows users to write text-based posts of up to 140 characters could be so popular boggles the mind – and yet it is popular and continues to grow.
Why the fuss? Well, like it or loathe it, there’s something about...
